Reagan Was the First “Teflon” President, But Sadly, Not the Last

Perhaps the most important take-away from the Reagan presidency is that political rhetoric that creates a strong bond of connection with conservative voters buys a Republican president a pass against many, if not all, of his missteps in office.  If he’s able to convince people who care very little about anyone or anything outside of their immediate families that he’s going to do right by them, it really doesn’t matter what he actually does while  in the White House.

Forty years later, American voters find ourselves processing our experience with Donald Trump, who, it could be argued, redefined what it means to be a “Teflon” (no-stick) president.  Things that would have been lethal, even to Reagan’s presidency, e.g., mocking a disabled reporter, went essentially unnoticed by Trump supporters.

Now, there are two key differences between these two periods in American history: a) in 1980 there was no “news” channel devoted to supporting a Republican president, regardless of how dishonest he was, and b) the American educational system hadn’t degraded to the point that we were living our lives surrounded by hateful and ignorant people.