In 2021, We Imagined How a Trump Library Would Look. Here’s How We Did.

Five years ago, President Donald Trump’s political future looked bleak. America had voted him out of the White House, and he was in the last days of his presidency. He had been impeached for a second time thanks to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Twitter, which was not yet owned by Elon Musk, banned him from the platform following January 6, citing “risk of further incitement of violence.”

So, given those circumstances, Trump turned his attention to raising funds for his presidential library, something he has long dreamt of, and New Times predicted what it might offer.

Now, in 2026, Trump’s dream is turning into reality — and Miami is the lucky city chosen to host it. Last week, Trump’s son Eric Trump released a two-minute, apparently AI-generated video showing what Trump’s future presidential library will look like in downtown. At the White House’s Easter Egg Roll on Monday, he said the presidential library will be the tallest building in Miami when its all said and done.

We may have missed with the tanning salon and toupee shop, but some of New Times‘ predictions were not too far off: yuge (check). Packed with gold accents (check). Unusual artifacts (check). Money-making scheme (check). It has been a stunning political turnaround for Trump, who is back in the White House and turning it into his own gilded, gaudy paradise.

Here’s what New Times predicted — and how it stacked up to reality:

Yuge!

“It’s gonna be yuge. It’s gonna be classy. Like the piece of chocolate cake Trump ate while approving a missile strike on Syria. It’s gonna be the most beautiful presidential library you’ve ever seen.”

While it may depend on how you define “beautiful” and “classy,” the library is certainly yuge. The renderings show the skyscraper towering above the Miami skyline bearing the Trump name like his other Trump-branded properties. The tower, which is expected to be 50 floors tall, will also need to be large enough to house a luxury $400 million Boeing 747-8 jetliner gifted to Trump by the Qatari government.

Gold Everywhere

“You take a look around. The floor is carpeted in red. The walls are trimmed with gold.”

It wouldn’t be Trump’s presidential library if it were not filled with gold accents. The video shows the entrance will be a large gold doorway with a presidential seal, gold escalators, gold-trimmed walls, a gilded ballroom, and an oversized gold statue of Trump raising his fist in the air, the pose he made after surviving his 2024 assassination attempt. New Times thought a giant screen of Trump welcoming visitors to the library was sufficient for the commander and chief. Unfortunately, he needs a gold statue instead.

Artifacts

“The museum really ought to preserve the Bible Trump was photographed holding up during a photo op at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., after police forcefully cleared out Black Lives Matter protesters from the area.”

Well, Trump admitted last week that he doesn’t “believe in building libraries or museums,” so his “library” will likely not house what you may see in other presidential libraries or museums. While it is unclear what will be on display, the video captures a plane that appears to be the controversial gifted jet sitting in the building’s lobby. We are still holding out hope that the infamous Bible will be on display.

Money-Making Scheme

“A Trump endeavor isn’t a Trump endeavor if it isn’t a grand money-making scheme.”

The cat is officially out of the bag. Speaking to reporters at the White House last week, Trump noted that the skyscraper will most likely be a hotel (just what his critics predicted). That explains the building’s towering height.

“I don’t believe in building libraries or museums,” Trump said. “Could be [an] office, but it’s most likely going to be a hotel with a beautiful building underneath and a 747 Air Force One in the lobby, which is going to be a trick.”