Both candidates (Reagan and Trump) appeal to a significant portion of the population that feels they have been either silenced or ignored by the DC establishment.
Both candidates have a stage awareness due to their acting backgrounds.
Both candidates have a gift of presentation appeal. They are comfortable talking to a crowd and can woo the crowd.
Both have "command presence". They take charge of their surroundings.
In many ways Reagan's and Trump's appeal isn't political. They fill a void we have experienced in the feeling of lack of leadership in the role of the president. Bush took the hits without responding to his critics. Obummer either can't or won't make a decision.
>> Both candidates (Reagan and Trump) appeal to a significant portion of the population <<
Sure! Absolutely correct.
But one of them is an unprincipled demagogue and carnival barker who will say just about anything to please an audience, while the other was a statesman of great character — a man of world-changing significance. To equate them is to make a grievous insult upon the memory of the latter.