‘Look in the Mirror, Fat Boy’ Ronald Reagan’s sons discuss Donald Trump and 2016

[ProgressiveEconomist]

Last edited Wed Sep 16, 2015, 03:17 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Politico

By ELIZABETH F. RALPH September 16, 2015

Elizabeth Ralph: … You mentioned earlier that you felt a kind of disgust that Republicans had appropriated your father in this way.

RR: That was about the comparisons between Donald Trump and my father… This egotistical, narcissistic guy with the weird comb over swanning in his private plane. … Trump doesn’t seem to be able to help himself from making comments about women that are just—this latest thing with Fiornia, I mean, come on. Are you kidding? I mean, look in the mirror, fat boy. Look at that hair, you’re ridiculous! Where do you get off talking on anybody’s appearance? …

ER: People talk about how Donald Trump is just a symbol of the new media age, where in order to break through, you have to make comments like that.

RR: The media decides what the new media era is, of course. Trump may be exploiting it, but it’s all the rest of us that decide what this is. We’ve decided that we want to pay a lot of attention to this guy—who, frankly, we all know is an idiot. He’s been around for a long time. He doesn’t know anything about anything. Maybe real estate, I’ll give him that. Other than that, not really a clue about anything. He was the head of the whole birther movement, for God’s sake. He was the chief flack for that. He’s a joke. He’s not even admired among people like him. Other titans of industry and billionaires and what-have-you, they don’t respect Donald Trump. He’s like the class clown kind of guy. So why are we giving this guy the time of day? It’s amusing that we are. It’s certainly not helping the Republican Party any. But really, why are we pretending this is a serious man who may end up in the Oval Office? No, he’s not. No he won’t.

…He’s a huckster. All of his books have been about The Art of the Deal and selling people an image. I don’t know if he’s even really talented at any of that stuff, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and say that he is. That’s what he brings to the table here, then. He’s a con man. So sure, like any snake oil salesman he can con a segment of the electorate. The Republican Party is now 28 percent of the electorate or something. He’s got a third of 28 percent. He’s got—what, 8 or 9 percent of the electorate? I don’t think he’s going to get much more, frankly. That doesn’t get you into the White House.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/reagan-sons-interview-donald-trump-213149

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Former 'Air America' host Ronald Reagan Jr. sure isn't following in his father's footsteps. Reading this interview, I pictured Trump without the combover, looking like Mr. Burns of 'The Simpsons'.

UPDATE: Note that streaming audio of the CNN debate tonight (September 16, 8 pm eastern) is supposed to be available through a number of ultra-right-wing radio stations linked at http://salemmedia.com/republican-presidential-debates/ .

CNN streaming video requires Adobe Flash, which Adobe no longer supports on Android.

[Octafish]

1. He's a huckster.

He's a con man.

Explains the self-hatred.

[marble falls]

4. Nice article in itself, it might make a nice thread itself.

[PatSeg]

13. He clearly doesn't like himself

Confident people don't go around attacking everyone who criticizes them or bragging about their wealth and success all the time. He is like an insecure nine-year-old in an adult body. Every neighborhood bar has a loud-mouthed obnoxious Donald Trump minus the $$.

[OneGrassRoot]

2. I wish Ron Jr. had a three-hour slot on TV. Love him. n/t

[Surya Gayatri]

11. +1,000! He needs to be seen and heard widely and often. Best response progressives could

ask for to RW Reagan worship and Trump's preempting of the Raygun mantle.

Can't say enough good about him. Measured, mellow, highly intelligent (don't know where he got that...), and refreshingly funny and self-deprecating.

[Octafish]

22. He would if here were a rabid right wing turd like his brother, Michael.

That guy made a nice living off his old man's reactionary buddies.

[marble falls]

3. Donald tRump has no conviction, just sound bytes. Ronnie at least had some principles.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

7. IMO Reagan was a superb con man

His income 'tax cut' for the wealthy was financed by a huge Social Security payroll tax increase for the masses. But RR's appointee Alan Greenspan saw to it that the payroll tax increase never would go toward ensuring the actuarial soundness of Social Security. More than 30 years later, the vast majority of Americans still don't realize they have been flim-flammed for a generation by Reagan's "shift and shaft" strategies.

[marble falls]

8. Ronnie was the only true believer in his administration. He was only a bit more hands on than GWB...

They both delegated "the details" to some despicable "devils" - Ollie North, Dick Cheney..........

[Human101948]

10. Reagan was in the throes of dementia for most of his stay in the White House...

By the end he could not even remember staff members that had worked with him for years.

The fact that they could pull off his re-election was a truly amazing feat of controlling the media and omerta.

[groundloop]

18. They pulled off his reelection because Reagan was a hell of an actor

He was great at reading his lines, he'd had enough acting experience that it was ingrained in him and wasn't hampered by his dementia.

In any case, yes, Ron Jr. should have a prominent time slot on MSNBC. He's intelligent, well spoken, and I greatly respect his opinion.

[Ikonoklast]

21. Hundreds of billions of dollars getting funneled to the elite was at stake.

The Neocons would have propped up a dead St. Ronnie in the saddle like El Cid to sally forth in front of the cameras if they had to.

