Trump Draws Parallels to Teddy Roosevelt at North Dakota Library Dedication Amid Conservation Controversy]

Trump Draws Parallels to Teddy Roosevelt at North Dakota Library Dedication Amid Conservation Controversy]

President Donald Trump visited the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota on Wednesday, drawing comparisons between his own presidency and the progressive icon while facing criticism from conservationists who view him as an unlikely steward of Roosevelt’s legacy.

Traveling by train to the remote site at the foot of the national park named after the 26th president, Trump spent over an hour touring the 93,000-square-foot facility built into the Badlands. The library, a passion project of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum during his tenure as North Dakota governor, opened as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary.

“I know more about that museum than the people that built it,” Trump remarked during the event.

The president’s appearance drew a enthusiastic crowd of Trump supporters, with attendees wearing “Jesus Is My Savior, Trump Is My President” t-shirts and some shouting down CNN crews with “Let’s Go Brandon” chants. Donald Trump Jr. and his new wife, Kimberly Guilfoyle, joined the president for photo opportunities on stage, while Trump’s two eldest children accompanied him aboard the new Air Force One during the flight from Washington.

Trump framed his remarks as a tribute to Roosevelt’s adventurous spirit, describing the former president as a “great he-man” whose life was marked by extreme experiences. He likened Roosevelt’s charge up San Juan Hill to his own political battles, though the comparison was interrupted by Trump’s aside about Spain’s NATO status. Trump also referenced Cuba’s anticipated alignment with the U.S. and claimed Roosevelt had sailed across the Atlantic and climbed the Matterhorn.

The event highlighted stark contrasts between the two presidents. Environmental groups and naturalists have raised concerns about Trump’s environmental record compared to Roosevelt’s legacy as a conservation pioneer who established national parks and forests. During his speech, Trump referred to environmental opponents as “environmental lunatics,” drawing particular criticism given that Roosevelt championed the protection of over 230 million acres of federal land.

Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, a library board member, noted the disconnect between Trump’s rhetoric and Roosevelt’s actual achievements. “President Trump had a golden opportunity to praise Theodore Roosevelt as America’s great public lands and water conservationist president,” Brinkley said. “Yet, standing on a stage surrounded by the austere and rugged Badlands that T.R. so loved, he was unable to offer a line or two saluting our 26th president’s mind-boggling achievement.”

Roosevelt’s descendants have also spoken out against Trump’s stewardship, with Ted Roosevelt IV telling The New York Times that his great-grandfather would be “appalled” by recent efforts to open Minnesota wilderness to mining—a push Trump has supported. Brinkley emphasized that Trump is the “least outdoors-driven president our nation has ever produced.”

Trump used the occasion to promote his own policies, including expanded oil drilling, and took shots at Democrats and the Supreme Court. His presence in Medora, where Roosevelt retreated after personal tragedy, underscored the complex relationship between the current president and the conservationist legacy he sought to invoke.

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