Newt Gingrich raves that Trump is just like Theodore Roosevelt

Historian and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has found a historical comparison for President Trump.
During an appearance on Fox & Friends on Monday, Gingrich said there are a lot of similarities between Trump and former President Theodore Roosevelt. That's because, in Gingrich's view, they both defy the mainstream "model of the presidency" thanks to a kindred "aggressive" and "entrepreneurial" spirit that often baffles (or baffled in Roosevelt's case) the media or academic experts.
Among the accomplishments of Roosevelt that Gingrich cited in an attempt to illustrate the similarities between the two presidents were the creation of the Rough Riders fighting force during the Spanish-American War, his conservation efforts, the naval histories he wrote in his 20s, the Nobel Peace Prize he won for brokering peace between Russia and Japan in 1906, and the construction of the Panama Canal.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It's questionable whether Trump can match that acumen — for instance, he famously avoided the draft during the Vietnam War because of bone spurs, and while he has published books, including the well-known Trump: The Art of the Deal, Gingrich described Roosevelt's tome on the naval war of 1812 as the "classic study" on the topic. A Nobel prize has also so far eluded Trump, though he's made little secret of the fact he desires one. Tim O'Donnell
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Today's political cartoons - February 19, 2025
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - marking territory, living under a rock, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Mickey 17: 'charming space oddity' that's a 'sparky one-off'
The Week Recommends 'Remarkable' Robert Pattinson stars in Bong Joon-ho's sci-fi comedy
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
EastEnders at 40: are soaps still relevant?
Talking Point Albert Square's residents are celebrating, but falling viewer figures have fans worried the soap bubble has burst
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Musk's DOGE seeks access to IRS, Social Security files
Speed Read If cleared, the Department of Government Efficiency would have access to tax returns, bank records and other highly personal information about most Americans
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Senate confirms RFK Jr. as health secretary
Speed Read The noted vaccine skeptic is now in charge of America's massive public health system
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump lays out plans for broad 'reciprocal' tariffs
Speed Read Tariffs imposed on countries that are deemed to be treating the US unfairly could ignite a global trade war and worsen American inflation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Top US prosecutors resign rather than drop Adams case
speed read The interim US attorney for the Southern District and five senior Justice Department officials quit following an order to drop the charges against Mayor Eric Adams
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Senate confirms Gabbard as intelligence chief
Speed Read The controversial former Democratic lawmaker, now Trump loyalist, was sworn in as director of national intelligence
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, Putin plan Ukraine peace talks without Kyiv
Speed Read President Donald Trump spoke by phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was not included
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Elon Musk defends DOGE effort from Oval Office
Speed Read President Trump signed an executive order giving DOGE even more power to shape the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge says White House defying order to spend funds
Speed Read U.S. District Judge John McConnell has ordered the Trump administration to restore federal funding it tried to freeze
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published