DIXON, ILL. – Locals who dwell within the late president’s hometown had been blended on whether or not Ronald Reagan would nonetheless be welcome in in the present day’s Republican Occasion on the premiere of the film “Reagan” in Dixon, Ailing.
Most political observers would argue in the present day’s MAGA motion appears and sounds totally different from the occasion that when consisted of conventional Reagan conservatives. However actor Dennis Quaid, who stars as Reagan within the new biopic, did not hesitate when requested if he’d be embraced as the top of the occasion in 2024.
“Reagan would be the head of the Republican Party these days, there’s no doubt about that,” Quaid advised Fox Information Digital on the entrance porch of President Reagan’s boyhood residence. “This country yearns for it, in a sense. He was a man of his times, as well. And I think those principles are still there in the Republican Party of today.”
Quaid mentioned that Reagan endured difficulties much like present American struggles previous to turning into president. (ShowBiz Direct)
Locals in Dixon supplied extra blended reactions about Reagan’s presence in in the present day’s GOP as they waited in line for the premiere of “Reagan” at The Dixon: Historic Theatre on August 22, hosted by Younger America’s Basis, with some saying each his insurance policies and his temperament could be at odds with the fashionable motion.
“I think they’ve gone way off on the far-right fringe,” Kevin Strock from Sterling, Ailing., mentioned of the occasion’s altering insurance policies. “Reagan was a moderate. I don’t think he’d be welcomed.”
Some analysts say former President Trump and Reagan had been a minimum of alike of their populist theories. However a number of others have identified stark dissimilarities.
There are some, like creator Edwin G. Oswald, who’ve claimed “Reagan wouldn’t be welcomed in in the present day’s GOP,” arguing his insurance policies on immigration had been “far more liberal than those of today’s GOP.” Reagan signed into regulation the Immigration Reform and Management Act of 1986, which granted amnesty to three million unlawful immigrants. Lately throughout Trump’s rise, extra Republicans have spoken out in opposition to offering pathways to citizenship for unlawful immigrants and positioned renewed emphasis on border management and stopping unlawful immigration within the first place.
The Wall Road Journal’s John Lehman centered extra on temperaments when he wrote, “Reagan Would By no means Vote for Trump.”
“Reagan’s 11th Commandment was ‘Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican,’ but Donald Trump is no heir to Reagan’s legacy. He is an insult to it,” Lehman mentioned. “The Reagan I knew would be appalled that someone as unfit as Mr. Trump had become the GOP’s standard-bearer. Reagan would also deeply oppose President Biden’s agenda, and he never trusted or cared much for then-Sen. Biden.”
A number of attendees on the “Reagan” premiere praised him for his integrity, morals, and his means to “agree to disagree,” suggesting no present presidential candidate shares these qualities and that in the present day’s politicians are extra considering tearing one another down.
“He probably would not be, unfortunately,” one native man mentioned when requested if Reagan would slot in in the present day’s Republican Occasion.
DENNIS QUAID NEARLY REJECTED ‘REAGAN’ ROLE UNTIL ONE THING CONVINCED HIM TO DO IT
President Reagan meets with members of Congress in the Cabinet Room regarding the Grenada situation. From left are: Congressman Bob Michel, Speaker Tip O’Neill, the President and Senator Howard Baker. (Bettmann / Contributor / Getty)
But a few, like Quaid, believed that 40 would still be welcome as the leader of the party. He and Dwight D. Eisenhower are the only Republicans since World War II who won consecutive terms while winning a majority of the popular vote both times.
“I do,” Sara Ortgiesen from Dixon, who marched in Reagan’s inaugural parade, mentioned. “I personally do. I think he’d know how to do it. He was an actor too,” she laughed.
“Oh I think so,” Becky Anderson from Rock Falls, Ailing., equally advised Fox Information Digital forward of viewing “Reagan.” “I think most true Republicans look to Ronald Reagan as their model of what a Republican truly is.”
The evaluate/distinction sheds gentle on the leaders’ insurance policies. Trump lately slammed Vice President Kamala Harris’ plan to ban worth gouging as “socialist,” calling her “Comrade Kamala.” Quaid weighed in on what he thought Reagan would say about Harris’ financial agenda.
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT STIRS MEMORIES OF SIMILAR ATTACK ON REAGAN
Dennis Quaid in character as Ronald Reagan within the Oval Workplace (Noah “Nanea” Hamilton/Rawhide Footage)
“Well, as far as price controls, I know Reagan wouldn’t have gone for that, because he believed in free market. It’ll find its own way,” Quaid mentioned.
“Reagan won the Cold War,” Quaid mentioned. “Reagan also testified communists are trying to take over the unions in Hollywood, not just the actors union, but the set builders union and cameras union and writers, everything and make it all one thing. And they had to go through the actors union first, of course, that was the hardest.”
“And Reagan fought that at the time,” Quaid continued. “And when he testified before Congress, he said that we ought to, as a nation, just go ahead and allow the Communist Party to come into the country and let them say their ideas and everything else because democracy can handle it. And it would sort itself out. Because people would see the common sense in things. He believed in common sense.”
Reagan and Trump additionally shocked their respective political worlds with their presidential victories in 1980 and 2016, that are each extensively thought-about elections that realigned the political panorama.
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One alarming factor Reagan and Trump have in frequent that may’t be disputed: each males survived assassination makes an attempt. Quaid and voters shared their sobering emotions on the political violence that just about claimed their lives.
“Well, I had the same reaction that I had when Reagan was shot,” Quaid mentioned. “Thank God he survived it. Because the first thing I thought when Reagan got shot was remembering when Kennedy got shot, and it crippled our nation’s spirit for some decades. It was Ronald Reagan who kind of actually brought that spirit back.”
“Reagan” is out in theaters now.
Fox Information Digital’s Kendall Tietz contributed to this report.
