Burgum Bungles U.S. History on Fox News With Erroneous Claim About the Founding

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum botched a bit of U.S. history on Monday, claiming that George Washington was president on the country’s first birthday. For good measure, the secretary also bungled a bit of trivia about Theodore Roosevelt.

Burgum appeared on America Reports on Fox News, which was broadcasting live from the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump has promoted the event to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American founding, which, of course, will be on July 4. On Monday, Trump said his administration did “a fantastic job” putting the event together on the National Mall. Though the president said the venue was “packed with happy people,” attendance has been sparse so far.

“Get out and visit one of our amazing parks,” Burgum said, referring to U.S. national parks, before crediting Theodore Roosevelt for establishing several national parks during his administration. The secretary then launched into a timeline of notable anniversaries of the country’s founding and the presidents that marked them, stating:

And [Theodore Roosevelt] was president [for] the 125th,” Burgum said. “So, I think we had Washington in the first. We had T.R. at the 125th, and we got President Trump at the 250. All three of them, remarkable change-makers moving our country forward.

The U.S. was founded in 1776, but Washington did not become the first president until 1789, after the Constitution was ratified the previous year. Before the Constitution, the country was governed by the Articles of Confederation, which provided for a weak federal government that lacked the ability to levy taxes and could not provide basic functions.

Additionally, the country’s 125th birthday occurred on July 4, 1901. At the time, William McKinley was president. Two months later, he was assassinated in Buffalo, New York, and his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt, was sworn into office.

Watch above via Fox News.

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