Saturday's official opening coincides with July Fourth celebrations honoring the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Trump is coming early to see the $450 million project, a boost for Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a former governor of North Dakota, while also bringing the nation's birthday festivities to a region synonymous with its westward expansion.
The Republican president made the trip aboard his new Air Force One, a Boeing 747 given to the United States by Qatar. Trump said he asked Boeing, which is set to deliver new planes for the president's service in 2028, if there were any countries that had potential substitutes in the interim.
“I said, ‘Who has the best one?’ They said, ‘Qatar," Trump said, adding that he was assured, "'There’s never been a plane like it.'”
After arriving in North Dakota, Trump traveled by train to Medora, an Old West tourist town where onlookers cheered his arrival. Trump greeted the crowd, which included a reenactment regiment of Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, before heading to the library in his motorcade.
