There is no doubt that we are living through unprecedented political times, but there are still plenty of parallels that can be drawn to the past.
This Friday, the life of former President Ronald Reagan will get the Hollywood treatment in the biopic Reagan. Legendary actor Dennis Quaid was tapped to take on the role of the actor-turned-governor-turned-president, and he said immersing himself in the life and legacy of the fortieth president gave him a new appreciation for him as a person and politician.
It also helped him better appreciate the similarities between the Gipper and one of today’s most prominent political figures, former President Donald Trump. On Thursday’s show, Quaid joined Megyn to discuss what it was like playing a historical figure like Reagan in today’s political and social climate and the comparisons he sees to Trump.
Reagan vs. Trump
Quaid identifies as an independent and said he has voted for Republicans, including Reagan, and Democrats. Even so, independent-mindedness is not necessarily celebrated in Hollywood – or society at large – today. “You have played Bill Clinton… you voted Democrat and Republican… you are a registered independent,” Megyn noted. “But did you worry at all, given the climate of Hollywood, that there could be some blowback?”
While Quaid said you can never be sure how something will be received, he does not believe the film is political. “I didn’t have any qualms about that because, to me, the movie is not political,” he shared. “Reagan was a Democrat for 40 years before he was Republican for the next 40… and this was a biopic. It is also… about America, really.”
Megyn has seen the film twice and she couldn’t help but draw parallels to politics today. “You said that you are supporting Trump in the presidential election… I’ve also said that I’m voting for Trump,” she said to Quaid. “But I am not going to lie, Trump is not the same character as Ronald Reagan.”
Quaid agreed. “The presentation is totally different, and I think it reflects the times of which we’re in now,” he explained. “You couldn’t say a four letter word television… and now you can say anything you want… I’ve even cringed sometimes at the things that [Trump] says.”
Though the style may be different, Quaid said there is a unifying factor. “At the same time… the principles that Trump has are very much the same [as Reagan],” he added. “I would also venture to say that both of them are very pragmatic.”
That was Megyn’s takeaway, too. “Ronald Reagan just seems like such a poster boy for just goodness – and I realize he had his flaws not necessarily highlighted by the movie – but you think, ‘Oh, where is a leader like that today,'” she noted. “Well, he was more complex than that, Trump is more complex than that, and they do have a through line of strength.”
The strength of Reagan’s diplomatic, relationship building, and negotiating skills are on display in the film, particularly in the scenes from the Cold War era and with Mikhail Gorbachev. “Reagan got up and walked out on the Soviets saying, ‘No, I’m going to draw the line,’ but that friendliness and that willingness to sort of humble yourself and start anew is captured too,” Megyn noted. “Trump takes a lot of heat for going and meeting with Kim Jong Un, but Reagan met with Gorbachev at a time when things were very tense.”
Then vs. Now
For as much as the world has changed, Quaid said the key issues of the 2024 election are not all that different than the key issues of Reagan’s time. “The issues are really spookily the same,” he noted. “In 1979, 1980, we had high inflation. We were supposedly a nation in decline. We had hostages in the Middle East… There was a whole feeling of malaise in the country in a certain sense.”
There was also a sense of division and polarization. “We were divided in a certain sense – not to the intensity that we are now – but it was post-Watergate,” Quaid continued. “And I think there was a schism there with Republicans and Democrats… as far as taking up sides.”
Even so, that was still a time where it was common to see liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats. Megyn said the movie “does a great job,” for example, of highlighting the “friendship” between Reagan and Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill “notwithstanding their difference in electoral politics.”
Ultimately, Megyn believes we could use more of that now. “It’s just hard to imagine in today’s day and age,” she concluded. “It reminds me… of how it is for a lot of lawyers. You do bare knuckle brawls all day long in the courthouse… but then a lot of times… you do go out for beer with each other at the end of the day.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Quaid by tuning in to episode 874 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.