A Myopic Comparison: Reagan and the Donald

Over the past month I've been able to use my Audible subscription to listen to both Bill O'Reilly's book, Killing Reagan: The Violent Assault That Changed a Presidency, and Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Art of the Deal.  While I was listening to both books, it struck me that both President Reagan and President Trump have many similarities, more than many realize.  I just thought it would be good to point out those similarities in my view. So let's get to it.

1) Both President Reagan and President Trump are both former Democrats that won the Presidency as Republicans:

•  I recall when reading Reagan's autobiography, An American Life, Reagan talked how proudly he was a Democrat during the FDR era.  He was very much skeptical of Big Business and Good 'ol Boy politics.

• There is plenty of documentation that the Donald considered himself a Democrat for most of his life.  In fact, in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer in 2004, the Donald said the following:

"In many cases, I probably identify more as Democrat," Trump told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in a 2004 interview. "It just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats than the Republicans. Now, it shouldn't be that way. But if you go back, I mean it just seems that the economy does better under the Democrats. ...But certainly we had some very good economies under Democrats, as well as Republicans. But we've had some pretty bad disaster under the Republicans."

2) Both President Reagan and President Trump got great support from Evangelicals, yet they do not attend church regularly.

• It's been a well know fact that Reagan was not affiliated with a local church as President and rarely attended.  In fact, Reagan's lack of church attendance was a question in his debate with Walter Mondale in 1984.  Here's his rationale:

I have gone to church regularly all my life, and I started to here in Washington. And now, in the position I hold and in the world in which we live, where Embassies do get blown up in Beirut [...] but I pose a threat to several hundred people if I go to church. I know the threats that are made against me. We all know the possibility of terrorism. We have seen the barricades that have had to be built around the White House. And, therefore, I don't feel—and my minister knows this and supports me in this position—I don't feel that I have a right to go to church, knowing that my being there could cause something of the kind that we have seen in other places, in Beirut, for example. And I miss going to church, but I think the Lord understands.

It should be noted however, that President Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush were known to attend church regularly as President.

• The Donald considers himself a Presbyterian and attends Marble Collegiate Church.  However, the church says the following:

"Donald Trump has had a longstanding history with Marble Collegiate Church, where his parents were for years active members and one of his children was baptized. However, as he indicates, he is a Presbyterian, and is not an active member of Marble,"

However, despite each individual's lack of church attendance, they both received great support from Evangelicals in their campaigns.  Reagan encouraged the rise of Jerry Fawell and the Moral Majority while the Donald received the greatest share of Evangelical support in any election in the history of the Pew Research poll.

3) Both President Reagan and President Trump were known for being politically incorrect, for their good or bad.

• Reagan was well known for his politically incorrect statements.  Among them are:

"My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes."

He was joking around in a voice-level test before broadcast of a speech during the Cold War, but it turned out the microphone was switched on.

"We are trying to get unemployment to go up, and I think we're going to succeed"

• If you followed the last campaign, we all know the Donald doesn't hold back from what he really thinks.  Just follow his Twitter page with his handle @realdonaldtrump and you will know what I mean.  Many say that Reagan kept more discipline than the Donald does in holding his tongue.  While that may be true, Reagan didn't have social media to spread his stream of consciousness either.

4) Both President Reagan and President Trump had acting backgrounds.

• Goes without saying much.  But I'll say this, comparing  Reagan's "Bedtime for Bonzo" with the Donald's "The Apprentice" would be comparing apples and oranges.

5) Both did not exactly act with great morality when it came to their lust for women.

• Reagan not only was a remarried divorcee, but also a serial womanizer for much of the first half of his life, when he was working in Hollywood.  Books such as Love Triangle have made claims that Reagan had extramarital flings with as many as 50 women.  O'Reilly even claims that Reagan was in the arms of mistress Patti Larson when his daughter Patti Davis was born.  How much of this is true, I don't know.  But to have multiple sources document such claims strengthens the case it's more true than not in my myopic opinion.

• Based on the last campaign and the fact that the Donald in in his third marriage, I think it's clear that he hasn't been the shining star in dealing with women either.  There are other stories of past acts, like talking about how his daughter Ivanka should be well qualified for photo shoots in porn magazines on the campaign trail, but I think the case is clear.

6) Both President Reagan and President Trump were Republicans that connected with blue collar Americans.

• As it has been made clear in their wins of states such as Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, both Reagan and Trump won the respect and support of blue collar Americans, especially union households.  They did this mainly through their direct and simple communication style that emitted much emotion when they spoke, connecting them to the audience.  

I think I've said enough for now on this topic.  But I just wanted to share my myopic opinion.