Posted on 02/08/2020 5:51:53 AM PST by Sir Napsalot
(snip) ...one writer about a year ago wrote a piece asserting 15 similarities between Reagan and Trump. That thing has been sent to me more often than I could count. It practically went viral. Enough is enough. Yes, it’s time.
I can hear Trump supporters protesting me writing this now, insisting that it’s time to unite against Hillary and support their Donald. But Trump’s status as the presumptive nominee is a separate issue from the comparisons to Reagan, which seem to be picking up steam. The constant claims of Trump being “another Reagan” must be addressed and must be stopped, if merely in service of truth, but also in service of what Ronald Reagan really represented and what we need to remember. The indisputable reality is that there is no meaningful, legitimate set of similarities between Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan.
Before proceeding further, I’ll begin with a general statement on my Reagan bona fides -- that is, for Trump supporters new to the conservative movement who have no idea who I am....
(snip)
My point in presenting this isn’t to toot my own horn. ...The point is that this is what I study. I have some credibility on the matter of Ronald Reagan. If someone wants to try to compare Donald Trump to Ronald Reagan, my opinion ought to have at least some degree of informed merit.
So, with that said, let me state unequivocally and undeniably that not only is Donald Trump not the “next Reagan,” but he is the anti-Reagan. Really, I find not only that the two men have preciously little in common, from their policies to their person, but I think there may be no two men more glaringly different. Donald Trump is a polar opposite of Ronald Reagan.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Author Dr. Paul Kengor is professor of political science at Grove City College. "An expert on Ronald Reagan" (his own words, not mine) Even thought he claimed he's not "tooting his own horn", but a political science professor could not help himself about all his books and "upcoming" book.
And his conclusion is as wrong today as when he wrote it in May 2016.
Trumpists, you got your man, who a majority of Republican voters in a divided 17-person primary, voted against. You got what you wanted. But do not compare him to Ronald Reagan.
I believe Kengor is a brilliant conservative. He has studied and written many books on Reagan. I think it is quite fair to consider him a Reagan expert. Perhaps the issue here was that he didn’t really know Donald Trump.
Assuming Trump is re-elected I believe history “will” see him as sort of a 2020’s version of Reagan. The public discord is completely different now that in the 80’s, Trump simply reflects that change.
the Bush’s were a conservative abomination that pissed all over Reagans movement. Trump is bringing us back and and sending the new world order RINO’s packing.
He couldn’t have been more wrong.
Has he ever acknowledged his error?
Why does he have to be like Reagan? Trump and Reagan are completely different personalities and they would disagree on more than a couple areas of policy as well. This reminds me of the posts on here back in 2016 about Trump actually being a good Christian man, etc. No, he’s not. He is who he is, but he’s the guy we need right now, and that’s good enough for me.
Alright, I believe I need to re-think some of my previous statement. I found this in the article:
“Think about it. Consider the leading Republicans that Trump has lit up: Scott Walker, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush, George Bush, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, Carly Fiorina, and on and on. They are “liars,” “losers,” “morons,” “chokers,” and (for the women) “ugly.” Donald Trump has spent the last six months torching the best and brightest of the future of the conservative movement and Republican Party that dared to stand in his way. He is only happy when he is winning. Anytime that Trump lost a state in the primary to Ted Cruz, all hell was guaranteed to break loose the next morning.”
When Kengor considers all the politicians listed above as “the best and brightest of the futures of the conservative movement and the Republican Party” we have a major disagreement.
Paul Kengor knows a great deal about President Reagan. I’ll grant him the “expert” title. His grasp of the current political landscape is a little less comprehensive. His grasp on why Trump is appealing to Middle America is non-existent.
This is no longer really about marginal tax rates and defending the West against the Soviet military. The existential threat to the United States and the West is 3rd World immigration. Trump campaigned on those notes in 2016. The people flocked to it. It was the $1000 bill laying on the political sidewalk that nobody else would pick up. Reagan naively agreed to amnesty for millions of illegals. Very different times.
Where they are similar is in their ability to connect with the people in flyover country. Different styles, different generations, different issues, different times. Another similarity is in their knowledge that America is sliding and is capable of much more. The threat now is not an external military foe that can stand toe to toe with us, it’s a hollowing out of our culture. Reagan faced that in his time, as well, but the idea of Drag Queen Story Hour would have been thought absurd in 1984. The idea of California turning permanently blue would have been absurd in 1984.
Mr. Kengor, it’s not 1984 anymore.
He isnt another Reagan. He is something very unique...once in a lifetime non politician that has upset... Upended... the entire world ..
And he isnt done yet. I just hope his health stays with him for another 4 years. If he starts showing signs of alzheimers he wont be protected like Reagan
I like him better than Reagan. Trump’s tweets are not a bug, they are a feature!
Exactly and he should of been smart enough to realize that.
Reagan's world is gone. The Cold War is over. Opening borders didn't turn out to be as good a thing as people thought. Government turned out to have uses after all.
Politicians have to live in the real world and their real world policies don't always coincide with what they say in their speeches. Reagan might have promised not to raise taxes, but he and his successors had to figure out ways to deal with budget shortfalls.
GHW Bush was different from Reagan, but they weren't opposites. There was more continuity between their approaches than people want to admit. So it is with Trump. He's not the same as Reagan, but he's not the opposite either.
It’s not Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neal having a gentlemanly chat anymore. It’s not arguments about the tax rate and the social safety net. One side praises Stalin while promising to bring Gulags to America. They hate Trump because he fights back.
Romney, Ryan and McCain aren't. The Bushes certainly aren't. Maybe none of them are.
But he's not entirely wrong to wonder who's going to follow Trump and what's going to be left after he leaves the White House.
For better or for worse, Reagan built his party and movement, whether Trump will do that too remains to be seen.
I voted for Ron Reagan twice. Absolutely loved the man. I grieved for months at his passing.
Trump eclipses and surpasses him in every area altogether with no exception.
I think the largest difference is in opponents they faced. Trumps opponents are more vocal, more extreme, and more evil. They really hate the past of the United States and everything it stands for. They literally are revering what is good and evil.
Well, Mr. Kengor, I am going to go out on a limb and guess that you have never met President Trump personally.
You have probably never researched President Trump in a favorable way for a book as you may have done for Reagan.
In short, I am going to reverse your statement:
"...My point in presenting this isn’t to toot my own horn. ...The point is that this is what I study (Donald Trump). I have some credibility on the matter of Donald Trump. If someone wants to try to compare President Reagan to President Trump, my opinion ought to have at least some degree of informed merit..."
But since you likely only know about President Trump from what CNN gives you, then your opinion is no better than mine, and likely less valid than my own simply because I don't carry around a inbred set of preconceived notions comparing one to the other.
You stinking turd.
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