The talented military historian Max Boot has published a well-researched life of Ronald Reagan that is fundamentally wrong. First the good parts: he has combed through lots of archives finding new information and has interviewed countless people who worked with or knew Reagan. His style also bears the reader effortlessly along. Yet his claim that Reagan was merely a lightweight pragmatist who had little effect on reviving the American economy, resuscitating the country’s self-esteem or winning the Cold War is absurdly revisionist. It says more about the author’s own rejection of the Republican party than it does about Reagan’s world-historical achievements.
Quite unnecessarily in a biography of someone who left office more than 35 years ago, there are seven references to Donald Trump, as Boot attempts to argue that Reaganism made Trumpism possible. But the two men have little in common either personally or politically besides having been entertainers and Trump re-heating Reagan’s slogan of ‘Make America Great Again’. Reagan believed in Free Trade, the Nato alliance, giving paths to citizenship for three million immigrants and supporting democracy and human rights all over the world. Comparisons between the Great Communicator and Trump are absurd.
Needless to say, the excitement on the left about this book has been great. ‘Did Ronald Reagan Pave the Way for Donald Trump?’ asked the New York Times, concluding of course that he did. ‘Max Boot’s Book Deflates the Gipper’s Legacy,’ blared the Washington Post, despite the fact that, taken accusation by accusation, it does no such thing. ‘Reagan left the White House 35 years ago,’ the paper gloated, ‘and his influence no longer looms so large in American political life.’
Magazine articles are subscriber-only. Keep reading for just £1 a month
SUBSCRIBE TODAY- Free delivery of the magazine
- Unlimited website and app access
- Subscriber-only newsletters
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in