Dennis Quaid said Ronald Reagan would “without a doubt” defeat Donald Trump to become the leader of the current Republican Party.
Quaid, 70, made the comments while promoting his new film, Reagan, in which he plays the former actor-turned-president.
While many have argued that the Republican Party has undergone fundamental changes under Trump and that the modern Party would not elect Reagan, the actor believes Reagan could beat Trump in a primary.
“Reagan would be the leader of the Republican Party these days, there’s no question about that,” Quaid said. Fox News.
“In some ways, this country yearns for him. He was a man of his time, too. And I think those principles are still present in the Republican Party today.”
Dennis Quaid has claimed that Ronald Reagan would “without a doubt” defeat Donald Trump and become the leader of the current Republican Party.
Regan earned $7.4 million in box office receipts between Friday and Sunday, and had an estimated cumulative total of $9.2 million, including projections for Labor Day Monday, the Christian Post reported.
It ended up taking third place at the box office over the holiday weekend, behind Deadpool & Wolverine and Alien, and earned a 98 percent approval rating among moviegoers.
This is in stark contrast to the dismal 18 percent approval rating it earned among film critics, marking the largest gap between critics and audiences in Hollywood history.
The film follows Reagan’s journey from his humble childhood in a small town to Hollywood stardom and eventually to becoming the 40th President of the United States.
It focuses on his resilience and the support of his wife, Nancy, and is narrated by a fictional former KGB agent whose life intersects with Reagan’s during his time as a Hollywood star.
Quaid attributed the film’s success to Reagan’s popularity in both parties.
“What it’s really about is dialogue,” he said earlier. Fox Business.
Quaid, 70, is seen playing Reagan in his new film, Reagan
The actor believes Reagan could beat Trump in a primary. Reagan and Trump are pictured in 1987 at the White House
“I think that’s what we need to get back in this country,” Quaid continued. “We all seem to want it and we’re looking for ways to do it.”
“It’s been so long, there’s been so much division. It’s like we can’t have these conversations.
“It’s okay if you have a different opinion because we all want the same thing,” he continued. “It’s just the way we do it that’s different.”
Quaid also said there were “a couple of attempts to cancel me” during the film’s production.
He later told podcaster Joe Rogan that Facebook even censored online promotion of the film for fear it could “sway an election,” though the platform later blamed the “mistake” on its “automated systems.”
“This happened because our automated systems mistakenly determined that the content about President Reagan required prior authorization according to our policies for advertisements on social issues, elections or politics,” said a social network spokesman for Newsweek after he shared a letter from Quaid.
“This was a mistake and the restriction on advertising has been lifted.”
Many have argued that the Republican Party has undergone fundamental changes under former President Trump’s leadership and that the modern Party would not elect Reagan.
Regan earned $7.4 million in box office receipts from Friday to Sunday, and had an estimated cumulative total of $9.2 million, including projections for Labor Day Monday.
Following the film’s release this weekend, critics also slammed it for its portrayal of the Republican president.
“Regardless of what you think about Ronald Reagan, the president, most will agree to consider that this biographical film is a sermonter, heavy and without grace,” Nick Schager wrote for the Daily Beast.
He said it was “disgusting and transparent” that it looked like embarrassing propaganda.
Similarly, Boston Globe critic Odie Henderson, wrote that he is “so disinfected that it seems as if Darryl Zanuck or the former head of Reagan, Jack Warner, had put it on screen in 1940”.