WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Flyover Features: Is Trump Reviving the 80s?

Episode Date: February 24, 2025

Emma and Sophia debate an article claiming Trump is ushering in a national Reagan Era economic and social revival.

You're listening to Flyover Features on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. This is Sophia Mant, speaking with my co-host, Emma Vrini. And in this episode, we are going to talk about a recent guest essay published in the New York Times, titled The 1980s Are Back, and Not in a Good Way. This article was published on February 16, 2025, and it was by Elizabeth Spires, a contributing opinion writer, and a journalist and digital media strategist. So let's talk a little bit about what the main point of this article is and then try to get into a little bit of our opinions about it. We'll go over a quick summary of it just because it's not very clear from the title of

this what exactly this article is about. And I think there's a little bit of context that would be needed to dive into this. So basically what this article is talking about is she's been. basically saying that history repeats itself. History repeats itself pretty frequently. Trump is a lot like Ronald Reagan. And a lot of his policies and his attitude are reminiscent of attitudes in the 80s and policies that Ronald Reagan had. And this is a very like nostalgic feeling article. The writer is sort of looking back over her younger years.

as a young conservative turned older progressive. And there's a lot she goes over. She talks about Jimmy Carter and then Ronald Reagan. And some of the policies that Ronald Reagan had that are similar to Trump's policies. So. And she's also a bigger Republican than either of us ever have been because she straight up talks about how when I was seven in the first sentence, she says, when I was seven, I sent a birthday card to President Ronald Reagan. So she's a pretty big fan of, she was once a pretty big fan of them Republicans. Yeah, yeah, she, I can't imagine doing that when I was

seven years old. So, yeah, I, I don't think I cared too much for any of the politicians ever. Maybe Trump when I was 12, but I didn't ever think of sending him a card. I just spent time in, during study hall watching memes of him on Facebook. I still remember the God Emperor Trump won that Trump retweeted in 2016. And then she talks about the yuppie subculture of kind of these wealthy Wall Street-type people who are just making money and caring about capitalism and all that and how, you know, that seems to be cool again, all these crypto stocks, the parties, the wealth. just pure NYC, Americana.

Trump's imperialism, annexing Greenland and Canada. Yeah. In the Gulf of America, maybe. Yeah. Yeah. And, oh, Project 2025 mentions Reagan 71 times. So therefore, Trump is just like Reagan. And also, the other thing that's, I think, super important to mention while we're

describing sort of the gist of this article is that she's talking about the younger generation and the shift in the younger generation toward favoring. Trump and favoring right-wing politics as opposed to like five to ten years ago. And that was a ship that she perceived happening during the 1980s as well. And I certainly think that is true. Like it is more trendy for young people to be right-wing or to support Trump. I think it depends on where you go. It's definitely more trendy at Hillsdale College.

Well, I mean, even if you look at the election results, people, what does it say? People under 30 voted for Trump at a much wider margin than even in 2016. Yeah. Like that's huge. Like it was not just a minor shift. Like that was a really, really, really big change. I forget that a lot because of where I live.

Like, it will always be more popular for young people to vote for the more blue people. blew in the sense of... Well, yeah, but we're looking at... No, I'm saying, like, I'm not... My sense of what people think is not necessarily very accurate. Yeah, well, I mean, we're looking at the direction that the country is trending in. Like, it's still more popular for young people to support the left-leaning candidate, but just based on the way things are going, you know, five to ten years down the road,

that might be totally different. But, yeah, that's basically the gist of this article. it was pretty short. It was like printed four pages. But it was very, it was very, I don't want to say self-centered, because that sounds like rude, but it was very much focused on her story as a, as a politically minded person, as a young person and then going into her older years, how things changed. So, yeah, what did you, what did you think about this article? I felt mixed. I think her analysis overall was correct of this being this rightwards shift kind of like the 80s when oh the capitalism and the billionaires were all hype. Now we have like Elon Musk and Trump again and I mean Trump narrowly actually won the popular vote. Yeah. I mean I actually think her overall analysis was accurate. I'm not a young progressive but like I think she overall at least understood what he was arguing. I thought it was very interesting when she talked about how he was accurate. I'm not a young progressive but like I think she overall at least understood what he was arguing. I thought it was very interesting when she talked about how he was. Jimmy Carter was kind of viewed and seen as not very cool. And I remember one of my sociology professors was saying, Jimmy Carter's kind of weird because, so he was a very outspoken evangelical. And this is back in the 70s. And at the time, people were kind of surprised that evangelicals or people that

