Donald J. Trump might be the only major Republican political figure who never invokes the principles espoused by the godfather of the current conservative movement: Ronald Wilson Reagan.
That’s no surprise, though, given that Trump has no knowledge, let alone appreciation, for what Reagan brought to the country upon his election as president in 1980 and re-election four years later.
It also explains why Trump has trashed Reagan’s cherished 11th Commandment, which he stated as “Thou shalt not speak ill of other Republicans.”
You see, Trump is harvesting a handsome bit of political cache by trashing Republican officeholders and those who seek to hold office. If they aren’t loyal to Donald Trump, then they’re “losers,” or “has beens,” or “disgraceful human beings.”
Don’t misunderstand me. I didn’t vote for The Gipper either time when he ran for president. I wasn’t much of a fan of him, although I did develop a good bit of empathy for him and his family when he told us he suffered from Alzheimer’s disease; I remember vividly that poignant letter he released to the public on Nov. 5, 1994, announcing he would recede into the shadows to fight the illness that eventually claimed him a decade later.
But real Republicans usually find something common ground with what President Reagan espoused. Plus, they have remained somewhat faithful to the 11th Commandment.
Trump, though, is not a real Republican and isn’t faithful to anything on this good Earth other than his own ego.
