There aren't many similarities between Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan, the late president's son, Michael Reagan, said Wednesday, but then again, he believes all of the Republican candidates should "put their own hat on" rather than the one worn by his father.
"I think all of them make a mistake by invoking Ronald Reagan,"
Reagan told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on her noon show. "Ronald Reagan was not invoking Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln; he was invoking what he was going to do and how he was going to, in fact, run the presidency of the United States of America."
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But as far as Trump himself, there is a wide gulf between what the New York businessman brings to the table compared to what his father stood for, Reagan told Mitchell.
"They both have their own ways, but Ronald Reagan was not someone to attack people personally," said Reagan. "He believed in the 11th Commandment, 'Thou shall not speak ill of another Republican.'"
Reagan said Trump called him a few days ago, and he told him he was launching too many personal attacks, and that he needs to do what he can to get everyone on his team.
"If you're a Trump Republican where you're going to attack personally, and then talk about picking up 11 million people and throwing them out of the United States of America, that's a lot different than Ronald Reagan ever was," Reagan said of his father. "He never talked about throwing people out of the United States of America. He talked about having to secure borders, but back in 1986. I would like to see what these candidates say today if indeed they are asked a question if Ronald Reagan was right or wrong in signing that in 1986."
Further, he said candidates, especially Trump, is using a different tone than his father when invoking his vision of a "shining city on a hill."
"When you're the president of the United States of America, you have to find a way to work with Congress," Reagan said, pointing out that he father had to find a way to work with House Speaker Tip O'Neill and other congressional Democrats.
" If you are going into the room to blow it up on the way in, then don't expect that people are going to be on your team as you move forward to get those things done you want to get done," Reagan said.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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