Dolly Parton touched every aspect of American culture. As a songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and entertainer uniquely respected by artists of all stripes, her talent was something we were blessed to witness. She was a once-in-a-lifetime human being.

As the first-ever Special Presidential Envoy for American Tourism, Exceptionalism, and Values, part of me thinks that maybe I am actually the second, because Dolly Parton was our first great global ambassador for culture, tourism, and yes, American exceptionalism and values.

One of the first artists and entertainers to become an entrepreneur in tourism and hospitality, her business portfolio is a great American success story. Her legacy will live on not only in her music, but will forever touch the smiling faces of families visiting Dollywood, Dolly Parton’s SongTeller Hotel, and her many other businesses that are among the world’s finest tourist attractions.

But Dolly Parton did more than just provide fun times and great memories to those who visited her parks, resorts, and entertainment venues. She was also someone who projected timeless American values both at home and abroad.

In war and peace, recessions and booms, easy times and hard, her face, her ethos, her songs, and her essence made everyone in the world want to touch a piece of the only country in the world capable of producing such a unique talent.

When politics became divided by an outdated media, Dolly Parton’s timeless ability to show compassion for all, while exploiting the divides of none, remained both remarkable and admirable.

Today was the first time in a very long time that I saw the same story reported in the same way on Fox News, CNN, Newsmax, and MS Now. That is what Dolly Parton did in life, and today, it is what she has accomplished even in death.

On the order of President Trump, all flags will be lowered across the country for the next week. When you see our brilliant flag flying at half-staff, remember Dolly Parton for the songs she gave us all, for her great universal ambassadorship for the best country in the world, her quiet yet constant charity, and her ability to put a smile on any face, young and old, near and far.

She was, for decades, the face of Nashville, a true daughter of the Volunteer State, and one of the truly great figures in American cultural history.

Rest in peace.

Then a friend explained that when he was a kid in the ‘80s and ‘90s, his mother was friends with her bag lady at the local grocery store. She had the same job for around 20 years, and while no one ever achieved Warren Buffett levels of success bagging groceries, she made enough to own a small house that was not too far from the store where she worked.

And it got me thinking. This is the American Dream. While our astronauts, great investors, scientists, athletes, artists, and military heroes are rightly emblematic of the American Dream, so too were the retail workers who, over decades in the same job, got to know their customers, befriended them, and became part of the neighborhood by achieving the dream of home ownership—an implicit part of the American Dream.

Dollar-for-dollar, someone working at a department store makes more than they did in 1988 or 1995, but few today could own their own home even after many years of hard work and friendly service. This should worry all of us.

There are many reasons for this. Mass migration has had a uniquely negative impact on both the housing market and job market. This was something regularly said by Charlie Kirk, and he of course was correct.

Secondly, institutional investors buying up homes on a speculative basis have both priced out normal homeowners and reduced the supply of single-family homes that are owned by families. President Trump is the first national leader to both acknowledge and do something about this problem.

Thirdly, while economic factors such as e-commerce have taken away formerly stable brick-and-mortar retail jobs, this is not the only factor at play. The acculturation brought about through many factors, but primarily mass migration, has made both our main streets and our malls far less attractive than they were in the 20th century. This is a major disincentive when it comes to any impetus to retain or expand retail stores, both large and small.

The out-of-control crime that spread nationwide during the Biden administration was also a huge disincentive for Americans who just a few years earlier were much more eager to leave the house to shop, eat, and be entertained. New habits formed, and it will take a lot of investment to bring these people back out of the house. Here’s a hint: restaurants that look like bland gray boxes and retail staff who don’t speak a word of English are not going to solve this either.

Interest rates, which remain too high to jump-start the American Dream, are not helping the matter either. Here again, President Trump has been proven correct.

So you see, for each of these problems, there is a solution. But in order to fully implement these solutions at a national scale, there needs to be an acknowledgment of these problems by all of our elected officials, not just in Washington, but at a state and local level.

Wall Street executives and small business owners must acknowledge it too. So too must consumers.

If we can admit where we have gone wrong, we can redouble our efforts to make things right. It pains me to see how much healthier the American Dream was in the late 20th century compared to a 21st century shaped by the three evils of 9/11, the Great Recession, and the Biden administration’s botching of Covid.

But another element of the American Dream, the ability to persevere against all odds in order to make our country great again, helps me retain optimism. Our nation survived the War of 1812, which threatened our newly won independence; we survived a bloody Civil War; we survived the Great Depression; and we came out of two world wars and a Cold War stronger than any other country on Earth.

We can overcome the three evils of the 21st century if we remember who we are as a nation and fight like hell to restore the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness that is the birthright of every American.

The traditional Pizza Huts represent something unique and fun about America. They are places where memories are made. They are places that connect us with our own cultural legacy; they are places that are familiar yet timeless, places that make you feel good, and that is what we need much more of.

A lot of people ask me what it will take to get more people out of the house in an age of social media, DoorDash, and GTA. Well, this is your answer. Revive the places we have always loved, because we never fell out of love with them. The absence of places like this in so many cities has only made our love grow fonder. This is a place that represents our national pride, our personal innocence, and the memories that no money can buy. I would say more, but let’s all get a classic pan pizza, play some Pac-Man, and have the time of our lives.

For years, I have said that our streets need to be revived, not with alien architecture, let alone more bland gray boxes. They need more American classics: from red-roofed Pizza Huts with their distinctive trapezoidal windows and cozy, cabin-like interiors, to McDonald’s that actually look the way they used to, complete with the soaring golden arches, red-and-white tile, and those cheerful sloped roofs that once lit up the night.

Bring back the bright orange roofs of Howard Johnson’s, the playful neon A&W root beer mugs, and the old Dairy Queen signs with their soft-serve swirls glowing against the sky. Restore the Googie-style coffee shops with their wide windows and space-age angles that made every roadside stop feel like a miniature adventure.

This is how we make going out great again! In Alliance, Ohio, it’s already happening.

The next day, I visited one of the most special places on Earth: the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. This is a place that everyone in America and the world needs to visit. Walking among the bronze busts of football legends makes you consider the unseen efforts, the thankless hard work, and the once-unheralded, God-given talent that all combine to make a man into a hero and a legend.

Football values are American values: grit, perseverance, meritocracy, and hard work. The Pro Football Hall of Fame celebrates the very best of the American spirit: competition, toughness, excellence, and the relentless pursuit of winning.

I discussed the enormous tourism opportunities presented by the growing international popularity of the sport.

As football’s popularity grows across the globe, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will become even more of an international destination, drawing visitors from every corner of the world. There is only one Pro Football Hall of Fame, and there is only one United States of America. If you love football, Canton, Ohio belongs on your bucket list.

This is exactly the kind of uniquely American destination that can help strengthen the United States’ position as the world’s premier tourism destination.

President Trump and our entire administration understand that America has the greatest sports, the greatest attractions, and the greatest culture in the world. We invite the rest of the world to come to America to experience it.

Walking through those hallowed halls, I recall the words of the great John Madden, who once suggested that at night, when everyone has left, the busts start talking to one another about the glory of championships past. They ought to make a movie about that concept!

As the start of another football season is upon us, let us consider how this amazing sport is a metaphor for so much in life. It is where strategy and intellect meet strength and athleticism. You are not only up against the other 11 men, but up against the clock. It is a game of inches in pursuit of the first down needed to keep your team alive. It is where math meets tactics: “If I go for three now, will there be time to get those seven other points I’ll need to take the lead?

In Canton, all of this comes to life in a vivid, interactive, and deeply inspirational setting that is too special not to see in person.

It is not my birthday; it is an even more significant date. It is the ten-year anniversary of declaring the United States my home. I did it the hard way, the legal way, the patriotic way, and most of all, the happy way.

As I said ten years ago, and even before, I have always been an American in my heart, even though I was born abroad. From my earliest days, I saw a shining city on a hill calling to me with its promises of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—the most profound values to ever define any nation.

For me, life has always been precious. I learned that when, as a small child, I stared down death in the form of stage 4 cancer. This was the first of my many challenges. It is one that I thank God for allowing me to overcome.

