One of Ronald Reagan’s priorities was spending time outside of Washington, retreating so often to his ranch outside Santa Barbara, Calif., that it came to be known as the “Western White House.”
Over the course of his presidency, Reagan — whose 106th birthday is today — spent roughly a full year at Rancho del Cielo. There, he cleared brush, chopped wood, rode horseback and worked at other physical tasks. The ranch itself is a small adobe home settled into the Santa Ynez mountains, rugged and modest.
“There’s something about the wild scenery and serenity of the ranch and the easy gait of the horse beneath me that I find particularly relaxing,” Reagan once said. “And while I loved living in the White House, I must confess that nothing is this great wide world of ours quite compares to having a home on the ranch.”
When Reagan’s big tax cuts passed in 1981, his aides urged him to sign the bill in Washington, “the seat of power.” He refused, responding, “The seat of power is with the American people,” and instead signed the largest tax cuts in American history into law on the lawn of his ranch.
Contrast this with President Trump’s presidential retreats — an ornate penthouse in the middle of Manhattan and a luxurious private club in Palm Beach, the latter of which White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer referred to as the “Winter White House” last week.
One of the most powerful themes of Trump’s candidacy was his insistence upon speaking directly to middle Americans, the forgotten people Hillary Clinton’s campaign jet quite literally flew over en route to coastal enclaves of progressivism.
Trump’s impulse to so often retreat to some of the wealthiest zip codes in the country does not mirror his rhetoric prioritizing the interests of the middle class.
Of course, Donald Trump is not Ronald Reagan. Nobody is asking him to slip into some denim, fire up a chainsaw and clear mountaintop trails.
But if he intends to keep his finger as firmly on the pulse of Middle America as his campaign suggested he would, perhaps Trump should follow Reagan’s lead and avoid stumbling into other swamps when looking to escape the one in Washington.
Emily Jashinsky is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
