Since February, a large, smiling portrait of Ronald Reagan has loomed over the Oval Office, watching Donald Trump each time he settles behind the Resolute Desk long used by U.S. presidents.
The painting – provided by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute and prominently installed by Trump as a tribute to the former Republican president – signals admiration. But, according to veteran Republicans and historians, the relationship is more fraught: Trump’s bond with Reagan is as much about rivalry as it is about reverence.
They point to Trump’s abrupt decision on Thursday to suspend trade talks with Canada after Ontario’s provincial government aired an anti-tariff ad quoting Reagan’s own words in order to criticise Trump – evidence, they argue, that Reagan’s legacy still casts a shadow over the Oval Office’s current occupant.
Over the past decade, Trump has remade the Republican Party in his own image, reshaping a party once rooted in free trade, global alliances and hawkish foreign policy into one centered on his brand of nationalism and personal loyalty.
But Reagan, who died in 2004 aged 93 and left office more than three decades ago, remains a conservative icon for many Americans. While the Republican Party has shifted further to the right in recent years, many Republican politicians have been careful not to distance themselves from Reagan as his legacy still commands respect among many conservatives.
REPUBLICANS REVERE REAGAN
Reagan, who served as president from 1981 to 1989, promoted free trade, achieved immigration reform, sought closer ties with NATO, and quite often compromised with Democrats – policies Trump has largely opposed, said Charlie Black, a veteran Republican strategist who worked on Reagan’s presidential campaigns in 1976, 1980 and 1984.
“For most Republicans and a lot of other Americans, Reagan was the gold standard. He was the greatest president, and became the model policy-wise for what Republicans stood for,” said Black, who has been critical of Trump in the past.
The Canadian ad that aired on U.S. television used video in which Reagan says tariffs on foreign goods cause job losses and trade wars. The use of tariffs is a key Trump policy, and the ad, Black said, “clearly hit a nerve with Trump.”
The video uses five complete sentences from one of Reagan’s 1987 weekly addresses, spliced together out of sequence.
The ad does not mention that Reagan was using the address to explain that tariffs imposed on Japan by his administration should be seen as an unavoidable exception to his basic belief in free trade as the key to prosperity.
Trump in a social media post called the ad fraudulent, and he halted trade talks with Canada’s federal government.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation said the ad used “selective audio and video” and was examining legal options.
Stu Rothenberg, a veteran nonpartisan political analyst, said the ad may have rattled Trump because so many Republicans still have a deep bond with Reagan.
Nevertheless, Trump’s hold over the Republican Party is so absolute, Rothenberg said, that “Trump has nothing to worry about.” But, Rothenberg added, in Reagan “Trump may worry he has a competitor in the party,” as demonstrated by his reaction to the ad.
While Trump has embraced populism, he and Reagan share some fundamental beliefs, including lower taxes, smaller government, a strong military, and fewer regulations on businesses.
Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian at Columbia University, said Reagan’s legacy is a problem for Trump because while Reagan believed in international alliances and free trade, Trump does not.
“This ill-timed ad – coming amid sensitive negotiations between Washington and Ottawa – underscored how un-Reagan-like Trump is,” Naftali said.
Kush Desai, a White House spokesman, told Reuters in a statement, “President Trump and President Reagan both believed in fair trade. The difference is that President Trump assumed office after decades of incompetence by D.C. politicians who stood idly by as foreign countries hollowed out American industries and communities.”
The ad was getting more airings on Friday and Saturday night, potentially reigniting tensions.
Doug Ford, the Ontario premier, said on Friday his government was airing the ad during the first two games of Major League Baseball’s World Series in Toronto, a Canada-versus-America contest pitting the Toronto Blue Jays against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ford said he will pause the airing of the ad on Monday.
Airing it during a major sports event being watched by millions of Americans may further aggravate Trump.
“We’ve achieved our goal, having reached U.S. audiences at the highest levels,” Ford said.