Growing up in a country that talks endlessly about sectional rights but little about liberty, I always knew that a free spirit and hard worker would find no better home than in the United States.

As I have said before, when those who have an aversion to liberty tell us to sit down and shut up, we’ll remind them that our Second Amendment means we never have to sit down and that our First Amendment means we never have to shut up. This is the foundation of American exceptionalism. Our government neither gives nor receives. Instead, the Founding Fathers designed a Bill of Rights that limits the government’s ability to restrain the excellence of a free-thinking, innovative, pioneering people.

Finally, there is the right to pursue happiness. I am by nature an optimist. When you almost lose life itself and then receive the blessing of survival, God is sending a powerful message. The message is to never waste a single moment on bitterness, jealousy, regret, spitefulness, or negativity. America is the land where we can pursue happiness to the fullest, and for this, I am eternally grateful.

Today is also the anniversary of FLAG—The Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness. I founded FLAG so that the message, meaning, and everyday success stories made possible by our great Constitution will never be forgotten. It is not enough to wish a better future for the next generation of Americans; we must all work hard so that their successes are greater than their predecessors’.

To accomplish this, young Americans deserve peerless civic education that teaches them the meaning behind President Kennedy’s call to Americans who ought not to ask what their country can do for them, but who instead ask what they can do for their country.

When I founded FLAG, the nation was at a crossroads, where patriotism, individualism, family, God, and country were under attack from the forces of internationalism, collectivism, statism, agnosticism, and globalism.

Today, after ten years, FLAG stands as a testament to my personal passion for engendering love for this great country by giving the next generation the tools necessary to Keep America Great for decades to come.

The United States remains the land where anything is possible. It is the land of second chances rather than predetermined failure. It is the land where things are invented, and yet the spirit of 1776 runs through our most modern arts and sciences.

To those who still doubt the exceptional qualities of this great nation, I say this:

When America is on bended knee, she still stands taller than all others.

When others started writing America’s concluding chapter, patriotic Americans were optimistically writing a brand-new book that made fools of all naysayers.

When cynics say that American greatness is a thing of the past, great Americans work harder than ever to prove the cynics wrong.

Perhaps most importantly, while the media talks endlessly about divisions in America, I can attest to the fact that Americans are the kindest, most giving, and most compassionate people on earth.

Even when the entire world says in unison, “It cannot be done,” somewhere out there in one of our 50 great states, there is already an American doing it.

As I continue to write my American story, I want to thank my fellow citizens for embracing me, guiding me, and holding me close to the bosom of Lady Liberty. Some in this world are fortunate enough to call Lady Liberty their earliest civic maternal guide.

Some, like me, work hard to receive her loving adoption. Today, come rain or shine, whether it’s a fun week or a difficult week ahead, I can look in the mirror and see the smiling face of an American citizen ready to take on all challenges.

Thank you, America. You are the greatest ever, and we are all becoming greater than ever before thanks to the tremendous achievements of our President’s New Golden Age.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for being here today for the opening of the office from which the gospel of American exceptionalism will be spread to the entire world. America is open for business like never before; we just hosted the most successful and best Soccer World Cup in history, the Olympics are right around the corner, and for the entire tourism industry, the best is yet to come.

But this is also a very special time for me. Next week marks my 10-year anniversary of living in the greatest country in the history of the world. All of my life I had dreamed American dreams, and on the 29th of July 2016, the United States became my home. The American Dream became my American reality.

I learned very quickly that the expression “land of opportunity” is not an empty slogan, but instead is the promise of the pursuit of happiness that is made possible by the life and liberty that are everyday secured by a nation founded by the greatest men the world has known.

This year, things have come full circle. I am now helping the American economy by exhorting the best men and women from around the world to come and visit the best place on earth to spend your dollars, the best place on earth to make memories that will last a lifetime, the best place in the world, ladies and gentlemen, to really get to know who you are.

You see, the lights of freedom are dimming across the world, and with this darkness comes a detachment of the individual spirit from dreams, goals, aspirations, and even desires. But here in the United States, where liberty is the very oxygen we breathe, and where freedom nourishes the soil on which we stand, you can be yourself, find yourself, and be the best you can be.

This is a priceless experience, and best of all, it happens to be one that is great for all-American businesses from the local diner to the big Bass Pro Shops and everything in-between.

Anyone who has seen the videos of wide-eyed, smiling soccer fans experiencing the USA for the first time knows exactly what I mean.

It is even more special that this role and this office are being inaugurated when the best President in history resides in the White House. As President Trump has said, our nation is hot - the hottest in the world. If you’re not visiting America right here and right now, you are missing out.

President Trump has known about the greatness of America all of his life. It is why he has built the finest hotels, resorts, golf courses, and residences from coast to coast. President Trump knows what it means to deliver a complete experience at any price point that makes the wayfaring traveler feel like a king. That’s the spirit of America. If you can do it well, why not do it better, and if you can do it better, why not be the best in the world?

Today, in our 250th year, our nation remains a beacon of liberty in a world of tyranny. We are a land of excitement in a world of bland conformity; we are a place where dreams come true in a world where elsewhere, dreams are crushed.

So welcome to this great new office. Welcome to this new golden age of American exceptionalism. Welcome to the dawning of a new century of American excellence.

God bless each of you.

God bless President Trump.

God bless the United States of America.

It is not a point on the map; it is not a building, a beach, or a mountain. It is you.

How are the great American people a tourist attraction, you might ask? The answer is in our national character that uniquely runs through each and every one of us in an unduplicable way.

To understand what makes the American people our greatest tourist asset, all you have to do is put yourself in the shoes of a tourist elsewhere. When you travel abroad, even when you have a good time, you are always conscious that you are an outsider looking in.

In some countries, the natives don’t really want to talk to tourists; in others, they exist to scam tourists; and even in friendly nations, there is always a space between those from without and those from within.

But in the United States, things are very different. The American people enjoy speaking to tourists, learning about their experiences, finding out what they find interesting, amusing, and compelling about this great land, and hearing about life back home.

We saw this on a daily basis during the World Cup. Vikings, Scotsmen in kilts, Frenchmen falling in love with the great burger and fries—all of them came to see what we had to offer, but found that the conversations with their American hosts were a priceless memory that will stay with them forever.

The United States is a naturally curious nation. Where others ask, “Why?”, we ask, “Why not?” When other nations say that “it’s not worth it,” we say, “What can we do to make it worthwhile?” This natural curiosity is what has led to the United States being the most productive, innovative, and inventive nation in the history of the world.

The modern world is a reflection of American skill for this very reason. And how does it apply to tourism? Because we are free, we are confident, and because we are confident, tourists are seen as people you want to get to know, rather than a “necessary evil” the way that they are perceived in many countries that are overly reliant on tourism as their main economic driver.

I always knew that beyond the curiosity and hospitality of the American people, there is also something more profound. There is a deep kindness; there is a sense of charitable duty to the traveler with a flat tire, just as much as there’s a willingness to buy a beer for the foreign sports fan at the local bar.

It is these seemingly small gestures that make the American people uniquely special. It is why tourists who came to the World Cup, having never been to any of our 50 states, left with memories, but also with new friends.

This is not an asset as easy to quantify as ticket sales at a stadium or visitor numbers to Epcot, but it is an asset—a financial one, yes, but also a great moral asset.

The generosity of spirit that Churchill found among Americans, one of whom was his own mother, is something that has endured throughout the ages, and has survived in good times and bad. It is the most unique feature of the nation, because a nation’s people are that which create its monuments, its roads, its cuisine, its art, its music, its sports, and its character.

Our people are not just our history and our destiny; our people are our greatest asset.

We love sports, we love excellence, and we love the thrill of healthy competition. This is why we need to protect our Republic from external interference and internal meddling in our elections. We wouldn’t stand for it if sports were anything less than “what you see is what you get.”

President John Adams famously stated, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” This statement is very much related to that of Benjamin Franklin, who said that the American form of government is a Republic “if you can keep it.”

Both men alluded to the reality that if we lose our Christian sense of honesty as a nation, both our Constitution and the Republic it codifies will be in danger. In order to remain an honest society, we cannot lose sight of our morals, and if we are to remain a moral society, we must reflect this by being a high-trust society — one that is safe, secure, and confident.

