Patti Davis, Ronald Reagan’s daughter told, reporters that neither she nor her mother, Nancy Reagan, could support Donald Trump before Mrs. Reagan’s passing. There was a relationship between President Reagan and Trump in the 1980’s, but it wasn’t “friendly.”
In the biggest “laugher” of his campaign, Trump has frequently compared himself to our 40th president. I could talk about Reagan’s excellent diplomatic skills, or his mastery of the English language, his amnesty of 2.7 million undocumented workers, or his ability to work with both parties. None of these abilities or ideas can be vaguely attributed to the failed businessman. By the way; President Reagan never considered banning all Muslims from the United States.
In 1987, Trump was considering a bid for the Republican nomination for the presidency. He had this to say about Reagan’s foreign policy.
“There’s nothing wrong with America’s Foreign Defense Policy that a little backbone can’t cure,” Trump said in the ad, which was written as an open letter. Using language that sounds a lot like his stump speech today, he complained that “America should stop paying to defend countries that can afford to defend themselves.” He then described the Persian Gulf as “an area of only marginal significance to the United States for its oil supplies.”
“The world is laughing at America’s politicians as we protect ships we don’t own, carrying oil we don’t need, destined for allies who won’t help,” Trump, then 41, wrote in the ad. “Let’s not let our great country be laughed at anymore.”
His lack of knowledge about foreign relations today mimics those of the late 1980’s. While Reagan became known as the “great orator,” Trump has become known as the “great bullshitter.”
In 1983 Trump requested a letter from President Reagan commending him for his construction of a Trump Tower on 5th Avenue in New York. He received a resounding “NO.”
Trump requested the President to attend a dinner for Vietnam veterans in 1984; once more, “NO.”
Subsequent attempts in 1986, 1987, and 1988 requesting the presence of Ronald or Nancy Reagan at a Trump affair were either ignored or rejected.
Reagan instructed his staff and advisors to be cautious about the ambitious real estate developer and his ‘enormous ego.’
Now you see why I laugh when megalomaniac Donald Trump dares to compare himself to Ronald Reagan. He is more closely aligned with “Ronald McDonald.”
My history is long concerning Ronald Reagan. I was working for a defense company in Los Angeles when Reagan was running for the Governor of California. He made a speech inside the complex during our lunch hour. He impressed me with his ideas to aid our failing universities and a slumping state economy. I voted for him in his first bid for the White House. I do not remember him once attacking anyone, political opponent or otherwise. I do remember him firmly addressing the differences between his ideas and those of his opponent, but he never once personally defiled another individual.
The latter is Trump’s only weapon. He knows nothing about government or the issues facing the American people, and therefore insults and personal attacks are his only tools.
Mr. Trump; I voted for Ronald Reagan, and you sir are no Reagan.
Op-Ed
By James Turnage
Photo Courtesy of DonkeyHotey
The Truth With No Restrictions 