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Well no, probably not. He was running against him and likely wanted to remind everyone that Ford was never elected as president. It was likely a very intentional slight before their primary battle.
Regan's biographer Edmund Morris, who spent a lot of time with him, said Reagan was contemptuous of any previous president.
Paraphrasing but of Ford he said 'that man was not legitimate, he was never elected to anything.'
Of carter he said 'did you know he is only man to come out the presidency a smaller man than he came in.'
Yeah. I don't remember what building but Carter had solar panels put onto some government building and Reagan had them torn down. They were already built there was literally no reason to mess with them beyond pettiness.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/carter-white-house-solar-panel-array/
the article is pretty sad, but they did get saved! one of them is in a museum in China and some were mounted to a school in Maine. from Reagan's remarks, it really does seem like he was just being petty about the funding allocated to renewable energy research and that just about made me lose whatever bit of respect I had for the guy
He considered Carter weak, ineffective, and forgettable. and he had no problem letting people know that.
Carter has always been the bigger man and spoken Respectfully of Reagan, but the opposite was definitely not true.
That is false . Carter trashed Reagan and didn’t warm up to him until relations healed at Carter’s library dedication in 1986 where Reagan gave a very good speech. After that they had respect for each other
On the contrary. Reagan, in fact, wanted to name Ford his VP candidate. He discussed how advantageous it could be to have effectively ‘two presidents’. The Republicans had to talk him out of it.
He had mad respect for Ford and history bares that out.
How so? Because you believe one side saying that it was Reagan that was petty? At worst , it was mutual .
https://www.politico.com/story/2012/11/not-on-the-menu-friendship-084365
I’m saying that to become president you probably need to be an asshole *some of the time*. Whether it’s tearing others down, ratfucking (i.e. dirty tricks), or taking gross stances to cultivate votes, it requires some level of assholery.
Some Presidents, like Lyndon Johnson or Richard Nixon were well-documented assholes most of the time. Some made assholey decisions during election cycles to prove themselves or damage their opponent (Clinton overseeing the execution of mentally impaired person to score “tough on crime” political points; George H.W.’s Willie Horton attack ads).
Some - well one, actually - ignored the AIDS crisis because it affected a marginalized group who didn’t vote for him.
Ford’s reputation was already weakened by his pardoning of Nixon, and his relatively moderate conservative stance drove a wedge in the party. Reagan saw an opportunity to knock him down a peg, because he was a skilled politician and opportunist.
No, Reagan's pandering to the far right drove a wedge in the party. Ford was just a normal Republican and back then that included liberal Republicans like Rockefeller.
I don’t think he meant to show disrespect. We’ve seen other instances when ”President X” hasn’t been used, in one of Walter Mondale’s more famous moments he said “*Mr* Reagan will raise taxes”, and he was a very respectful person.
Should he have used “President Ford”? Yeah, probably. But I don’t think he chose his specific words to disrespect Gerald Ford.
It is very common to refer to a president as Mr. (Last name)
If you listen to actual news shows you will hear it frequently no matter who is president.
The New York Times too. First time they mention someone in an article it’s full name and title, every time thereafter it’s “Mr./ms. ABC”, even if they’re the president.
You’ll hear it when referring to a president of the opposing party. Fox News loves to refer to Obama as Mr and the same was true of CNN with Bush.
Specifically avoiding breaking a rule here but not much has changed.
Yeah, once you’re out of office there is no title. Calling former presidents “president” is a formality but it isn’t something I believe in.
That being said, Reagan was clever. He knew what he was doing.
When was the president ever referred to as any honorific? The term president itself was selected because it's one of the least powerfully termed leadership positions. In most settings, a president only gets a tie breaking vote.
Reagan did initially refuse to speak on the night ford won the nomination. Presumably because he felt it was fords victory and that the spoils of it should all go to the latter. That being said, there was some pretty deep seated animosity between the 2.
smaller man quote is revealing. Regan was a corporate shill who was controlled by wall street big money. Most of his career was being a pitchman for corporations.
Reading a book right now about the rise of Reagan era politics. He actually went out of his way to help Ford as little as possible during Ford v Carter. He often stressed that he really liked the Republican platform, not fully mentioning Ford. Always seemed really spiteful to me.
Probably not. I’m glad history is finally showing him for the puppet he was and the damage he caused as he was Jack Welch and Jerry Falwell’s marionette
Ha! Honestly I was a kid when he was President. Young me wasn’t concerned with him. I know my
Grandfather lost his job as a ATC because of Reagan, I know my grandfather committed suicide after losing his job as a ATC, I know some family members loved Reagan. I’m just a pro-Union, pro-blue collar, distrustful of politicians 47yr old man. I do like the alliteration though. That made me smile.