Looking at low-trust societies throughout the world, ones where violent street crime at the bottom and corruption at the top are rules rather than exceptions, we also notice another trend. We see illegitimate elections where it matters not who votes, but who counts the votes. This has never been the American way.

It should have always been assumed that enemies both foreign and domestic have long sought to manipulate our elections for their fiendish gains. This should surprise no one. America is a Shining City on a Hill, and barbarous forces always seek to bring such an exalted place down to their guttural level.

It is therefore our job to be proactively vigilant against this marauding at all times. As President Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It has to be fought for and defended by each generation.” If our elections descend to the corrupt levels of the third world, the very freedoms about which President Reagan spoke will be very much in danger.

Last week, President Trump revealed information that ought to put a sense of urgency into the hearts and minds of all Americans. As it turns out, the Chinese Communist Party played an active role in manipulating the election of 2020.

Thanks to systematically unsecured, obsolete voting machines and the mass printing of mail-in ballots, the election was one in which we failed to secure our moral virtue as President Adams warned. We failed to defend our Republic as Benjamin Franklin warned, and we failed to robustly fight for the cause of freedom as President Reagan warned.

The solutions are easy. Congress must pass the SAVE America Act with urgency. Our states must discard obsolete voting machines, and we must return to a commonsense system of same-day/in-person voting, with a simple ID. Our heroes stationed overseas and those facing extreme illness will of course be able to vote absentee just as they were able to do prior to 2020.

At stake is the very premise of honest governance, and the truth that makes voting worthwhile. If elections are rigged, as I firmly believe the 2020 election was, then we will cease to be everything that makes us that exceptional Shining City on a Hill.

This is also about an age-old battle — the fight against Communism. As Secretary Rubio recently stated, “One of the criticisms you sometimes hear... is that it sounds good in theory but it never works in practice. That’s actually not true. Communism does not sound good in theory. The world it envisions for all of us is small, flat, gray, leveled of all exception, drained of all that is good and noble in the human soul.”

If we allow the forces of communism to infiltrate our elections, we will be on the road to the hellish reality of communism, which exists both in theory and practice. We are One Nation Under God — not One Nation Under a CCP Social Credit Score. We must all be resolute in order to ensure that this does not change.

Whether it comes to sports or something as seemingly unimportant as Olive Garden’s Never Ending Pasta Bowl, in this country, we want competition to be fair, and we want systems to run effectively, efficiently, and honestly. If it’s good enough for the World Cup or Super Bowl or a Pasta Bowl, you better believe that this way of thinking is good enough for the preservation of our sacred Republic!

It all began in June of 2018. Like most events that are played nearly a decade in advance, few Americans were thinking about the 2026 FIFA World Cup in 2018. Parents were instead thinking about how great the economy was, and kids were looking forward to a fun summer in the best country on earth.

President Trump had secured the tournament so that he could pass it off to his eventual successor. Then came the 2020 election. Trump won the vote, but he lost a rigged count. At that time also, few, if any, Americans were thinking about the World Cup.

But God works in mysterious ways. By stealing the 2020 election from the man who secured our World Cup, it gave President Trump the opportunity to stage the greatest comeback in American history, and as a result, not only did President Trump secure the World Cup, he is now the leader in charge of its planning and execution.

The man who saved the ice skating rink in New York’s Rockefeller Plaza, the man who turned Washington, D.C., from a dump to a living, breathing work of art, the man who has built the world’s best golf courses, and the man whose hotels, restaurants, and resorts offer the best experiences in the world, can now say that he pulled off the biggest, best, most profitable, most exciting, and best World Cup in the history of the tournament.

This was a long road to victory for me too. For me, it started by being told by both foreign and domestic pundits that the World Cup would be a total failure. I was given the standard line that Americans don’t care about soccer, but then it got worse.

I was told that foreign visitors would not come. I was told they were afraid of the United States. I was told many wouldn’t be allowed in the country for some inexplicable reason. I was told that the few that would try to come and the even fewer that would be let in would have a terrible time—that they would find our country bewildering, expensive, and inhospitable.

I couldn’t believe the lies I was hearing. But then I remembered that these lies were being told by the same liars who just hate the United States and the American Way. For this reason, they are shameless in what tales they are willing to weave in order to slander our great nation.

But it did not bother me, because I went throughout Europe, talking to the press about how great our country is, how wonderful the World Cup would be, and how visitors from far and near would not only fall in love with our nation, but would do so in huge numbers.

I explained that the American people are the most friendly and hospitable in the world, who would be the stars of the tournament, as big as any soccer heroes.

And guess what? I was right. And I knew I would be.

I have long known that American hotels are the finest in the world—at any price point. That our NFL stadiums put every other stadium in the world to absolute shame. I knew that our restaurants had better selection, quality, variety, and price points than those offered in any other nation.

I knew that our cities, our architecture, National Parks, beaches, mountains, rivers, and Bass Pro Shops are places unlike anything that can be found in any other country.

And as someone who has long used the new media—the real media—to tell the story of American exceptionalism and greatness, I knew that one iPhone in the hands of one happy visitor would instantly dispel the inane lies about our wonderful country in the most compelling way imaginable.

So when millions of visitors took to the internet to tell the world their Great American Stories, I was not surprised at all. That said, the scale of the enthusiasm for the United States surprised even me. Like everything in our New Golden Age, everything is better than it has ever been.

That’s why I am not surprised that total attendance and single-game attendance records have already been broken. I am not surprised at how men and women who came for some soccer stayed because they found the real prize to be the attractions, both big and small, that exist year-round in all 50 states. I was not surprised that the American people, whether they are into soccer or not, became the real stars of the show.

Today, when the trophy is hoisted over the victorious team, I want you to know that you, every one of you, is a winner. Whether you own a small business that hosted visitors who will now come back every year, whether you drove the Uber that took fans to stadiums in Florida, Texas, California, New Jersey, Georgia, Kansas, or Massachusetts—you showed the world that America’s open roads are every traveler’s path to a new world of possibilities.

If you took tickets at one of our great stadiums, you helped open a door to places the likes of which many foreigners never knew could exist. To the bartenders who served Scotch to the Tartan Army, to the content creators who captured Vikings rowing down the streets in Houston and New York, you have helped put the American experience on the map.

We all did our part just by being ourselves. And of course, Team USA had a wonderful run. We’ll win next time, and as President Trump suggested, it ought to be back in the USA. I know that this is the feeling of most, if not all, of the fans who came to our country for the first time this summer.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express my own pride in being a member of the White House Task Force for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which helped the President pull off this amazing global, multi-month event. It couldn’t have been done without the exceptional Task Force leadership of Andrew Giuliani. He has done an outstanding job, as we can all see.

So let us take this moment to thank Team USA, President Trump, and our fellow Americans, whether they live next door or 10 states over. We are the champions, and we should all be proud that the red, white, and blue is now planted in the hearts and minds of millions of people who will love our country forever…and hopefully come back and visit again soon. I have a feeling that it won’t be long.

President Trump is awake almost all day. The man is a machine—a well-oiled machine working day and night for all Americans. And this brings me to my next question: how many Presidents give the gift of opportunity to each and every American child? I can think of none apart from our President.

Thanks to President Trump, millions of American children are eligible for a Trump Account. While kids may enjoy toys that mimic “My First Car,” “My First Boat,” or “My First Motorcycle,” it is President Trump who is giving American children a head start in life with an IRA-style account that will one day help them to have a supersized American Dream.

President Trump has boldly dared to reverse decades of government malaise that weighs on the future of our young, and instead, is using his economic shrewdness, common sense, and true patriotism to make life better for millions of Americans.

With all of that said, Trump Accounts are more than just a vital financial instrument. They are a signpost of what we value as a nation. We do not want the next generation to be enfeebled, desperate, or depressed. We want our young people to be confident, intelligent, and innovative.

