The AI exhibit is called Talk with TR, where visitors can walk up to a control panel and swipe their “compass,” a customized RFID bracelet that tells the museum their name and age to display. Visitors are then asked to press a button to speak to the virtual president.
According to the video posted online, Trump asked the AI about the Panama Canal, a project started by Roosevelt in 1903 and completed in 1914.
“Do you consider the Panama Canal your greatest achievement?” Trump asked.
“Okay, so okay, yes,” the AI replied. “The canal is one of my proudest battles, no doubt. But greatness is a strange thing. It’s not always the biggest or boldest work that matters most. The Panama Canal showed what America could accomplish if we stood firm and worked fast when the world was dragging its feet.”
“That said, I measure my greatest work by the improvement of life. Parks set aside, food and medicines made safe, given to all, not just to a few,” Ai responded, adding that as he watched steam shovels building the canal, he felt he had “left a mark that can last.”
President Trump asked AI President Roosevelt…”Do you consider the Panama Canal your greatest achievement?” pic.twitter.com/zvfDCL2sKS
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) July 1, 2026
Trump told AI Roosevelt, “It’s an honor to be with you today,” and he was giving “a little tour of some of the wonderful things you’ve done.”
.@POTUS talks with AI President Theodore Roosevelt at the Theodore Roosevelt Library in North Dakota 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/4ISRo2Tsbj
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) July 1, 2026
LemonSlice CEO and co-founder Lena Colucci told Gizmodo that Microsoft hired a professional actor to supply an AI voice for Roosevelt, based on a surviving record of the president’s actual voice. And the LLMs used for the project were trained on the speeches, letters, and books of the 26th President.
Teddy’s AI voice refers to visitors by name, and age is helpful in customizing interactions with children. “Everything that TR says is designed at a PG-13 level, but there’s an additional kid mode,” Colucci said.
“You have kids asking TR about his favorite food and his favorite color, which is so much fun to hear. It’s great to see that every interaction is unique, based on what that person’s interest is, what the visitor wants to talk about,” Colucci said.
The exhibit has been in the works for several years but Colucci says his company received a call just four months ago to work on the visual components of AI Roosevelt.
“At LemonSlice, we train real-time video models and real-time interactive avatars,” Colucci said. “Basically our video model, you can think of it like a graphics layer that goes over Teddy’s brain and basically gives him his face and his body and his physical form.”
The full video of Trump’s conversation with the AI has not been released, but Colucci says Trump asked about Roosevelt’s presidency, the war, and the Panama Canal, as we’ve seen in some viral videos on social media.
Trump was clearly proud of his conversation, telling the crowd in a speech after their conversation, “I also had a conversation with Theodore Roosevelt. I said, ‘What do you think about the Panama Canal? Do you consider it your greatest accomplishment and how do you feel about the fact that the Democrats gave the Panama Canal to Panama for $1?'”
Trump: “I also had a conversation with Theodore Roosevelt. I said, ‘What do you think about the Panama Canal? Do you consider it your greatest accomplishment and how do you feel about the fact that the Democrats gave the Panama Canal to Panama for $1?'”
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– Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) July 1, 2026 at 12:44 pm
President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, signed a treaty with Panama in 1977 to begin the long process of handing the Panama Canal back to Panama. According to Newsweek, the full conversion was not completed until 1999, and Trump’s claim that it was done for $1 is nonsense.
Video posted online shows Trump’s first question being about the Panama Canal, but does not show the president asking about the $1 sale. Based on Colucci’s memory of the incident, it seems Trump may have returned later to ask that question. It looks like Eric Trump may have captured the moment where the AI responded.
In the incomplete video, the AI says, “…I poured water into that canal every time I wanted.” “Because I meant to serve my people, not to survive through inaction or endless conversations.”
Trump meets Roosevelt pic.twitter.com/LE6iv3o8vB
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) July 1, 2026
Colucci says his staff got to the new library early because of Secret Service requirements when the president was there. Some agents were excited to ask AI about Roosevelt’s experience with the Secret Service of his era. After the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901, the Secret Service assumed full-time responsibility for presidential security.
It was this assassination that catapulted Vice President Roosevelt to the presidency, making him the youngest person to hold the office at the age of 42. There’s no word on whether Trump asked Roosevelt what it was like to rise to the presidency at such a young age. Trump turned 42 in 1988.
It’s highly likely that more museums will adopt AI displays like the one recently opened in North Dakota, even though they may distort history by generating words that historical figures never actually said. But AI companies believe they are helping provide a useful experience by bringing these characters to life.
“If it weren’t for AI, there would be no way to talk to TR, like current generations,” Colucci told Gizmodo, “You know, you can read about him, you can watch documentaries, but this is a way that anyone can ask a very specific and personal question. People can ask for advice about things going on in their lives.”
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