MEDORA, North Dakota – US President Donald Trump linked himself to the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, a swashbuckling Republican predecessor, despite stark policy differences, at an event on July 1 in North Dakota.
Trump spoke at the dedication ceremony for Roosevelt’s presidential library in the remote town of Medora, one of a number of events marking the US’ 250th birthday on July 4.
“That’s a man who I have long admired. He’s one of the few. I don’t admire too many people,” Trump said in a speech. “He was a proud man, but I’m a proud man. I’m proud of our country.”
The events sought to capture the aesthetic of the American frontier, with a Trumpian touch.
The president rode a train festooned with red, white and blue bunting and the presidential seal to his motorcade.
As he disembarked, he pumped his fist to supporters while his campaign rally playlist of 1980s hits blared on a speaker system.
The presidential limousine then drove to the library escorted by a group of people on horseback impersonating the Rough Riders, a cavalry unit Roosevelt commanded during the Spanish-American War.
The men stood behind Trump during his speech in an amphitheatre with a back drop of Old West building facades.
Trump used similar language to describe Roosevelt’s accomplishments and his own.
He said the 26th president “transformed the country” by “the force of his will” into the “most respected nation anywhere in the world.”
“They had strong, smart people like Teddy Roosevelt. Today, America is stronger and more respected right now,” the president said.
Trump has seized on the anniversary celebrations to enhance his image at a pivotal moment, as polls show his approval near record lows.
Strains over the war in Iran and voter dissatisfaction with the economy have imperiled Republican hopes of keeping control of Congress in November midterms.
As his second term nears its halfway point, Trump has been consumed by pet projects, such as his White House renovations, and appeared at numerous cultural events in an effort to burnish his legacy.
The president’s involvement in the anniversary events has drawn criticism from those who say he’s turning what’s supposed to be a unifying moment into a partisan affair that promotes his agenda.
Trump’s speech was long and rambling and he veered into far afield topics.
He derided Democrats as “communists” and “losers,” boasted the US is “easily” winning against Iran and implored lawmakers to pass a divisive voter identification Bill at which Republican senators have bristled.
The president said that Roosevelt agreed with his anti-communist stance.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his fondness for Roosevelt, a president defined by his vigour who famously said “it is not the critic who counts” but instead “the man who is actually in the arena.”
The two share similarities as native New Yorkers once seen as political outsiders.
Both reshaped the Republican Party and came to define their eras through an expansive use of executive powers.
There are clear differences as well.
Roosevelt ushered in the end of the Gilded Age, a period marked by its flamboyant displays of wealth as the nation’s elite prospered, enacting policies that broke up corporate power and established the government as a powerful regulator.
Trump, in contrast, has embraced the financial and business elite with an agenda that rolled back tax and regulatory burdens.
A day before his speech, Trump’s financial disclosures revealed a president who boasts his own sprawling business empire and earned at least US$1.4 billion (Sl1.81 billion) in 2025 in crypto and memecoin-related ventures alone.
Roosevelt is remembered as the “conservation president” who protected hundreds of millions of acres of public land, while Trump’s administration has targeted environmental rules and sought to open up national monuments for energy development.
The library is in North Dakota’s Badlands, an austere but majestic landscape that Roosevelt credited with inspiring his conservation efforts.
On the international stage, Roosevelt was the first US president to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, a recognition Trump has long sought but has not been awarded.
Trump finds himself struggling to secure a longer-term peace deal with Iran to end a war he launched alongside Israel in February.
Roosevelt is also the only president to receive the Medal of Honour, the nation’s highest military decoration.
Trump personally delivered Roosevelt’s medal to the library and joked, “I want to give one to myself but they tell me I’m not allowed to.”
Trump faces a perilous political moment, with Democrats threatening to break the Republican stranglehold in Washington.
Trump has compounded has party’s woes in recent weeks, clashing with GOP lawmakers over the voter ID Bill and veering off-message from the economy, the election’s dominant issue.
The Roosevelt library is a project of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who as North Dakota governor helped it secure a US$50 million endowment.
That money was contingent on the project raising US$100 million in private funds.
Ken Griffin, founder of hedge fund Citadel, recently pledged a US$26 million gift. BLOOMBERG