Trump Accounts help to instill these values in young people, who will be able to watch their money grow, better plan for their future, and learn the value of the Great American Dollar—a currency that President Trump will never let be supplanted by any of the schemes that our rivals and adversaries plot with a vicious regularity.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy put a great deal of capital behind helping young people by putting them in a position to help themselves. Trump Accounts harken back to this golden age where a robust economy allowed self-reliance to flourish from households where a good head start was the rule rather than the exception.

President Reagan too helped young people by helping them to enter a world where the hand of regulation and taxation retreated, thus allowing Americans to start new companies, invent new products, and as a result, change the world. Make no mistake, the Silicon Valley boom of the ‘90s would not have happened if the young people in high school and college during the Reagan years did not graduate into an economy that cast off the malaise which defined the Carter years.

But Trump Accounts are the most direct action that any President has ever taken to put young people on the right track. While some nations prepare their young for blind obedience and conformity, Trump Accounts ready an exceptional nation to do exceptional things.

The message is clear: Your country is great, your country is with you, we expect the best for you—now go out there and achieve greater things than any generation before.

Someday, nearly a century from now, a child being born today will look around at his big, beautiful house. He will think of his grandchildren and how happy they are. He will recall that in his childhood, one man pulled us back from the brink of national decline, one man helped to plant the seed of his future prosperity, one man truly cared. That man is our President.

While President Trump popularized the phrase “you’re fired,” in reality, no President has hired more people, helped more entrepreneurs to realize their potential, and backed more winners than Donald J. Trump.

President Trump is a born winner, but not a selfish one. He wants us all to win. He knows that success is a true American value because in the land of the free and home of the brave, failure is not an option.

The tools in the Madison Avenue toolbox are not dissimilar to those of any other artist. Evocative images, comedy, music, dialogue, and even poetry are all present at various times.

Now, what is it that made me think of all this? The other day on X, I came across a commercial from the 1980s. It was for one of the most mundane products: a men’s razor. Now, the more mundane the product, the more you have to stick out in order to separate from the pack, and this commercial did just that.

The entire commercial exuded optimism and joy. It was not selling a product by describing it nor even showing it off. It did so by showing a lifestyle that the makers of the ad wanted the public to associate with the product.

And what kind of lifestyle were they selling? They were selling one which appealed to American men in the 1980s. But here’s the thing: human nature hasn’t changed since the Garden of Eden… that is, unless you subscribe to a socio-political ideology which seeks to manipulate reality.

Here’s the ad. It’s short, but I encourage all of you to watch it.

Let’s examine what it depicts.

It shows men enjoying the successes of life: a beautiful wife, athletic achievement, happy family life, wholesome leisure, a nice sports car, the pride in being an astronaut, the rewards of a fast-paced life on Wall Street, and friendship with other successful, happy men.

Beyond these specific details, the commercial looked like America and felt like the American Dream. Success, joy, family, achievement, excellence, and fun.

This speaks to a time when Main Street, Pennsylvania Avenue, Wall Street, and Madison Avenue were aligned in being unafraid of showcasing, selling, and enjoying the American Dream. President Reagan was popular across all 50 states, the economy was booming, the American middle class was confident in its position as the national guardian of liberty, churches were packed on Sunday, and the Little League and football fields bustled with activity.

In many parts of this great nation, this could easily describe life in 2026. But sadly, in many other parts of the country, it no longer does. 9/11 shook the confidence of the Cold War victory that President Reagan achieved. The Great Recession chipped away at the stability of the middle class, particularly for young Americans. And then came Barack Obama. While President Reagan used his abilities as the Great Communicator to unite the country by appealing to our better angels, our patriotism, our morality, and our sense of decency, Obama used his linguistic craft to divide us. Ironically, all of the lies the fake news uses to slander President Trump actually apply to Obama. Then under Sleepy Joe Biden, mass migration and out-of-control crime made our cities feel less like America than a journey into the wild unknown.

President Trump is someone who has not changed his views for 50 years, and when the media was less dishonest, it was clear that Donald Trump had always been a figure whose popularity transcended all political, racial, social, and regional divides.

Unfortunately, the fake and dishonest tendencies of the media have now also infected the world of advertising. Instead of appealing to emotions associated with the American Dream as they once did, far too many advertisers appeal to subtle discord, to division, and in so doing, they agitate rather than inspire.

The ad from the ‘80s looked like America—the people, the places, the things, the activities, all instantly recognizable as a piece of Americana. If the fake media is truly worried about division in this great land, they ought to stop causing it.

The same goes for Madison Avenue. Advertising plays a huge role in shaping the culture—almost as much… some would say as much, as movies, music, fashion, and sports. If we want to return to the optimism, confidence, and cohesion of the 1980s, our top advertising minds must play their part.

President Trump has set the stage by fixing the economy, closing the border, and restoring opportunity. Now our creative sectors, including advertising, must reflect the optimistic spirit so eloquently delivered by President Trump during his address on Independence Day.

There is nothing in the United States that cannot be done. The only problem is that our media elites haven’t begun to even try to fix the problems they created.

But it is what he did between these great bouts that truly defined him. While an ideological purist, unlike so many today, he never subjected others to purity tests. He was willing to fight for causes whether they were popular or caused confrontation, and yet on a personal level, he will always remain defined by compassion, comity, and generosity.

When President Trump needed a warrior in the Senate, Lindsey Graham never shied away from defending the greatest President we had. He defended President Trump at times when his popularity remained great in the nation, but not in the swamp of Washington. Senator Graham did not care; his defense remained robust and clear at all times. Through this courage, others with less fortitude were soon back on the team. This is the definition of leading while others are afraid to do anything but follow.

I know this side of Senator Graham very directly, because he not only defended our great President, he also defended me. During the bleak days of the Obama administration, elements of the Washington swamp became set against me.

It was during that time that Senator Graham fought the Obama White House and the John Kerry-led State Department harder than any other Republican senator when the Democrats put me through hell over my Green Card. Few people on the Republican side fought as hard against Democrat injustice and persecution. He did it for President Trump, for Justice Kavanaugh, for me, and for countless others.

Not once did Senator Graham ask if I agreed or disagreed with his passionately held positions; not once did he even imply that he sought anything in return. He did what was right because that was the kind of man he was.

While Senator Graham has surely departed too soon, in many ways, his political character harkened back to another time. In an age where even those seeking minor elected office tend to make everything about themselves, Senator Graham always made it about ideas, policies, beliefs, and values.

In an age where petty disputes often break political coalitions apart, Senator Graham helped to keep many a vital coalition intact, and helped to build that many more. In an age where some have gone soft in their defense of their fellow Republicans, Senator Graham was able to be a maverick and a team player simultaneously.

As Vice President Vance said just hours ago, Senator Graham wanted his team to win, and part of teamwork in politics means respecting the views of those around you. This is an exceedingly rare quality.

To demonstrate just how lasting Senator Graham’s political legacy will be, an acquaintance of mine told me that while he has views that were in many cases very different from those of Senator Graham, “our side has never had such a strong, honest, clear, and uncompromising voice in the Senate. I wish we had our own Lindsey.” Many will be echoing those views today.

While a legendary Senator has now been lost, so too has an incredibly hardworking, courageous, and decent man. In life, I thanked him for defending me so that I could live my American dream. Today, Senator Graham’s legacy enters the history books as a great American Dreamer who has changed the Senate, changed his country, and touched many lives.

I have also been thinking of the recent past. A friend sent me digitized footage of his local Independence Day parade from the early ‘90s. Several things struck me about the footage. The first thing I thought of is that, ignoring the cars and minor changes to clothing styles, the footage could have been taken at any Independence Day parade in any city or small town from around the early 20th century up until the first decade of the 21st century.

For all the left likes to present a Marxist dialectic about how the United States is a land of continual change, the fact of the matter is that apart from our rapid advances in technology from 1776 up until the present day, until recently, our culture has been remarkably consistent.

Thanks to the internet, previously ignored and difficult-to-find original source material from our past is now readily available. We can see the faces and hear the voices of veterans from the Civil War and the Spanish-American War.

We can see how our forefathers celebrated events like Independence Day and Memorial Day on professional newsreels and on home movies that have been uploaded by Americans who care about the truth.

We can even read newspapers detailing the big stories of the day from virtually any time over the last 250 years and even before.

