Presidential historian compares Roosevelt & Trump administrations
MEDORA, N.D. (KFYR) - President Donald Trump, speaking in Medora on Wednesday, drew comparisons between his administration and that of Theodore Roosevelt, despite a difference of more than 100 years between the two presidents.
Rick Collin, a political historian from Bismarck, went to Medora to listen to President Trump speak. He said the two presidents do have a lot in common.
“To advance the causes they believe strongly in. Both are very articulate in what they believe and very forceful in what they believe, and they’re willing to push very hard to achieve their goals,” said Collin.
The current president hasn’t visited North Dakota in several years.
“This is the first time he has been back as president in eight years, and I think the fact that he is back today after eight years shows how important Theodore Roosevelt is to our country,” said Collin.
President Trump noted that Roosevelt is one of the few people he admires.
“His chest swelled with American optimism, confidence, enthusiasm and pride. His heartbeat with an unyielding sense of American destiny and pride,” the president said.
Collin isn’t the only one who thinks there are similarities between Roosevelt and President Trump.
“One hundred and forty years ago, somebody got off the train just over here. It was a 24-year-old New Yorker and that 24-year-old New Yorker was not yet governor, not yet president of the United States, not at the time the most famous person in the world,” said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.
Burgum went on to say how President Trump is also from New York and has transformed the country in similar ways.
“It’s more important than ever that we remember the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, because so much of what he did in his lifetime still applies to us today,” said Collin.
The opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library was what brought President Trump to Medora.
“There could be no better place to begin this rediscovery than with the lifetimes and passions of Theodore Roosevelt,” said the president.
As the doors of the new library open, Roosevelt’s New York-to-North Dakota legacy is reflected in the president’s visit to Medora.
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