President-elect Donald Trump "might well be what this country needs" — an independent with ties to the GOP – according to political commentator Michael Reagan.
In an interview Monday with "Newsmax Prime" host J.D. Hayworth on Newsmax TV, the son of the late President Ronald Reagan, praised the Trump transition moves so far, including the wide range of candidates for the new administration.
In Trump, Reagan said, "you have an independent who ran as a Republican, and that might well be what this country needs at this point — having someone who's not really with either party but an independent tied to a Republican Party."
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Reagan believes one serious choice Trump will have to make is whether to select Mitt Romney as Secretary of State.
"I may be a friend and like Mitt Romney, but is that going to be a great fit for Donald Trump?" he said. "Because they're . . . on two sides of the coin when it comes to Russia."
"Get it right — that's my advice to the president-elect," he added. "Get it right from the start, and you'll get a lot done in that first 100 days."
Trump must "fight the battles you can win," Reagan added.
"I think we'll see meaningful cutbacks" under the new Trump administration, he said.
"Whether we're going to close down the Commerce Department or Department of Energy or the Education Department is something else . . . they've created thousands and thousands and thousands of jobs, not only in Washington, D.C., but across the United States of America.
"So it's best to cut back on your hiring, have a hiring freeze, and move forward and fight the battles you can win. Don't start fighting battles you can't."
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