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‘Morally indefensible’ – but George W Bush will not come out against Trump
(www.theguardian.com)
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this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2024
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politics
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Right, in hindsight, as far as actual policy and actions taken as president, Reagan is the worst in modern times. We wouldn't have Bush or Trump or Project 2025 without Reagan.
If you were to remove everything around 9/11 and Iraq from Bush's presidency, he's relatively okay as both president and person. He, arguably, did great things to help immigrants and minorities and children. Not sure how No Child Left Behind is seen these days. I think Bush did more to help the disadvantaged than Clinton. But, to really assess each and every action a president takes would require a college semester. And your perspective on good or bad may be influenced by what you believe the job of government is. Reagan's entire pitch and lasting legacy as a Republican icon was to dismantle the federal government, eliminate "social" programs, put "bad people" in jail, promote corporatocracy, fool the middle class to believe in the trickle down effect. Not to mention the entire Iran Contra ordeal. I mean, we don't have super solid evidence about Trump's associations with foreign countries / leaders. Trump's probably too stupid and narcissistic to care about anything other than opening Trump buildings and golf courses in other countries.
Trump's worst actions as president were his judicial appointments. He's easily the worst person to hold the office as president in all of US history, but as far as worst president in modern times, I think Regan has it over on him.
It's actually a tough judgement call I would say. You're right about everything, but you shouldn't underestimate the damage Trumpism has done (and is doing) to the American people and politics. Trump has managed to radicalise millions of people and as Germany will attest after the fall of Nazism, de-brainwashing cultists is a herculean task that will often fail - many Germans carried their indoctrinated beliefs with them until that whole generation died off.
Reagan still might be worse on balance, but it's probably close.
is different than Trump the president.
The presidential actions taken by President Reagan are different than the choices Americans are making to endorse and follow Trump. It's the actions Reagan took as president that have in large part brainwashed the public and created the environment where people are flocking towards people like Trump.
Trump the president is a symptom of the problems created by Reagan, Stone, Cheney, and the Heritage Foundation. Trump the brand is the epitome of Reaganomics and corporatocracy.
Reagan set the seeds for dismantling our trust in government and putting it into corporations and celebrities. Reagan (the actor?!) is the prime modern-time example of the people ignoring politics in favor of celebrity.
I would argue that Reagan's influence and GOP brainwashing far surpasses Trump's to the point that the vast majority of people in this country are wholly unaware of its existence. Though, yes, the extremism that Trumpism has fostered is certainly more dangerous to the public and democracy. I just don't blame Trump for all of it. America chose to elect him president for a reason. I believe that has more to do with Reagan than with Trump.
Great points! The idea that Trump is a symptom, a logical function of a longer and deeper process is something I absolutely agree with and I think needs to be spoken of more. I guess my follow-up question would be, is Reagan really the seed or is he too perhaps an almost inevitable product of the American culture?