[Enthusiast]

14. +1 You nailed it an entire shit load.

[Botany]

5. He’s a con man.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. Ron has been a long-time purveyor of truth

and liberal/progressive values. His street cred as the son of the GOP god and his ability to torpedo all the bullshit spewed about the former President, is a beauty to behold. And there's nothing the loons can do to try to get around him.



Of course Politico's problem is trying to shoehorn the idiot Michael in with Ron. They are like day and night, 2 ships passing in the night. Michael has spent his "26 years" in talk radio feeding the very bullshit myth that he is now suddenly throwing under the bus.

[Surya Gayatri]

12. ^^^This!^^^

"His street cred as the son of the GOP god and his ability to torpedo all the bullshit spewed about the former President, is a beauty to behold."

[Elmer S. E. Dump]

15. Mike isn't even RRs real son.

[No Vested Interest]

19. Growing up, Michael spent little to no time with his adopted father.

I understand that at one meeting, 'father" Ron didn't recognize "son" Michael.

[BumRushDaShow]

20. Yup but he milked the name as much as he could. nt

[MADem]

27. He was a "Hollywood child" adopted by Jane Wyman

to give the impression of a growing family without having to take the time off from a career for purposes of reproduction. She'd done the deed once (Maureen, who looked like a combination of the both of them) and that was enough.

When the Wyman-Reagan alliance failed (because Wyman's star was ascending whilst Reagan's was falling, and Reagan began spending too much time interested in Hollywood politics and union issues), Nancy didn't waste too much time in snapping him up. She liked him just fine, and had a bun in the oven (Patti) when they wed, quickly and quietly. Ron Jr., who came along later, was the baby.

Reagan was what could be described as a Democrat and "progressive" before he met Nancy, whose wealthy stepfather put a lot of ideas in Ronald''s head about bootstraps and "deserving" and "hard work" and "moochers" and so forth. He didn't learn that shit on his own.

Ironically, Nancy Reagan had a REALLY hard life in her youth, too, before her mother managed to luck out and marry a rich guy. Instead of wanting to give others a hand up, she--and Ronnie--affected the "I got mine the hard way, you can do the same" attitude.

Sometimes, hardship makes people kinder. Sometimes, though, it makes people feel LUCKY and SPECIAL and ENTITLED because they found their way out of the morass, and in their minds, they did it without any help from anyone.

[NonMetro]

31. I agree.

But both Ron and Nancy were college graduates by the time they were 22, and most people did not have such an opportunity in those days. So, how "tough" did they have it?

[MADem]

32. Nancy's mom had found her wealthy husband by the time

Nancy went to school, and Ronald went to an affordable, morally minded, dare I say LIBERAL arts religious college (where apparently a lot of the lessons they taught didn't seem to stick).

[annabanana]

9. Plain old fashioned flim-flam man.

Oughta been run outa town on a rail, he should..

[rurallib]

16. Without the combover I think Trump would look more like

Homer Simpson than Mr. Burns.

[dicksmc3]

17. Donald and Ronald??? Maybe Donald and Ronald McDonald

Ron Reagan has always voiced his opinion on his dad ruined us with his policies as president. The other Reagan, Mike is adopted and a clown. He's been on Faux
so many times i can't keep track. Always praising Ronnie.
Well the real Ron Reagan knows different and tells us all.
He will not be on any MSNBC OR CNN programs making his case against his old man. But when I check listings and see Ron Reagan scheduled on a talk show i watch and listen. Truth is hard enough to find.

[joanbarnes]

23. What I wanted to say-more meaningful coming from a Reagan, and I have no room to talk!

[JustAnotherGen]

24. He's awesome!

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

25. If you fallow the old lonesome trail, it all adds up !

Kick yer boots off, walk the walk.

[Warpy]

26. I watched videos of his dealings with villagers

in Aberdeenshire in Scotland and one of them mentioned missing a million dollar photo one day when he was grandstanding on his proposed golf resort and hotel site when a sudden wind blew in. She described his hair as sticking out a half meter, "it's just swirled round and round on top of his head!"

I'd say Mr. Burns would be it, only Burns isn't as much of a glutton and doesn't have those babyish pursed lips.

[William Seger]

28. "I don’t know if he’s even really talented at any of that stuff"

His four-bankruptcy history suggests that he's much better at convincing investors and creditors that he's good at running a business than he is at actually running a business.

[YOHABLO]

29. I always enjoy hearing what RRJR has to say. He's such an articulate and insightful progressive.

He had his own television show years ago. If anyone remembers. Of course he did talk radio for a long time till he gave it up for writing his book. (I believe) He's still a commentator on MSNBC and was on Hard Ball just the other night.

[chapdrum]

30. As if Trump gives a rat's arse

about Raygun's sons, or anyone else, for that matter.

He is having a great time, he has plenty of f.u. money (so doesn't have to worry about alienating
donors of any size).

My prediction: If elected, he will decline to serve. He could not care less about domestic or foreign policy.

He's purely a s*it disturber.

Naturally, the MSM takes him seriously (as they continue to do, with the Crime Family's Jebbie).