On July 1, Donald Trump flew to the Theodore Roosevelt Library in a jet gifted to him by the Qatari dictator, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. This is unprecedented.
What was typical is that, once at the new library, Donald Trump spoke only about Donald Trump.
A few contrasts between the two men:
• Theodore Roosevelt wrote books. Donald Trump doesn’t read.
• Roosevelt was a soldier. Donald Trump only salutes like one.
• Under Roosevelt, numerous laws were passed to protect American consumers, such as the Pure Food and Drug Act. Trump believes that, for American consumers, affordability is fake news.
• Roosevelt sought to limit the power and wealth of American corporations. The Trump family seeks to increase their own power and wealth, amassing $2.2 billion in his second term.
• For negotiating peace in the Russo-Japanese War, Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize. Nobel winner María Corina Machado of Venezuela gave Trump hers.
• Roosevelt invited Black intellectual Booker T. Washington to a White House dinner in 1901. On a campaign stop, Trump once shouted, “There’s my Black guy!”
• Roosevelt loved his children. Trump once hit Don Jr. with his fist for not wearing a suit to a Yankee game. His love for Ivanka is disturbing.
• The barrel-chested Roosevelt lived a life of exercise—judo, vigorous walking, horseback riding, and outdoor adventures. Trump drives his golf cart over greens, and sportswriter Rick Reilly’s book about his golf is titled Commander in Cheat.
• Roosevelt believed that the presidency was a sacred trust. Trump believes the presidency is his personal property.
It’s true that Roosevelt was an ardent imperialist. Unlike Trump, he was a successful one.
Jim Gregory
Arroyo Grande
This article appears in July 16-23, 2026.
Yeah, and everything will magically change when Trump is gone.
Factories will reappear, banks will be regulated, the dollar will strengthen, 40 trillion on national debt will disappear, our border will be secure, our federal budget will be balanced, taxes will be lowered for workers, etc, etc, etc.
Your party has no solution, sir. I voted for the Republican party, not an individual. I believe in limited government. Your side of the aisle is just corrupt as my dude of the aisle, the only difference as your party loots our country, you do it waving a rainbow flag and speak a foreign language. Your craven candidates are no FDRs, instead they’re modern day Jacobins.
Robespierre would walk away in disgust if he saw how weak the opposition is to the current regime. Open corruption, extra-judicial killings, dismantling of our institutions and a pervasive anti-science, anti-democratic agenda go unchallenged. Yes, there are plenty of collective solutions to the current economic disparity, but the ignorant dismiss them as ‘Communism’ and run back to their cages.