In the wake of last week's presidential election, a fear of history repeating itself is more palpable than ever. This fear goes beyond the fact that President-elect Donald Trump has now been elected twice over a potential first female U.S. president; citizens should be most concerned about the similarities between the president-elect and preceding conservative leaders.
Namely, Trump shares a concerning amount of features with former president Ronald Reagan, famous for his disregard of human rights and partisan tax plans. When looking at the next four years, citizens should reflect on the Reagan administration and note the eerie connections with the current president-elect’s plans.
Both Trump and Reagan used their entertainment background to promote their charismatic brands, even though neither man engaged in politics during those years. After signing his Hollywood contract in 1937, Reagan appeared in 53 films and used his platform to explore conservative themes before running for Governor of California in 1966.
Although Trump already had a well-established career before entering the entertainment business, hosting “The Apprentice” for 16 years “further enhanced his reputation as a shrewd businessman and self-made billionaire,” according to Brittanica.
Both presidents earned their seats in the White House in part by catering to existing audiences of admirers who were drawn to the men for nonpolitical reasons. This mutual theme indicates each president’s following: two groups of falsely-motivated thinkers lacking democratic competency.
A famous aspect of the Reagan administration was the former president's lack of action against the AIDS crisis as it blossomed in marginalized communities. During that time, Reagan referred to homosexuality as a “tragic illness” that “should remain illegal.” Reagan’s attitude toward the LGBTQIA+ community during that time is viewed as one of the 20th century's largest passive attacks on human rights, and many people fear a resurgence of this bigoted mindset in the coming years.
According to the ACLU, “Trump has promised that, if reelected, his administration will rescind federal policies that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and will assert that federal civil rights laws don’t cover anti-LGBTQ discrimination.”
Approximately 300,000 homosexual men died during the AIDS epidemic, and current members and allies are terrified by how Trump’s policies align with Reagan’s apathy during that time.
Although Trump and Reagan’s tax plans include some key differences, they also share notable similarities that do not bode well for the next four years. Reaganomics is defined by the Corporate Finance Institute as “economic policies put forward by U.S. President Ronald Reagan during his presidency in the 1980s … to fight a long period of slow economic growth, high unemployment and high inflation.” The four principles of Reaganomics were reduced government spending, reduced taxes, less regulation and the slowdown of money supply growth to control inflation.
According to the same source, the third principle was aimed at the nation’s highest-income earners: “Reagan cut top bracket income taxes from 70% to 28% … Reagan also cut corporate taxes from 48% to 34%.” Although these policies effectively stimulated economic growth in the 80s, “the effect would've been much weaker if the tax rate was less than 50% like it is in the present time,” according to CFI.
Despite this prediction, Trump has proven through his previous administration and his proposed plans for his upcoming presidency that he will follow a similar tax-cutting structure. During his first administration, Trump cut corporate taxes from 35% to 21% and has suggested bringing that number down to 15%, according to NBC.
According to CBS, “the biggest beneficiaries” of Trump’s tax plan will be “high-income households,” strengthening the comparison to Reagan’s taxation plan and furthering the idea that the president-elect operates with the people belonging to his tax bracket primarily in mind.
From brushes with assassination to standings as conservative messiahs, former president Ronald Reagan and president-elect Donald Trump share numerous traits. As America looks ahead to the next four years, these similarities should be considered concerning evidence of how minority groups and the working class will be affected by a legacy of unfit leaders.
Sophia Rooksberry is a junior studying journalism. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Sophia know by tweeting her @sophiarooks_.
