Here’s a Letter to the Editor I sent in to the Washington Times in response to one of their articles:
Dear Editor,
James Pinkerton’s comparison of the Reagan and Trump administrations draws intriguing parallels, recognizing that both faced media scrutiny and championed cutting taxes and deregulation to foster economic growth. However, this is where the parallels end, as their economic contexts and approaches to trade could not be more different.
When Reagan stepped into office, the economy was in the throes of one of the worst recessions since WWII, interest rates at 20%, inflation at 10.3%, and the unemployment at 7.5%. And while Reagan did successfully negotiate a Japan’s voluntary restriction on automobile exports, he did so in lieu of much more protectionist measures coming from Congress. In doing so, Reagan was not extolling protectionism, he was constraining it.
In contrast, President Trump inherited a robust and growing economy, which he touted as being a result of his election in November. Instead of building upon this, Trump tore it down with his protectionist policies. Even setting aside the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s trade policies, tariffs are already destroying our economy, especially our manufacturing sector. The short term pains are not a prelude to long term gains; rather, they portend greater disaster.
Comparing Reagan and Trump belies a desire to use the positive legacy of one of America’s greatest presidents to lend credibility to the disastrous trade policies of the current administration. The simple fact, which Reagan understood, is that America is not made richer through protectionism. Instead, we need to be lowering barriers to trade, not erecting new ones. The fortieth president would never have condoned or endorsed the actions of the forty-seventh.
Sincerely,
David Hebert, Ph.D.
Senior Research Fellow, American Institute for Economic Research
Grand Rapids, MI
I’ve been on a kick of thinking and writing about the comparison between Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan. A good amount of this was spurred by the fact that I went to Hillsdale and we love Ronald Reagan. Seeing him besmirched the way the so-called “New Right” has done really bothered me. But the real source of the fire for all of this was the conversations I had with Marcus Witcher of WVU at a Philadelphia Society meeting down in Texas. This led to us collaborating on a series of articles (see here, here, and here and we have a fourth scheduled to come out in a few weeks). It’s been an absolute blast working on this with him - he’s a quick and clear writer, he knows his stuff, and he’s just fun to work with.
Also, just for fun, I’ll include my favorite pictures of Hillsdale’s Reagan statue from when it was first being installed as a part of the Liberty Walk:
Also notice that even at Hillsdale, Ronnie leans left:
