Ronald Reagan's son Michael Reagan says Republican candidates should stop trying fill his father's boots, adding that many in today's party would label his father a RINO (Republican in name only) if he were running today.
At last night's debate at the Reagan Presidential Library, the 11 candidates each attempted to show they were the true intellectual heir to the Reagan revolution.
"There really is none," said Michael Reagan Wednesday on AM640 radio's Bill Carroll Show when asked which candidate was most like his father. "I mean, everybody touches on something. Rick Perry was a good friend. You know, Rick Perry was a cowboy and so on and so forth. But there's nobody."
The younger Reagan then noted that the candidates trying to fill his father's boots were making a misstep and not showing how they could lead today.
"I think they make a giant mistake by trying be in the boots of Ronald Reagan," he continued. "Ronald Reagan didn't try to fill the boots of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. We weren't looking for those people when we elected Ronald Reagan. I think they make a mistake, because when you put any of them up against Ronald Reagan, they all fail miserably.
"I think the nation's looking for someone who wants to in fact lead and how are you going to lead us now that we're in the 21st century," he added. "That's what they're looking for. And the other side of the coin is."
Michael Reagan added his father was "relatable and likable" and said the Republican Party hadn't put up people lately who are either. He also noted his thirty-something daughter often points out many in her generation don't know who Ronald Reagan is.
"I know who my grandpa is, but nobody else my age knows who Ronald Reagan is," he said. "To say, I'm just like Ronald Reagan. I mean, half the population out there is gonna vote, have no idea who Ronald Reagan was or is. Now, their parents or grandparents might, but they don't.
"This Republican Party today, and maybe it's because there's so much talk radio out there today but many in talk radio would probably refer to my father today as a RINO, Republican in name only."
"You really look, when he was governor of California he signed an abortion bill. He raised taxes. No fault divorce. God, he was a union-leader of the Screen Actor's Guild. How would that person fair today if he was on that stage tonight at somebody else's library?"
"They would say he's no Ronald Reagan. He's a RINO."
Michael Reagan said Republicans were attacking immigration because "they don't have a leader," noting his father reached across the aisle to work with Democrats.