The story told by the words, footage, faces, and voices all comes together to tell an American story in which patriotism has always been the rule rather than the exception—where civility, social sophistication, and the seamless integration of rugged individualism and family values go hand in hand.

Of course, there have been tumultuous experiences in our past, but unlike with many nations, these have always been the exceptions that prove the rule in the United States. In fact, one of the reasons that certain sensationalist politicians and “historians” try to exaggerate the volume of tumult while downplaying the centuries of tranquility is because there is money and fame to be made by slandering our great nation.

Such people, whether communist mayors or gutter journalists, should re-read Mark 8:36: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

Sadly, over the last 15 to 20 years, many of our state and federal officials have been captured by the anti-American notion that our great land has always been in flux, always chaotic, ever changing in a cultural sense.

And while this is ahistorical, following the election of Barack Obama, this notion found a powerful ally in a powerful administration. As politicians often do, the Obama years were a time when this false narrative was willed into action.

As a result, once-wholesome Independence Day parades have, in too many of our cities and even suburban towns, been turned into scenes of violence and degeneracy. Too many summer days are now blighted by grown men walking around naked without shame and without the restraint of a proactive police force.

When you open the borders, defund the police, and promote the grievances of every obscure group over a unifying message of patriotism, the results are bad. The results are so bad, in fact, that no one likes them, even those who vote for the leftists who created the conditions that have led to the chaos, crime, and anti-American/alien cultures proliferating in our once-happy nation.

And this leads me to the fact that many on the left have openly criticized our glorious celebration of Independence led by President Trump.

President Trump’s political credo is now and has always been “Make America Great Again.” The reason that this resonates among millions of Americans is that we want to restore a country where a cultural continuity blossomed from 1776 right up until the early 21st century.

We want our celebrations to be fun rather than violent. We want our summers to be wholesome rather than perverse. We want our children to be safe rather than frightened. This is what it means to Make America Great Again, and President Trump has proved that it is not just possible, but advisable to celebrate veterans, honor young American heroes, showcase great American talent, and give all Americans a fireworks show for the history books.

This is what people want, and it is what so many want to take away. As Orwell wrote, “Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book has been rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street and building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And that process is continuing day by day and minute by minute.”

The reason that the radical left wants us to forget the consistent greatness of our past is so that they can totally divorce it from the present. Once this is done, the Marxist communists are free to recast the future in their image rather than in the image of consistent Americana.

The two visions of America played out simultaneously during our 250th celebrations. On the one hand, President Trump offered a celebration consistent with the American greatness of the past, while integrating the best technology of the modern era. On the other, certain elected figures took the opportunity to parent a wholly alien and inauthentic vision of America.

I have evidence that President Trump’s vision wins when the game isn’t rigged. As we know, when elections are conducted fairly, Trump wins big. But there is another way to measure the popularity of patriotism compared to pessimism and ahistoricism.

When the internet is comparatively free from censorship, millions of Americans view images and video of “vintage” Americana, from past parades to the way McDonald’s, shopping malls, and department stores used to look. Both young and old Americans are hungry for reminders of how nice the past used to be.

They are looking at images of the greatness that all of us in the MAGA movement want to restore. They are seeking contact with the greatness that they know can be made GREAT AGAIN.

Every time someone likes, shares, or positively comments on one of the ever-growing vintage-themed pieces of content online, they are voting for President Trump, they are endorsing the essence of MAGA, and they are quietly condemning those who want to rewrite American history into a chaotic tale of misery, rather than a story of greatness where our achievements are always improving while our cultural essence remains strong and steady.

In America, anything is possible, and on the 4th of July, President Trump demonstrated that if we want to restore greatness and make it greater than ever before, all it takes is unflinching commitment.

As the late Senator Barry Goldwater said, “We must, and we shall, return to proven ways—not because they are old, but because they are true.” Let us all resolve, in our 250th year, to uphold the timeless truth about America, no matter how many shrill voices say otherwise.

But then, like the mighty eagle soaring above our great topography, the voice of the nation’s number one patriot called out. “Our great veterans, especially the old-timers, many of whom are there, went through hellfire, and it didn’t stop them. It’s not going to stop us either! I’m not going to let some rain stop our 250th. I’m leaving the White House soon. God Bless America!”

These were the words of President Trump, a man who would not let weather and would not let panicked voices get in the way of honoring the greatest day in the history of the world: The 4th of July, 1776.

From the moment that tenor Christopher Macchio stepped on stage to sing Schubert’s beautiful “Ave Maria,” I could tell that we were in for a show with class, meaning, power, and emotion.

The President stood beside multiple historic flags dating back to the Revolution, each one a living piece of the Great American Story. He welcomed veterans from our past victories—true American heroes who were given a mighty American welcome by the crowds who refused to let the heat and rain get between them and their purpose as citizens of the greatest nation in the history of the world.

And then, we saw something truly incredible. President Trump did not promise a bland ticker-tape parade, nor did he promise some bleak display of eggheaded graphics. He promised the biggest and best fireworks show that the world has ever seen.

Not only did he deliver, but he put on a show that defied the odds, wowed the world, and sent a clear message: America is back, Americans are proud, and when America is kicking on all eight cylinders, there is no show too big, no occasion too grand, no event too impassioned, no fun too exciting.

It was a show the likes of which the world had never seen. It was a visual and visceral reminder that being the strongest nation in the world means that we are better at literally everything.

Our cars and trucks, air conditioning and architecture, stadiums and arenas, beaches and mountains, computers and medical technologies, monuments and memorials, concerts and Super Bowls, World Cups and world records, are bigger, better, and more unique than anything else on the planet.

Now we can add fireworks the likes of which no one in the world has ever experienced to this list of achievements in which we should all take pride.

America 250 was better than anyone could have expected. As a nation, we united to celebrate, and now we must keep this spirit of optimism and patriotism strong. We have many more years of great things to create, great moments to curate, and great inventions to make.

Keep dreaming Big American Dreams!

In signing the Declaration of Independence, our Founding Fathers put their lives on the line for the cause of freedom - the highest calling of all nations, and of all men and women.

As a result, the United States of America became and remains the greatest of all nations. It is the land of the free, and home of the brave, because the heroes of 1776 willed it so.

Today, as we celebrate our freedom, our independence, and our gallant history, let us thank God that we are Americans. Let us continue to fight for all we believe in, and let us revel in the fact that our freedom of speech, assembly, worship, and right to bear arms make us unique in the world.

This is why the United States is more than a leader among nations and men; it is a shining city on a hill. The United States is a fortress where liberty is allowed to flourish and heroes are made.

God bless all of you.

God bless President Trump.

God bless the United States of America.

Nick Adams, Special Presidential Envoy for American Tourism, Exceptionalism, and Values.

One such visitor is Freddy, a great German soccer fan. But to his millions of fans, he is most well known as an exuberant fan of the United States of America. On the highways and byways of our great land, Freddy encountered the generosity, good humor, unflinching spirit, and warmth of the American people.

Unfortunately, over the last several days, he encountered a phenomenon which takes place in the digital realm and is not restricted to any one nation’s borders. For the “crime” of proclaiming his love for America, Freddy was bullied and abused by a horde of online Leftists.

The scourge of Leftist hatred, which manifests itself in the form of censorship, denied opportunities, threats, financial retribution, physical violence, and even murder, is not unique to any one Western nation. But by the grace of God, the inalienable rights of Americans which are defended by the Constitution give people like me an escape velocity to slip from the dirty clutches of the Left and land safely in the land of opportunity, freedom, and happiness.

These are not empty words; they are the story of my life. I think it is time that I tell you all a portion of that story. I was born in Australia to a family of Greek and German heritage. Before I was even young enough to understand the world into which I was born, I was stricken with cancer. My parents were told I would not live.

But by the grace of God and the skill of an American doctor, I am here today. I learned early on that life is a gift from God, and so too are second chances. I also learned that life is too short to be complacent, to be silent, or to be weak in the face of adversity of any kind.

I learned to love life, and because of that, I questioned earthly authority, as all intelligent and curious young people do. As a result, many people attempted to bully me into silence and submission.

