Reagan quoted Lincoln about Trump

“You know, the first Republican President once said, ‘While the people retain their virtue and vigilance, no Administration by any extreme of wickedness or folly can very seriously injure the Government in the short space of four years.’

“If Mr. Lincoln could see what’s happened the last three-and-a-half years, he might hedge a little on that statement. But, with the virtues that are our legacy as a free people and with the vigilance that sustains liberty, we still have time to use our renewed compact to overcome the injuries that have been done to America these past three-and-a half years.”

– Ronald Reagan, July 17, 1980, Presidential Nomination Acceptance Speech, Republican National Convention, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI, quoting Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861

Thought to be the last beardless portrait of Lincoln, this photo was made August 13, 1860 in Springfield, IL by Preston Butler, “for the portrait painter, John Henry Brown, noted for his miniatures in ivory. … ‘There are so many hard lines in his face,’ wrote Brown in his diary, ‘that it becomes a mask to the inner man. His true character only shines out when in an animated conversation, or when telling an amusing tale. … He is said to be a homely man; I do not think so.'”

Ronald Wilson Reagan (1911-2004) served two terms as President of the United States 1981-1989

It’s nothing short of ironic, tragically amazing, and phenomenally perverse, to know that these words, spoken by a Republican, ring true today, 40 years later, and pertain specifically to a Republican President.