CNN's view on the Ontario ad -
What the Ronald Reagan ad that got Trump so angry was really all about
It wasn’t fake. It was edited. But Reagan really did spend a
five-minute speech — an April 25, 1987, national radio address that the Reagan Library has published on
YouTube — railing against tariffs. It was a full-throated expression of support for free and fair trade.
But Reagan was clear: He was “loath” to place trade barriers on Japan and believed high tariffs were damaging to American workers and the economy. He noted that economists widely believe that high tariffs of the
Smoot-Hawley era had exacerbated the Great Depression, which he and others of his generation lived through – a painful memory that, he said, remained “deep and searing.”
The bulk of Reagan’s address – and the part the ad drew from most heavily – was his description of why advanced economies had largely abandoned tariffs as an economic tool by the time he became president: They increase domestic companies’ reliance on government intervention, they reduce competition, they kick off trade wars that lead to more tariffs, they raise prices and they ultimately
lead to job losses.
The ad has run many times during high-profile events, including during the American League Championship series that featured the Toronto Blue Jays. Starting Friday night, the Ontario-based team will play in the World Series – a great source of national pride for Canadians
“That ad, it’s not a nasty ad,” Ford said. “It’s very factual. And coming from a person like Ronald Reagan, every Republican is going to identify that voice.”
“He was just the best president America has ever seen in my opinion,” Ford, a conservative politician, said.
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