Late President Ronald Reagan did not care much for Donald Trump during his presidency.
The Washington Post reports that Trump tried gaining influence with Reagan on multiple occasions, only to be shown the cold shoulder.
Records from the Reagan presidential library tells the story of how the Trump invited both President Reagan and the First Lady Nancy Reagan to his Atlantic City casino for a concert. The billionaire also invited the Reagans to his private home in Florida named “Mar-a-Lago,” which Trump described as a “southern White House.”
Reports show that the First Lady crossed out a line in her letter declining Trump’s invitation which read, “I am familiar with Mar-a-Lago.”
In 1987 Trump contacted President Reagan trying to persuade him to name Paula Hawkins, a former Republican Senator from Flordia, as Secretary of Transportation. Reagan ignored his advice and picked Jim Burnley.
Most people may not know about Trump’s earliest presidential aspirations. According to library records, the billionaire was exploring a presidential candidacy in 1987. He flew out to New Hampshire and invested $100,000 in newspaper advertisements which criticized Reagan’s foreign policies. One memorable line from the Ads said:
“There’s nothing wrong with America’s Foreign Defense Policy that a little backbone can’t cure.”
The ads also contained language that would sound very familiar to Americans following Trump’s current campaign. Trump wrote:
“The world is laughing at America’s politicians as we protect ships we don’t own, carrying oil we don’t need, destined for allies who won’t help,” they stated. “Let’s not let our great country be laughed at anymore.”
During the same year, Trump was very close to headlining a very important Democratic fundraiser in New York City. After hearing the news, Frank J. Donatelli, political director for the Reagan administration, contacted White House Chief of Staff Howard Baker with a written request.
“It would be most helpful if you would place a phone call to Don Trump today,” Donatelli wrote in a memo to Baker. “He has a large ego and would be responsive to your call.”
According to reports, The word “large” was underlined for emphasis on the letter. Archives show that Trump did not attend the event.
Donatelli, who now works as the current chair of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors, informed the post that despite the comparisons being made between Trump and Reagan, the two men “could not be more different.”
“‘Reagan was a small government conservative with definite and long-held public policy views,’ said Donatelli, a former Republican National Committee deputy chair. ‘Mr. Trump’s views seem far more impressionistic. Most important, Reagan’s good humor and optimism gave the public reassurance that he could and would effectively manage the vast powers of the presidency. That’s a test that every presidential candidate has to pass.'”
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