Keller @ Large: Trump Another Reagan? Not According To Speeches
BOSTON (CBS) - A few weeks ago, amid a streak of bad news about the Trump campaign's fundraising, organization and poll numbers, I asked a friend of mine who's a big Trump booster what he made of it all.
"You watch," he said. "This guy is another Reagan in the making."
That is certainly the hope of Trump supporters this morning.
Ronald Reagan lagged behind President Jimmy Carter in the polls by substantial margins right up to November, but won the election in a landslide.
And both the Reagan 1980 and Trump campaigns offered the same promise: to "make America great again."
So after watching Trump's acceptance speech Thursday night, I dug out the transcript of Reagan's speech from 36 years ago this week to see if I could find more parallels.
What I found was a study in contrasts.
Related: Trump Brings Back Debunked Claims In Speech, AP Fact Check Shows
Reagan talked a lot about "trust," explaining that he trusted people and their values over government.
The word "trust" does not appear in Trump's speech, even though his honesty ratings, while low, are superior to Hillary Clinton's.
Reagan promised economic growth, as does Trump. But he also emphasized maintaining the social safety net and preserving Social Security.
Trump Thursday night cited "safety" six times, but no mention of the safety net, nor of Social Security.
Reagan vowed to "restore hope" for all who had abandoned it. There was no reference to "hope" in the Trump address.
Trump referred to the military as "depleted," but offered no ideas for rebuilding it. Reagan specifically called for higher pay and benefits for our military.
In Reagan's 1980 address he talked about caring for the needy, teaching virtue to our kids, nurturing an American spirit of service. The words needy, virtue, spirit and service didn't make it into Trump's remarks.
Trump's speech did a fine job of expressing anger, anxiety and the demand for change. But if he's another Reagan in the making, the proof will have to wait for another night.
Listen to Jon's commentary: