Isn’t it interesting how all of the fabulous things that Reagan did are “almost unknown?”
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In many cases, there are very good reasons that when a Republican president pulls off a major coup, he will not ever brag about it.
H.W. Bush managed to pull off an enormous one, but it almost had to remain secret. It started with the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. Congress was livid, and at the first opportunity demanded that Bush pull China’s MFN status, but Bush said and did nothing. They continued to rail at him. Some time passed, and he dispatched two senior diplomats to talk to the Chinese government.
Their “secret” mission was exposed, however, and congress was livid at Bush, who said and did nothing, because that exposure was intentional on our part.
Finally, in 1992, Bush finally renewed China’s MFN without comment. Almost immediately afterwards, China quietly signed on to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, something they had sworn they would never do. Something that US presidents since Nixon would have cut off their left arm to get. But if the truth was known, that they bowed to US pressure, it would have cost the Chinese leaders their heads.
H.W. pulled off a second coup, which ruined a newly elected, anti-American prime minister of Japan. The video of it is hilarious, as the PM was seated between H.W. and Barbara Bush, and Barbara starts inching her chair away from the PM about a minute before, with little warning, H.W. threw up in his lap.
In front of the Emperor of Japan. Utterly humiliating him to the point where he had to resign in shame. His replacement was decidedly pro-American.