Every Republican Presidential candidate since the first Bush has at one time or another been compared to Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump is no different. Reagan has been the poster boy for the Conservative movement since the 1980s and conservatives have spent the last 28 years trying to find his heir. If you look at political ideology, Trump doesn't have as much in common with Trump as previous candidates such as Mitt Romney or George W. Bush, but in other ways they are strikingly similar.

The Outsider

The first and perhaps most obvious similarity between Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan (aside from the fact their first names rhyme) is both were not career politicians. The Gipper was a hollywood actor before entering the political arena. Trump was a businessmen but beyond that he was a pop culture icon. His work on the Apprentice as well as the celebrity aura that has been created around him has made him famous long before he got into politics. Reagan and Trump benefit from the fact that they were celebrities before they were politicians. Both made their political rise in times were the American people were increasingly skeptical of Political elites. Trump has garnered substantial support simply by the fact that he isn't a politician. By being a political outsider he is able to criticize the failures of other politicians like Hilary Clinton and John McCain and make people believe they need an outsider. This has proven very effective for Trump as it was for Reagan who was able to criticize failures of big government.

Insurgency

The era in which Reagan came to power was following the Watergate scandal which exposed the shady tactics used by the politicians at the highest ranks of our government. The historical era following WWII in America was also a time in which the size and power of the government increased greatly, but without many tangible positive results and many failures. Reagan's rise is seen by many as a response to the failure of big government. Shrinking bureaucracy, reducing regulations, and America First foreign policy are what made Reagan the hero of Conservatism. If you look at Reagan's rise to power as a reaction to failures of the past then you can see a clear connection to Trump. Trump's rise, like Reagan's is an insurgency against Political Elites and against the Political status quo. In our current era we have also seen the power of the federal government grow, and with this growth we've seen political distrust grow as well. The revelations about government surveillance, mishandling of classified information, and the increasing authority of the Federal government over the states and the individual have caused many Americans to distrust politicians again. The rise of Trump can be seen as a reaction to this Trump controversial policies on issues such as immigration, trade, and foreign policy are a substantial change from what has been the norm. This appeals to voters who feel like the government has let them down. What you hear from Trump voters is that they feel they are "losing their country". People who feel this way are responding to certain changes our Country has undergone in the recent decades. The demographics of America have changed. America has always been a diverse Nation and it was something we used to be proud of, but some people today see the increasing diversity as a threat to their way of life. They believe trade agreements suck jobs and money from America and instead benefit foreign competitors such as China. They believe our borders aren't secure and that immigrants bring drugs into the country and commit acts of terror against Americans. These beliefs are not necessarily backed up by facts, but because people believe these are major issues they become major issues. Trump supporters are able to make these problems more real and urgent than they are. If you believe illegal immigration threatens security than you want someone who will stop it. This is where we get "build a wall deport them all". If you believe that trade deals hurt our economy than you want someone who will make "better deals". Trump offers quick fixes to problems and doesn't have to explain specifics to his electorate because they don't necessarily care how he fixes these issues or what consequences his policies will have.

The Wrong Path

Trump has said from the beginning of his campaign that he wants to "Make America Great Again". This means people who support believe America has somehow lost its way. This feeling that America is lost or going down the wrong path is the same feeling that voters felt in 1980 when they elected Reagan. Both men have capitalized on America's failures. Both rose to power in times where America hasn't been the land of opportunity that people want it to be. Their appeal is that they are strong men who will solve problems through the lens of America first. Their policies both domestically and internationally, in turn, look strikingly similar. Trump says he will wipe out ISIS or Reagan saying "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall", Trump and Reagan want to use authority to enact changes. Reagan had his War on Drugs, Trump has his War on Immigrants. Reagan's "successes" in defeating the Soviet Union and his War on Drugs are both built on fallacies. The fact of the matter is the Soviet Union was already well on its way to breaking up before Reagan ever took office. Perhaps he hastened its demise, but the Soviet Union did as much to defeat itself as Reagan did to defeat it. Reagan's War on Drugs appealed to people who felt crime and drugs had torn apart the moral fiber of our country. The War on Drugs did more damage to many communities (especially lower class African Americans) than it did to help them. Looking at just two of Reagan's authoritarian "fixes" from the past can allow us to make predictions about what Trump's authoritarian policies may or may not do. President Trump may be able to wipe out ISIS, but it will be because of Obama's drone policies and intelligence gathering not because Trump will do anything drastically different. Trump's "build a wall deport them all" policy will certainly cause more harm than good. Not only will it violate rights of Immigrants both legal and illegal, it will also damage sectors of the economy that are reliant on Immigrant workers. Trump and Reagan portrayed themselves as strong men, problem solvers, outsiders, but complex issues cannot be solved by one man's ego. Long lasting solutions come from collaboration with other countries, collaboration of our two political parties, and collaboration of every level of our government.