It began in middle school and it has not stopped since then. Sadly, in a country like Australia, the system is rigged in favor of the bullies and the conformists. It is not just simply a matter of going along to get along—it’s a matter of sit down, shut up…or else.

I wasn’t going to take it. I survived worse than them, and I was not going to let anyone shut me up.

All of my life I have faced adversity for having the nerve to follow my dreams. All of my life I was told to shut up, even when my test scores were at the top of my class. I was called stupid by those who have never read any of my bestselling books on history, politics, and social development. I was called insensitive for doing that which is rewarded by Netflix specials when done by others.

But I have never allowed those who victimize me to make me anyone’s victim—not even you. I am the little engine that could, I am the 300 Spartans who refused to surrender, I am Tom Brady—the man they thought was too meek to ever be a starting quarterback. I am the one they said would never get anywhere. Well, here I am and I am proud to say that it is great to be here. And yes, I am the man who convinced our friend Freddy to stay a little bit longer in the United States so that he could continue to be embraced by the true America. Fortunately he agreed. The bullies will not be allowed to get him down - not on my watch!

This tenacious spirit led me to the United States of America. Because of our glorious Bill of Rights, in this land, when they tell us to sit down and shut up, we remind them that our Second Amendment means we never have to sit down and that our First Amendment means we never have to shut up.

For standing up for my own freedom, and that of others, I have been called every nasty and horrible name in the book—most too horrible to even mention here. But who am I really? I am a very straightforward man. I am an American whose heart beats red, white, and blue, and like all great Americans, I am always willing to stand by those whose freedoms have been deprived, and whose spirits have been crushed by the wicked tendencies of censorship and all that goes with it.

Of course, this is not about me; it is about all of the brave men and women fighting against the Leftist tyranny of our age. We are in a new Cold War and those who refuse to kowtow to Leftist censorship and violence are the new Cold Warriors.

Today, while we certainly face adversarial threats from military foes, in our new Cold War, the enemy is less visible. The enemy exists online and in the streets. The enemy attempts to bully innocent people enjoying their freedom into silence online, whether the bullying comes from bot farms overseas or sick, twisted people at home.

Unless there is a strong local police force, it can happen on the streets of places like Portland and Minneapolis, and because of a lack of resolve among many of our Cold War allies, it is even official government policy in many of the places that share a similar cultural heritage to that of the United States.

Just as the original Cold War was about defending freedom against the onslaught of Soviet communism, today’s Cold War is equally about the defense of freedom against an onslaught of censorship, debanking, physical threats and intimidation, and even the murderous tendencies that took the life of my friend Charlie Kirk.

During the Cold War, President Kennedy was assassinated. An assassination attempt was carried out against President Reagan. During the new Cold War, multiple assassination attempts have been carried out against President Trump. I was present at one such assassination attempt, but while confusion abounded at the Washington D.C. Hilton, I remained confident that we would win this Cold War, come hell or high water.

Despite all of this, I am not just a Cold Warrior, but like President Reagan, I am a happy Cold Warrior.

I have always remained positive in my personal outlook and in my writing, my speaking, my teaching, and my ethos. I believe that it is important to instill this early on in life because the opposite of positivity is far too often envy and the bitterness it brings. Envy, after all, is the basis of Marxism and the catalyst for the violence it brings.

When you are envious, you believe that your success is dependent on someone else’s failure. When you are envious, you cannot feel joy unless you are inflicting misery. When you are envious, you cannot strive to do anything great unless you are trying to knock down someone who has already found greatness.

Envy is the death of the soul, the death of society, and can be, has been, and if we are not careful, will be the downfall of great nations.

My mission to put a smile on people’s faces is the antidote to this poison.

This is why I invited Freddy to visit the White House. So many kind, patriotic, and happy Americans invited Freddy into their homes, I thought it was only fitting that he should receive an invitation to the home of the greatest American of them all, President Trump.

People like Freddy did not sign up for this new Cold War, but like in any war, there is collateral damage. In Freddy’s case, he suspended his activity on social media as a result of the hateful Leftist onslaught.

But I am here to say to all the people of the world like Freddy: do not fear those who censor, do not surrender to those who bully, and never apologize to those who hate you for loving America. The love of America is not only beautiful, but it is wholesome, it is wonderful, and it is something that will hopefully bring about a more peaceful world once more men and women see what Freddy has seen.

Freddy, when you step into the White House, please know that the authentic people of the United States are on your side; we stand shoulder-to-shoulder against tyranny. Let the spirit of 1776 move your spirit and widen your gaze. Let those bright stripes and bright stars fill you with vigor and enthusiasm for all that is good. Know that just as it was in 1812, and just as it was when the Cold War ended in 1991, the flag of the United States will still be there.

It always will, so long as Americans heed the call to duty which can be summoned in the patriotic heart of each of us. The duty is simple: Defend the freedoms you love, and love the freedoms you defend.

Freddy, welcome to the greatest house in the history of the world!

When I first heard of the United States, I knew that it was my destiny to live the American dream, rather than just enjoy the fruits of the dreams of others. When I first stepped foot on American soil, I was a tourist. Then I became a resident, and finally, I took an oath to become the greatest thing one can be: an American.

Today, I am the Special Presidential Envoy for American Tourism Exceptionalism and Values. Even before I stepped into this position, President Trump knew that it was a role I was born for. Now, I am helping the world to see, and more specifically to invest in, their own slice of the American Dream.

I say the word invest with a purpose, because the tourism economy is about attracting foreign investment into the United States.

Our nation exports many great and important things. We are a net exporter of oil and natural gas. We export the technology that powers the world, from iPhones to servers, and from semiconductors to cloud-based software.

We sell weapons to our allies which help to promote and preserve peace. We sell commercial aircraft to every airline in the world. Even in a nation like China, Buick and Cadillac are hugely popular.

Because America’s domestic economy is so large, it is easy to forget that the investment of foreign tourist dollars plays a vital part in our retail economy. My ongoing mission to demonstrate the importance of tourist investment in our economy has already been the kind of success I knew it would be.

The United States is unique in that its tourism sector operates 365 days a year. This is not true of many nations. It is equally true that no special occasion is needed to attract tourists because Americans provide what counts as a special occasion anywhere else in the world on a daily basis.

In what other nation are there multiple baseball games, an NBA Final, World Cup matches, hundreds of shows and attractions at multiple Disney Resorts, rollercoasters at Six Flags, interactive movie-based rides at multiple Universal Studios parks, dancing fountains and magic shows in Vegas, saltwater beaches on three coasts and beautiful rivers and lakes in between, a Grand Canyon, and the Grand Tetons, and concerts by the biggest music artists filling all of the other stadiums and arenas… all happening on the same day… in the same nation?

One of these events or attractions would be considered more than enough to be the tourist draw of any other nation, but in the United States, variety is celebrated, and doing things better tomorrow than they were done today is part of our national character.

This is why I plan to increase tourist numbers per head, and overall investment, well beyond the World Cup.

For the American tourism industry, the biggest soccer tournament in history is neither the beginning nor the end. It is, however, an important signpost that the industry can use to demonstrate its healthy status, and it is likewise a signpost for tourists and small businesses that cater to tourists that the things we take for granted are actually major tourist attractions.

While many of us see Buc-ee’s as a place to get gas and some food for the road, for the rest of the world, this is a major tourist attraction. Walmart, Costco, and even neighborhood grocery stores are part of a daily routine for us. Some of us even opt to have our items delivered to our door from these places.

But for tourists, these are attractions—major ones at that. From Home Depot to Bass Pro Shops, the places we take for granted are all major tourist draws, now more than ever.

By my estimates, when one accounts for the fact that from roadside diners to suburban Walmarts, the places that make up the fabric of our retail economy could one day equal a combined tourist revenue that could rival “traditional” tourist destinations.

You see, when everything about a nation is bigger, better, and more unique than that which can be found everywhere else, everything becomes a tourist attraction, and that equals investment into the national economy, and dollars flowing instantly into thousands of local economies across all 50 states.

I never doubted this for a moment. I have seen what the rest of the world has to offer, and while every culture is unique, no culture offers a gold-medal experience for a bronze-medal price compared to the United States.

