Obama to Hold Chicago Forum in His First Public Appearance Since Leaving Office
Former President Barack Obama will make his first public appearance since leaving office when he speaks at a forum in his hometown of Chicago on Monday.
At the event, which will take place at the University of Chicago, Obama will meet with young leaders from area schools to discuss “community organizing and civic engagement,” his office said in a statement Friday.
“This event is part of President Obama’s post-presidency goal to encourage and support the next generation of leaders driven by strengthening communities around the country and the world,” the statement continued.
The event marks the start of Obama’s reentry into public life and comes after a series of vacations with family and friends - including trips to Palm Springs, California, Richard Branson’s private island in the British Virgin Islands, and an exclusive resort in French Polynesia.
Though Obama has indirectly criticized his successor, President Donald Trump, since his inauguration, he is not expected to do so at the upcoming town hall.
“It’s not in anyone’s interest ... for [Obama] to become the face of the resistance or narrate the Trump presidency,” a source told The Hill earlier this month. “He’s acutely aware that when [Trump] speaks, he sucks up all the oxygen, and that suppresses the next generation of leaders from rising.”
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Obama’s next public outing will come on May 7, when he will visit Boston to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. The former president will also meet with his one-time “closest ally,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in Berlin next month - on the same day President Trump is set to meet with other NATO leaders in Brussels.
Obama’s wife, former First Lady Michelle Obama, is also returning to the public spotlight soon. She and former President Bill Clinton will both participate in the 2017 Partnership for a Healthier America Summit to end childhood obesity in Washington, D.C. May 10-12.
