Opinion

BRET BAIER: This July Fourth, let’s find awe in the places that tell America’s story

To experience our vast land is always inspiring. It puts things in perspective. Our differences seem to fade away

By Bret Baier Fox News

Published July 3, 2026 8:00am EDT

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Trump visits the Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota

President Trump's interaction with an AI hologram of Theodore Roosevelt at the new presidential library sparks discussion among a panel including Brian Kilmeade, Kellyanne Conway, and historian Douglas Brinkley. They delve into striking parallels between Trump and TR's challenges to the establishment and their appeal to the "little guy." The panel also highlights the library's unique exhibits and the historical context of Roosevelt's life-changing time in North Dakota.

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When I went out into the country to talk about "The Case for America," my book celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary, it was an immersion experience. The capital of our country is in Washington, D.C., and that’s where I’ll be on July 4. But the heart of America lies across the nation — "from the mountains to the prairies to the oceans white with foam," in the great American outdoors.

To experience our vast land is always inspiring. It puts things in perspective. Our differences seem to fade away when they’re set against such a grand backdrop. Recently, I had an opportunity on my "Common Ground" podcast to talk with two congressmen — Arkansas Republican Bruce Westerman and California Democrat Jared Huffman — about their bill, the Great American Outdoors Act 250, an enhancement of the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act, which would invest $1.9 billion annually in national parks, public lands and Bureau of Indian Education facilities. Dozens of American institutions support the bill, which has received enthusiastic bipartisan support.

Bipartisan bills are also in the spirit of America. And we don’t think about it a lot, but the national parks play a fundamental role in the American story. There are 63 of them, in 33 states and territories. Last year alone, 323 million people visited a national park.

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The actor Kevin Costner, a passionate conservationist, testified before the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee in support of the Great American Outdoors Act 250.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier and the book cover for his latest book 'A Case for America' (Fox News)

A passionate advocate for America’s public lands, Costner spoke poetically........

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