Roll over Ronald Reagan. When President Trump delivers his first State of the Union address, he will do so as the most conservative president of all time. At least, that’s what the Heritage Foundation seems to think.
“You have to know how much that hurts my heart,” Heritage Foundation president Kay Coles James said when asked on Fox Business whether the 45th president surpassed the 40th. “Ronald Reagan is a personal hero of mine but the facts are the facts, and the facts are that Donald Trump in his first year has completed about 64 percent of our Mandate for Leadership.”
Reagan adopted just 49 percent of that agenda during his first year in office. Trump achieved 64 percent of it. By those simple percentage points, the Donald has surpassed the Gipper.
But before the coronation of the orange conservative begins, two things are worth noting. First, a couple hundred well-meaning wonks in Washington don’t bestow legacy. History does. To be sure, Trump has exceeded the Right’s expectations by enacting much of the conservative policy on the Heritage wish list. But there is plenty of time on the clock and reason for concern as the populist president goes bipartisan. Only when his term ends can the responsible bestowing of superlatives begin.
Second, conservative standards keep shifting because circumstance keeps changing. After all, 1980 was not a lot like 2016. The different Mandates for Leadership reflect this. Along with domestic policy, early versions of the document called for things like a “’layered’ missile defense shield” and stiff resistance to Soviet expansionism. Reagan followed through to conquer economic malaise and win the Cold War. While Trump has done Heritage things like ending net neutrality and reshaping national monuments, they hardly compare.
Heritage deserves congratulations on their policy prowess and perhaps a pass on making comparisons. Superlatives not only help with fundraising, they encourage Trump to stay the conservative course—something Reagan never needed.
