Speaking at the dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota, on July 2, President Donald Trump used the event to lay out a message he intends to emphasize ahead of America’s 250th anniversary. Trump repeatedly framed Roosevelt’s life and career as a model for the nation’s future, urging Americans to adopt courage, ambition, and patriotism. He invoked Roosevelt’s writings to underscore the necessity of bravery, asserting that cowardice cannot sustain liberty. The president tied these themes to his “America First” agenda, arguing that government’s duty is to serve only American citizens. The library honors the 26th president, whose North Dakota ranching period after personal loss shaped his conservationist outlook and later his expansion of national parks and federal protections.