At the last Board meeting of the California Republican Assembly. The main speaker was Sheriff DiBianco of Riverside. This is what he said about President Ronald Reagan:
“Ronald Reagan was not a leader. He later became an accidental leader”.
In regards to Trump: “Don’t get me wrong. I support Trump for President. But does anyone believe he is the best person for the job? I do not. There are people who could run without offending people on a daily basis”
President Trump is doing better than President Reagan, both are excellent leasers. Biden was working hard to be a worse President than Jimmie Carter—sadly, he succeeded.
Watch the first 100 days of Trumnp back in office. FDR used his 100 day to transform the United States into a Socialist nation. Trump is going to use his 100 days to returns us to capitalism and freedom.
RONALD REAGAN REDUX
By Richard Colman, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views, 11/26/24 www.capoliticalnewsandviews.com
Ronald Reagan, a Republican, had a set of core values: anti-communism; smaller government; balanced budgets; and an attitude that government is not the answer to America’s problems.
In fact, Reagan, in 1981, in his first inaugural address as president, said, “ . . .government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”
Reagan was president from 1981 to 1989.
One might ask how Reagan compares with one of his successors, former president and now president-elect Donald Trump, a Republican.
Reagan had an important trait. He was, as governor of California and as president, able to compromise.
As president, Reagan selected highly educated, experienced, and competent officials to serve him. There was George Shultz as secretary of state. Also serving Reagan were James Baker, who was White House chief of staff and — later — secretary of the treasury, and Casper Weinberger, who was secretary of defense.
As president, Reagan supported a military build-up to counteract the might of the Soviet Union.
When, in 1981, air-traffic controllers, who were employees of the federal government, went on strike, Reagan fired those workers who refused to return to their jobs.
When Reagan entered the presidency, inflation was around 13%, interest rates were close to 21%, and unemployment was nearly 7%. By 1984, when Reagan ran for re-election, those numbers had dropped significantly.
In Iran, 52 Americans were being held hostage since 1979. At the moment, in 1981, when Reagan was first inaugurated, the hostages were released. The hostages had been held for 444 days.
In the 1980 election, Reagan won 489 electoral votes. His opponent, President Jimmy Carter received 49 electoral votes.
When Reagan sought re-election in 1984, he won 49 of 50 states. He lost only Minnesota, the home state of his opponent, former senator and former vice president, Walter Mondale, a Democrat.
When Reagan assumed the presidency, the national debt was $1 trillion. Today, that debt is $36 trillion.
Reagan was a proponent of free trade. In 1988, he said: “ . . . we should take a moment to recognize that one of the key factors behind our nation’s great prosperity is the open trade policy that allows the American people to freely exchange and services with free people around the world.”
One can ask how Reagan might view Trump as one of his (Reagan’s) successors.
Trump’s first term went from 2017 to 2021. His second term, if all goes well, will go from 2025 to 2029.
In many ways Reagan and Trump were very different. Reagan had a sunny, optimistic outlook.
Trump has often insulted people -– especially Republicans and Democrats -– with whom he disagrees. For example, during the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, Trump called Nikki Haley, a “birdbrain.” Haley was a governor of South Carolina. Later, she became Trump’s United Nations ambassador during Trump’s first term.
Trump did not run in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries. During the primaries, called Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida and a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
Trump is not a supporter of free trade. For his second term as president, Trump has proposed tariffs of
10%, 20%, 100%, or higher on American imports. Tariffs invite retaliation by foreign nations.
During his first term as president, Trump increased the national debt by $8 trillion.
Unlike Reagan, Trump has a tendency to hire people on the basis of personal loyalty to him. His proposed appointments for cabinet positions reflect the loyalty factor, not an adherence to merit.
Several of his picks for his second-term cabinet positions have been accused of sexual improprieties. On Nov. 21, 2024, Trump’s pick for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name for consideration as the nation’s chief law-enforcement officer. Others selected for cabinet positions have been accused of sexual misconduct.
Trump has expressed ambivalence about supporting America’s European and Asian allies. He has not proposed a way to eliminate the nation’s huge national debt.
The Republican Party needs to return to the views and policies of Reagan and reject what Trump has to offer.
