I’m proud to say I’m a Republican. I support most members of the Republican party; I’ve always had more right-leaning views, and if given the chance, I would’ve voted for President Trump in the 2024-2025 election. However, as someone who has a love for History and Politics, I fully believe that President Ronald Reagan, a Republican icon, would never vote for President Trump.
Who is Ronald Reagan?
Ronald Wilson Reagan was born in Tampico, Illinois, on February 6, 1911. Before entering politics, Reagan was a lifeguard, cheerleader, famous Hollywood actor, sportscaster, and then Governor of California from 1967-1975. He ran for both governor and president as a Republican; however, he was formerly a Democrat until the early 1960s, stating, “I didn’t leave the democrat party; they left me.”
During Ronald Reagan’s presidency, he quickly became an icon for the Republican Party. It’s some of his policies and legacy left behind that have profoundly affected the modern republican party and agenda; however, if Reagan were here today, he would never have voted for Donald Trump as president and would have spoken out against most republican policies such as Tariffs, Foreign Policy, and other keys issues such as communication.
Policies
Tariffs: Most of us know that President Trump has imposed tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico. He placed tariffs on Canada and Mexico as a threat for them to control their borders; Trump enacted tariffs on China for his economic plan. Recently, President Trump has placed tariffs on 90 countries. It’s not unusual for U.S. presidents to place tariffs, returning to President Willaim McKinley, who slammed high tariffs, thinking they would help the American people.
The difference is Ronald Reagan’s belief in tariffs; Though President Reagan placed tariffs on countries such as Japan in the 80s, he never supported placing tariffs on our neighboring countries, Canada and Mexico. In a 1988 radio interview, he said, “Our peaceful trading partners are not our enemies but our allies. We should beware of the demagogs who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends — weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world — all while cynically waving the American flag.”
Immigration: As a Republican, the talk of immigration is heard quite often and debated between myself and my peers, especially since President Trump’s first day of presidency. President Trump signed an executive order to deport all undocumented immigrants back to the countries in which they originate. Members of the republican party do support this— if you are here illegally, you are breaking the law and have to face the consequences.
When it came to President Reagan, though, during the presidency of his second term, he signed “the “Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986,” which allowed immigrants who had entered the U.S. illegally before January 1, 1982, to apply for legal status, provided they paid fines and back taxes.
President Reagan said in a speech in 1989, “A man wrote me and said: ‘”You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey or Japan, but you cannot become a German, a Turk, or a Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an Amerian.'”
Communication: To be a successful president, you must communicate well. This means to debate respectfully, listen with understanding, and know who you are talking with and how you talk to them. For President Reagan, this was more than easy; it was who he was. Nicknamed “The Great Communicator,” President Reagan got along with both members of the political aisle.
He made jokes to ease tensions and successfully helped negotiate an end to the Cold War and decrease tensions with Russia (the then Soviet Union). During a meeting between the Soviet Union and the Reagan administration, tensions increased, and debates continued. Instead of lashing out at then-Soviet Union President Gorbachev, President Reagan asked if he would like to go on a walk outside to have the meeting.
When it comes to President Trump, however, the media shows him arguing with news reporters, cutting off others, and crashing with state governors or other political figures. This being said, some of his arguments can be justified. It doesn’t show a civil part of the U.S., but the more angry and upsetting side causing tensions to rise between political parties, different States, and other world countries.
Who would Reagan vote for?
So, if President Reagan were alive today, who would he vote for? Would he switch back to the Democratic party and vote for Kamala Harris in the 2024-2025 election? My answer to this is: I don’t believe so. While yes, he wouldn’t like how President Trump was running the country and treating other nations, President Reagan wouldn’t support Harris when it came to issues of Abortion, Gun laws, Climate, and Fracking. I believe that Ronald Reagan would voice his opinion for another candidate or simply not vote at all.
Regardless, just because President Reagan wouldn’t vote for Trump, doesn’t mean we have a bad president in office. As we all have seen, presidents have had good moments and bad ones. I’m a firm believer that the next four years will go well for America, though if given a choice to vote between Reagan or Trump as president, the ballot would be filled for President Reagan.