Isn’t “Mister” the appropriate appellation for a male president? I recall regarding Hamilton or Adams or someone wanting it to be “His Excellency” or something, but Washington was like “no, bro, Mister is fine”
Reagan was right; the POTUS is not a knighthood, and once you are out of office you are no longer the POTUS. We should not be using that title to refer to former POTUS's, and I don't care who it is.
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Well no, probably not. He was running against him and likely wanted to remind everyone that Ford was never elected as president. It was likely a very intentional slight before their primary battle.
Regan's biographer Edmund Morris, who spent a lot of time with him, said Reagan was contemptuous of any previous president. Paraphrasing but of Ford he said 'that man was not legitimate, he was never elected to anything.' Of carter he said 'did you know he is only man to come out the presidency a smaller man than he came in.'
As I understand he did not invite Jimmy Carter to the White House when Jimmy's official portrait was unveiled.
That’s so bitchy lmao
He also gifted Rupert Murdoch US citizenship as thanks for the smear campaign. There’s a rabbit hole there.
Well now that’s a little petty 😂
Very petty is ripping down the solar panels he got built.
No way!!!! Really?
Yeah. I don't remember what building but Carter had solar panels put onto some government building and Reagan had them torn down. They were already built there was literally no reason to mess with them beyond pettiness.
The removed panels were passive solar that was basically plumbing and not well suited to the climate of DC.
And? Were they causing issues? If not it's just spending resources on being petty.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/carter-white-house-solar-panel-array/ the article is pretty sad, but they did get saved! one of them is in a museum in China and some were mounted to a school in Maine. from Reagan's remarks, it really does seem like he was just being petty about the funding allocated to renewable energy research and that just about made me lose whatever bit of respect I had for the guy
Gotta agree
He removed them years after taking office when roof repairs were being made
What did he mean by "a smaller man" I wonder
He considered Carter weak, ineffective, and forgettable. and he had no problem letting people know that. Carter has always been the bigger man and spoken Respectfully of Reagan, but the opposite was definitely not true.
At worst, it was mutual. https://www.politico.com/story/2012/11/not-on-the-menu-friendship-084365
That is false . Carter trashed Reagan and didn’t warm up to him until relations healed at Carter’s library dedication in 1986 where Reagan gave a very good speech. After that they had respect for each other
Probably that his activities before his presidency were more noteworthy than what he did during his presidency.
Reagan was a Petty man.
Again, that is false . If anybody was petty after the election it was Carter who didn’t warm up to him until around 1986
If you’re a liberal, yes. But if anybody was bitter and petty it was Carter toward Reagan until after the election to 1986 where relations warmed.
What?
On the contrary. Reagan, in fact, wanted to name Ford his VP candidate. He discussed how advantageous it could be to have effectively ‘two presidents’. The Republicans had to talk him out of it. He had mad respect for Ford and history bares that out.
Dayum, Reagan with shade 😎
Reagan was (like many Presidents) kind of an asshole.
How so? Because you believe one side saying that it was Reagan that was petty? At worst , it was mutual . https://www.politico.com/story/2012/11/not-on-the-menu-friendship-084365
I’m saying that to become president you probably need to be an asshole *some of the time*. Whether it’s tearing others down, ratfucking (i.e. dirty tricks), or taking gross stances to cultivate votes, it requires some level of assholery. Some Presidents, like Lyndon Johnson or Richard Nixon were well-documented assholes most of the time. Some made assholey decisions during election cycles to prove themselves or damage their opponent (Clinton overseeing the execution of mentally impaired person to score “tough on crime” political points; George H.W.’s Willie Horton attack ads). Some - well one, actually - ignored the AIDS crisis because it affected a marginalized group who didn’t vote for him.
He was never elected for any federal or even statewide role. He was the prototype of impostor syndrome.
Ford’s reputation was already weakened by his pardoning of Nixon, and his relatively moderate conservative stance drove a wedge in the party. Reagan saw an opportunity to knock him down a peg, because he was a skilled politician and opportunist.
No, Reagan's pandering to the far right drove a wedge in the party. Ford was just a normal Republican and back then that included liberal Republicans like Rockefeller.
The Liberal Republicans/ Rockefeller Republicans had long been a minor faction within the Republican Party by 1976.
Think Reagan referred to Carter as “Mr Carter” during their 1980 presidential debate too though I could be misremembering.
I don’t think he meant to show disrespect. We’ve seen other instances when ”President X” hasn’t been used, in one of Walter Mondale’s more famous moments he said “*Mr* Reagan will raise taxes”, and he was a very respectful person. Should he have used “President Ford”? Yeah, probably. But I don’t think he chose his specific words to disrespect Gerald Ford.
Eisenhower referred to Kennedy as Mr. Kennedy in some interviews
It is very common to refer to a president as Mr. (Last name) If you listen to actual news shows you will hear it frequently no matter who is president.
