ABSTRACT
Political commentators have viewed Donald Trump as either a continuation of Reaganism or a sharp break from it. The appropriate way to compare the views of Ronald Reagan and Trump is to consider their underlying symbolic perspectives. The narrative and the value terms in Reagan’s symbolic system were consonant with ideological principles. The value terms that dominated Reagan’s rhetoric–freedom, progress, optimism, opportunity, patriotism, and related terms–were evident in the heroic narrative and ideological statements. Reagan’s policies often favored the rich and disadvantaged people of color, but his rhetoric defined American identity based on ideas that transcended personal identity. Like Reagan, Trump’s symbolic network is broadly consistent across his rhetoric. In the convention speech and the inaugural, a dystopian narrative in which elites allowed the “other” to destroy the economy, commit crimes, and undermine security through terrorism dominated Trump’s symbolic network. In 1980 and 2008, Reagan and Barack Obama led political revolutions that were fundamentally optimistic.