I am also not one of those people who says that we should stop complaining and rest on our laurels. The fact that “things can always be better” is why we have retained our position as the best of the best.

But as we work through areas where we can and shall improve, we should never forget just how far ahead we are of countries that, to be honest, can never, will never, and in most cases, are not even trying to catch up.

In what other nation does the following question get asked: “Should we drive to Starbase and see a reusable rocket successfully touchdown on Earth, or should we hop on a plane and have a weekend at a 5-star hotel in Miami Beach?” In what other nation does one say, “After we go to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, should we drive up the freeway to see the mighty redwoods?” How about, “We just saw the Liberty Bell and had a cheesesteak, now let’s get on the train and go to a Broadway show?”

This is the kind of thing we all have at our disposal, yet these are the things that make the rest of the planet sit back with literal awe.

Thanks to the new/real media that has put the lies of the old fake news media to shame, millions of Americans are starting to see their nation through the eyes of tourists. One of these tourists, Freddy from Germany, has been telling the story of America through his unique perspective. This has not only helped his fellow countrymen fall in love with America, but it has helped millions of Americans fall in love with the excitement of their own backyards.

This is why I have invited Freddy to a very special place. It is not even the biggest house of its residents, but it is the most unique. Before the World Cup is done, I will bring Freddy to the White House, home to the man who has made all of the aforementioned greatness possible.

President Trump is the man responsible for securing the World Cup 2026. He did it in his first term because he knew then that it would be as great as it has become. He is a man who has built the world’s finest golf courses, resorts, city hotels, residential high-rises, skating rinks, clubs, restaurants, vineyards, and now, he has turned our nation’s capital from a faded city into a national showpiece.

It is fitting that a new golden age of tourism begins under a President who, among many other things, has had decades of success in welcoming tourists to his many properties.

By the end of the decade, we will be averaging 100 million tourists per year. That is my goal, and like Team USA, I am going to score, and we are all going to love it.

So from the small business owner to publicly traded companies like Walmart and Costco, get ready for great things. You are now part of the biggest tourism economy in the world, and big bucks, big thrills, and great publicity are all about to come your way! You are part of Team Tourism USA, and we have the best team there has ever been.

But I knew without reservation that to see America, to experience America, and to meet the American people, whether in Dallas or Houston, or Boston and New York, there would be nothing but shared affection, world-class hospitality, and happy memories which will last a lifetime and be passed down across generations.

This got me thinking a lot about 1994, the previous and, at the time, the only occasion on which the red, white, and blue hosted a soccer World Cup. At the time, foreign media was generally less hostile to the United States. Apart from some Leninist holdovers in the former East Germany, much of Europe remained grateful for the role our nation played in freeing their continent from the scourge of communism, something that was only finalized three years before that World Cup.

On the other hand, fans had no way to share their experiences with the world. Beyond word of mouth and home videos shared between friends and family, there were no social media platforms to transform fans into journalists documenting their experiences from coast to coast.

As fate would have it, the opening of the 1994 World Cup at Chicago’s Soldier Field was not even the most viewed event of the day. Game five of the NBA finals between the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets was the event that most people were looking forward to, and even this was preempted by NBC to bring viewers live coverage of OJ Simpson’s White Bronco chase.

The 1994 World Cup was still a success, but 2026 has crushed 1994 already.

In 1994, the single-game attendance record was 277,070 fans (set on June 28, 1994). Already this has been smashed by a single-day attendance record of 281,223 fans (broken on June 16, 2026). If you’re wondering which of our great stadiums can hold that many people, the answer is that single-day attendance at the World Cup is defined by the total number of fans attending matches held throughout the tournament on the same day.

Total attendance records in 1994 stood at 3,587,538 fans—at the time, a record. But 2026 is already on course to double this with a projected 6 to 7 million.

Since 1994, the quality of America’s stadiums has also changed. In 1994, we had the best stadiums in the world, as we do now. But from wrap-around jumbotrons, to luxury seating, world-class amenities, stunning architecture, and multimedia experiences, the technology of the 21st century has taken our venues to another level. There has not been a single bad review of any of our modern stadiums, whether our massive outdoor venues or our ultra-luxurious hybrid domes.

Because we are never a nation to sit back and rest on our laurels, we are constantly building better attractions, brighter stores, and more interesting roadside curiosities, while improving our customer service. If 1994 was about the United States showing the world the results of choosing freedom during a prolonged Cold War that had recently ended, 2026 is about showing the world what can be accomplished by a people bucking the new tide of global censorship and embracing free speech, free markets, and free thinking, which have led to technology, architecture, and luxuries that the rest of the world could scarcely imagine.

It has taken less than two weeks for the American Way to win over millions of people from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Decades of bad press from anti-American fake news outlets have been crushed. Seeing is believing, and my prediction has come true long before President Trump hoists the trophy over the victorious team.

The fact that our 250th Celebration is in full swing during the World Cup is an amazing bonus. Already, the UFC Freedom 250 event is one of the top sports streaming events in history while the numbers continue to grow. It is already the top ever stream on Paramount+.

All of this reminds me of the phenomenon of FOMO—the Fear of Missing Out. When you are in the United States, there is always a strong impetus to see all you can, do all you can, and be all you can. Visitors who came to see soccer now want to see everything from baseball, to UFC fights, to patriotic celebrations leading up to Independence Day.

At the same time, Americans who just saw the thrilling end to the NBA finals and are now ready for summer at the ballpark are becoming more excited about Team USA’s early dominance of the World Cup. Either way you look at it, tourists and locals alike don’t want to miss out on the fun.

This is about more than my guarantee, more than the viral videos of men and women from around the world falling in love with the USA, and more than soccer, basketball, baseball, or UFC. It is about the fact that beyond the sights and sounds of the world’s greatest nation is the real secret behind all of the aforementioned success.

A nation is nothing without its people, their customs, their heritage, their culture, and their character. The American people have made this World Cup the best there has ever been. This is the deepest truth that the world has discovered, and no one can ever take that away from any American, nor from any tourist.

It all started at SoFi Stadium, where Team USA dominated Paraguay in a truly incredible 4-1 victory. That would have been more than enough, but throughout the weekend, things only got better. The Knicks won a stunning victory to clinch the NBA championship, stadiums from coast to coast were filled with tourists cheering on their teams and falling in love with the United States, and yesterday evening, one of the greatest sporting events in history, UFC Freedom 250, live from the White House, was capped off by the wonderful Justin Gaethje, who celebrated his win with the two best people in the world: President Trump and our lovely first lady.

When the spotlight shines on the United States of America, all of us rise to the occasion. The majority of Americans already know this, with the glaring exception of the old, tired, dying legacy media.

But there is even more to the story. It is one thing to fight fairly on the even playing field of soccer, the court of a basketball championship, or the UFC octagon. It is quite another to have all of your knowledge, instincts, loyalties, and convictions challenged by those who, whether they can admit it or not, want the United States to fail.

Weeks ago, I traveled throughout Europe, speaking to that continent’s biggest media outlets. My message was not one to the state-owned and state-adjacent media of Europe, but to the wonderful people of each European nation.

My message was simple: You love soccer; come and enjoy it while falling in love with America. From the moment you land to the moment you leave, you are going to have a world-class experience, make memories of a lifetime, and have more fun than you have ever imagined possible.

The state-owned and legacy media of Europe thought I was speaking falsely, but I knew that I was speaking with the weight of the truth on my side. You see, this World Cup and all of the other great events of the summer are about more than having a good time.

It is about the undisputed heavyweight victory of the new media, the honest media, against the old and dishonest media.

A few short years ago (although it feels like a lifetime ago), I boldly defied the censorship of the last administration by taking my causes of patriotism, a love of freedom, and the gospel of American exceptionalism directly to the people. I did so on new media—a format free from corporate or government gatekeepers.

In doing this, I communicated directly with the real America: the kind that lives in our pristine suburbs, the America that goes to a Bass Pro Shop on Saturday afternoon, church in the morning, and one of our great restaurants in the afternoon.

This is why I knew that the men and women of Europe, Asia, and elsewhere who have come to see their teams play in the World Cup would love every second of their big, beautiful slice of American pie.