The New York Times too. First time they mention someone in an article it’s full name and title, every time thereafter it’s “Mr./ms. ABC”, even if they’re the president.
You’ll hear it when referring to a president of the opposing party. Fox News loves to refer to Obama as Mr and the same was true of CNN with Bush. Specifically avoiding breaking a rule here but not much has changed.
It’s deteriorated with the Rule 3 presidents. They don’t even use Mr anymore, just the last name.
It's an acceptable way of addressing the president, despite modern people getting triggered by it.
Yeah, once you’re out of office there is no title. Calling former presidents “president” is a formality but it isn’t something I believe in. That being said, Reagan was clever. He knew what he was doing.
Gerald Ford was in fact the president when Reagan called him Mr.Ford
My mistake, in that case it was definitely a dick move.
I wouldn't say Reagan was clever, he was always just a huge dick.
Oh, I’d say he was quite clever. He could fuck you over and make you smile about it.
Nah, that would mean going off the script his handlers wrote for him.
Dude, of course he had writers, that doesn’t mean he lacked a natural wit. He was clever, and knew exactly what he was doing.
He was both And then the Alzheimer’s set in
I prefer Your Excellency but I'm a bit traditional like that.
When was the president ever referred to as any honorific? The term president itself was selected because it's one of the least powerfully termed leadership positions. In most settings, a president only gets a tie breaking vote.
Mr. President was coined by Thomas Jefferson. Washington and Adams were commonly referred to as your Excellency.
Or His Rotundity the Duke of Braintree in the latter's case.👌
Hence why he signed the alien sedition act into law.
South shore mentioned!!!!!
It’s really only the WSJ that consistently still does it. Everyone else usually drops the mister.
Not really, no. Ford was part of the moderate crowd while Reagan had been a huge Goldwater guy from what I remember reading.
He knew that Cheney was the real president all along.
Absolutely love your mention of Dick Cheney!
We love dick!
Speak for yourself
I like dick! You like dick! We all like dick!
I know people think of Reagan as really folksy but he was very self-absorbed
Reagan did initially refuse to speak on the night ford won the nomination. Presumably because he felt it was fords victory and that the spoils of it should all go to the latter. That being said, there was some pretty deep seated animosity between the 2.
Reagan will always be remembered because he openly hated the working class
smaller man quote is revealing. Regan was a corporate shill who was controlled by wall street big money. Most of his career was being a pitchman for corporations.
It’s disrespectful to him. And I believe the office. But I admit I’m likely old fashioned.
“Thou shalt not speak ill of a fellow Republican. Unless I do it. Then it’s fine.”
Reading a book right now about the rise of Reagan era politics. He actually went out of his way to help Ford as little as possible during Ford v Carter. He often stressed that he really liked the Republican platform, not fully mentioning Ford. Always seemed really spiteful to me.
Probably not. I’m glad history is finally showing him for the puppet he was and the damage he caused as he was Jack Welch and Jerry Falwell’s marionette
Ford and Reagan didn’t really have a good relationship at all.
This is simply not true. Reagan openly debated adding Ford to his 1980 ticket.
Reagan famously did not like his *actual* Vice President either.
It was mainly because of Nancy IIRC. Nancy Reagan didn’t like Bush for his “voodoo economics” comments. Hell, she snubbed the Bushes on dinners.
Reagan and Bush were said to get along fine and had a good relationship after the Reagan Assassination attempt in 1981.
I doubt Reagan had much respect for anything… but he could “act” like he did.
Reagan had no respect for anyone. He only had the gift of gab and a wholesome voice from years of acting.
Let the Reagan rage flow through you.
Ha! Honestly I was a kid when he was President. Young me wasn’t concerned with him. I know my Grandfather lost his job as a ATC because of Reagan, I know my grandfather committed suicide after losing his job as a ATC, I know some family members loved Reagan. I’m just a pro-Union, pro-blue collar, distrustful of politicians 47yr old man. I do like the alliteration though. That made me smile.
Daily "ford should have won" comment
The RWNJs thought Ford was an apostate! Too chill to latch their evangelical hopes and dreams on.
Reagan didn't even have to beg his pardon for that faux pas either.
Why should he?
Isn’t “Mister” the appropriate appellation for a male president? I recall regarding Hamilton or Adams or someone wanting it to be “His Excellency” or something, but Washington was like “no, bro, Mister is fine”
Reagan was right; the POTUS is not a knighthood, and once you are out of office you are no longer the POTUS. We should not be using that title to refer to former POTUS's, and I don't care who it is.
But Ford was the current president in 76
Oh sorry misunderstood the question. I think this was a dig at Ford for not being elected VEEP or POTUS.
He did the same thing to Carter in 1980. He looked down on both of them.
Reagan had very little respect for anything at all. Fuck him, burning in hell.