Republican debate: Which candidates will attempt to identify with Reagan values?
Amy DeLaura Mabinty Quarshie
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SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Republican presidential candidates are preparing to take the stage for the second presidential debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The Washington Examiner got to take a tour of the library and hear about the significance of the debate being held here from the president and CEO of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, David Trulio.
“There is no better place for candidates to come and articulate their vision for why they should be the person who attains the highest office in the land than the Reagan Library,” Trulio said in an exclusive interview with the Washington Examiner. “When President Reagan opened this institution that bears his name in 1991, he said he wanted it to be ‘a dynamic intellectual forum’ where policymakers debate the future.”
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Many candidates, including Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), former Vice President Mike Pence, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, have tried to claim they are the next Reagan president. Trulio says presidential hopefuls want to identify with Reagan because he was “an unquestionably successful two-term Republican president.”
“He defeated communism, he restored the American economy, and he revived America’s sense of itself,” Trulio said. “Those are enormous accomplishments. Naturally, those lessons are deeply applicable to today.”
Trulio says Reagan’s values are still relevant, and he will be listening to the debate to see who most aligns with those values.
“To what extent do candidates talk about limited government, individual liberty, economic opportunity, freedom and democracy, peace through strength, and national pride?” Trulio said. “That’s what I’m going to be listening for.”
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However, Trulio says it’s important that whoever goes on to win the primary follows Reagan’s lead as a unifier.
“He was able to bring millions and millions of Democrats and independents over to his side and to vote for him,” Trulio said. “President Reagan was a man of principle, he was able to forge compromise with Democrats and achieve great legislative accomplishments. I think that’s an important example for people to look to the future, especially in these really divided times.”