The legacy European media (much like our own) tried to convince people in Germany, France, Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, England, and elsewhere that the United States is a cold, cruel, and unwelcoming place. But I knew that the moment anyone from anywhere touches down in the United States, their eyes would light up, their stern expressions would be transformed into smiles, and they would spend their money in a palace where, unlike most parts of the world, you get more than you pay for.

Even before the World Cup kicked off, new media told the true story. The story is that everyone loves America.

It turns out that free refills and bottomless chips and salsa are more compelling than foreign media outlets whose entire editorial line is a loathing of their own people. It turns out that our great stadiums are more inspiring than fake headlines about a “nation in decline.” It turns out that our beautiful cheerleaders are more invigorating than bland men in bland clothing warning people to stay away from the land of the free.

But more than any of this, it turns out that the small business owner who gives a tourist a ride to the stadium, the waitress who makes you feel like your trip to the Waffle House is an adventure, and the friendly stranger who buys you a beer and wants to know all about your culture all represent the true America. They represent a land worthy of the name America the Beautiful.

Over the last few days, I have lost track of all the visitors who have raved about the affordable fun at Buc-ee’s, marveled at how God has graced our soil with beautiful national parks, and how from Louisiana to Los Angeles, and from Boston to Dallas, there are many sides of America, but each one is welcoming, fun, and unlike anything else in the world.

The UFC Freedom 250 alone was better than every Olympic opening or closing ceremony I have ever seen. Truly, an event for the ages - one that included President Reagan’s epochal Flag Day Speech, words that resonate deep in the American soul like few before or since.

Some of the media presenters I spoke to in Europe seemed genuinely flabbergasted at the fact that I so vehemently sang the praises of our great land. But I knew something that they had prohibited themselves from truly understanding. When an ordinary man or woman comes face to face with the extraordinary, with the exceptional, and with the best, it fills them with a kind of joy you cannot quantify nor even accurately explain.

Whether you are from the Netherlands, Scotland, Qatar, Mexico, Japan, or any of the other countries participating in our World Cup, my experiences as a new media creator and consumer gave me the foreknowledge that everyone would have a great time in America and that things will only get better as the World Cup rolls on.

Because we are the land of the free, the First Amendment allows the true story to be told. Our freedom, which enables our innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, generosity, and good will, has rubbed off on the foreign visitors, who themselves are telling their stories of encountering the many elements that make up the glorious tapestry of American Exceptionalism.

Over the course of the next month, we will hear many beautiful national anthems, but only one contains those immortal words, “O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

It is our freedom that allows us to enjoy the fruits of our national genius, and it is our bravery that continues to secure the freedom that makes America the exceptional nation that it is.

Now that everyone has seen the videos and images of American greatness from new media (all the while they are still being censored on the old), I can say only this: World Cup matches get more and more popular as the tournament goes on. Yes, our great NFL stadiums are big, but don’t delay—book your tickets, your flight, and hotel today.

America is hot, we are open for the business that is tourism, we have a lot to show the world, and you have but one lifetime to try and see it all.

A golden age of sports, tourism, fun, excitement, commerce, and most important of all, patriotism is upon us. Someday, when your grandchildren ask what you did in the big 2026, you can tell them, “I lived life to the fullest and I waved the flag like never before!”

Whether you’re in Los Angeles, Inglewood, Santa Monica, Pasadena, or Beverly Hills, this is a part of the world where stories are brought to life and dreams come true. It is a place where the stars of sports are just as big as the stars of the screen.

From Norm Van Brocklin and Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch to Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua, the Rams are stars. From Tommy Lasorda and Sandy Koufax to Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages, the Dodgers are stars. From Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant to LeBron James, the Lakers are stars, Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers are stars. The Chargers, Angels, USC, and UCLA are a galaxy of stars both then and now.

Today, the stars are Team USA, who just achieved their first huge victory of the 2026 Soccer World Cup on US soil. All of the stories, all of the hype mean nothing now, because now, it is real, the fun has begun, the cheers are loud, and the Stars and Stripes are still waving high throughout SoFi Stadium.

But I am not just here to have fun; I am here to spread the word that our nation is as hot as our team. There are few nations that could pull off such a large event and not sacrifice excitement for security, or safety for fun. But because anything is possible in the United States, we are uniquely placed to pull off a multi-state event that is fun for all and more secure than any World Cup in history.

Prior to kickoff, a family of six from Paraguay approached me and lamented that they only booked their hotel until Sunday. As the conversation rolled on and I ran through all my favorite attractions in Southern California, Augusto got on his iPhone and booked his family an extra seven days at a hotel in Venice Beach.

Each city hosting World Cup matches has something to offer to both Americans and foreign tourists. Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, the New York metro area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle all have so much to offer. I think it is fair to say that these cities have as much to offer as most nations, and these are just the places hosting a match this year.

I would say more, but Team USA just completed an utterly dominant match. Am I surprised? Not at all! Just as he has rejuvenated our entire nation, President Trump’s leadership has clearly boosted the morale of our world-class players, who are healthier and stronger as a unit than they have ever been.

TEAM USA ALL THE WAY!

So far, I have visited the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, and I am now on my way to Ireland. In each country, I have been speaking not only to members of the media, but also to ordinary people—all of whom love the United States.

As Americans, we don’t often think of the importance of our tourism sector. While tourism might not be the largest single sector of the United States economy, America’s tourism industry is the largest in the world…by a lot.

It is an industry with an impact that is surprisingly widespread. No nation has more airlines, more hotel rooms, or more hotel owners and operators. But tourism is about a lot more than planes and hotels. It is about locally owned restaurants and bars. It is about clothing shops, malls, gift stores, and roadside attractions. It is about large theme parks and unique businesses that are one of a kind in both our nation and the world.

It is about the millions of Americans who own stock in companies ranging from Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, and Inter-Continental, to Delta, United, and American Airlines – to name but a few. Beyond active shareholders, it is about the mutual funds, ETFs, and 401ks that have invested in our great tourism-based companies.

It is about the waitress working at the restaurant next to one of our major airports, and it’s about the owner of a burger stand on a beach in Fort Lauderdale. It is about our rental car fleets, and our national parks.

It is a sector that penetrates deep into our national economy, and because of that, it is a sector that ought to penetrate deep into our national psyche.

Over the next decade, the United States will host more major international events than any other country in the world. We are on a generational run of events beginning this month with the FIFA World Cup. We have our great UFC Freedom 250 that President Trump has curated as a gift to Americans, but one which will bring media attention, advertising dollars, and special visitors from around the world.

Then there is our 250th celebration which will capture the attention not only of all patriotic Americans but of a world that will stand up and realize just how hot the hottest nation in the world truly is.

Of course, our NBA Finals, World Series, and Super Bowl are events which capture the world’s attention and are viewed by millions across each continent. Then in 2027, the FIFA Women’s World Cup comes to our shores. And before you know it, the 2028 Olympics will be back in Los Angeles for the first time since the great President Reagan opened the games in 1984.

2028 will also see us hosting the Solheim Cup, and the next year, we’ll host the Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup will be back in 2033 too!

And don’t forget that Formula 1 racing has found a home in America that is a huge moneymaker for our nation. These are just some of the big events that put the USA center stage before an eager world.

President Trump is truly an extraordinary man. Where previous presidents have wrongly conflated the tourism sector with our immigration policy, President Trump has done something no one before him could even think of doing. He has secured our border like never before, while he has put the US in a position to welcome more tourists than ever before – men, women, and children from friendly nations who visit our great land, inject money into the economy, and return home to delight and arouse their countrymen who will, in due course, become the next wave of big-spending tourists to places from Disney World to the ski resorts of the Rocky Mountains.

Under President Trump’s leadership, we can make our nation cleaner, safer, and more serene while welcoming those who want to swipe their credit cards at the small and large businesses across each of our 50 states.

While the legacy media barks anti-American nonsense, the people of Europe who continue to be drawn to me like a magnet are bullish on the United States. They want to pay premium prices to eat a slice of our big, beautiful American pie – one that is only 250 years young but which nevertheless will continue to get better with age over the next 10 years and beyond!