were outwardly Christians still existed. And yet he's kind of a weird guy politically because he also like, you know, wasn't super. And it wasn't even in his death like super left-leaning either. Like he's kind of an unusual figure politically speaking compared to a lot of people now, you know, so it's interesting to me. And I mean, then we have Trump who's like more known for conservative policies, yet less connected with religion. And I also think it's funny how they talk about how like, you know, oh, in the 80s, they're renouncing hippie counterculture and turning against whatever their generation considers to be woke. I don't know. I kind of like hippie counterculture. Yeah, maybe the drugs and stuff were bad, but the art they created is really beautiful. I will say,

however, that it's like, generally speaking, I can't think of the overused word, but, you know, useful for getting a certain vibe. Like, woke, I can't think of stuff where I'm like, oh, wow, I really like this. I don't know. Does that make sense? Like, it's interesting. Yeah, I would say that she's 100% right, very perceptive about pointing out the fact that a lot of young people are disagreeing with their parents and rebellion, rebelling against their parents the same way the hippies did and the same way the children of the hippies did about, you know, their political beliefs. People nowadays are, you know, turning against their liberal-minded parents and saying, you know what, I don't actually believe in any of that stuff.

I think those policies are leading us astray. But I think that's just like what kids do. Like, that's always going to happen. Like, it might happen that a couple of generations down the road people get way more liberal again, you know? I don't think that this is something that's like, I don't necessarily think it's a history repeating itself problem. I think it's more of just the fact that kids tend to question authority and disagree with their parents sometimes. Yeah, I think so. And that's what it's leading to.

Really, a line that really stood out to me was when she says, the opposing power is no longer Russia, however, it's China. Because that seems, would you say that's true? That seems true to me. I think it's a hundred percent, like, well, I think it's a mischaracterization of what's been going on for the past five to ten years. Because, I mean, think about, for example, Russia Gate. I mean, that was a huge thing. Trump totally, like, shifted the whole Russia paradigm that existed, like, from the 1980s, from the Cold War when he ran for president in 2016. And while he was president in 2016, because he wasn't super hardliner about Russia.

Like, the left literally thought he was in bed with Russia and he wasn't. Okay, I could be uneducated. So I totally agree they thought there was this massive connection with Russia and Russia Gate. But maybe I'm wrong. But wouldn't you say he actually like, I mean, he's obviously diplomatic because it's smart politically to be that way towards Putin. But I didn't sense that he was really pro Russia at all. Well, I mean, yeah, that's the whole point about like the Mueller report. That's what I thought.

Right. Right. Like it didn't reveal from what we know. any major collusion with Russia. Like that was totally a mischaracterization of Trump's presidency by the last. Yeah, exactly. Because their mindset was so based in the, I hate to say it, but Reagan era of politics that, you know, the West is necessarily opposed to Russia because they're, you know,

communist or authoritarian or something like that. Like, that's why I think this article is so out of touch because she's saying that Trump is just like Reagan. Trump is like Reagan in like a couple of isolated census, but what was so like different about Trump was that he completely shifted the political paradigm and, you know, said, we're going to reject this Cold War era perception of foreign politics while adopting a more nationalist and a more populist, uh, populist, uh, populist, uh, political. view that was sort of more characteristic of like, I also hate to say, but like 90s era Democrats who opposed who opposed immigration, for example. And that's the thing she she roped Musk and Trump in in the same breath. And it's like, I don't think that Trump necessarily has the same views as Elon Musk does about a huge issue, which is immigration. So I think this is like a very,

I think this is very out of touch in some ways because So you think it's out of touch because it's like she's saying certain thinkers think the same way when they don't? Yes, yes. I think she's not addressing some of the huge issues that make Trump popular and instead she's just trying to, you know, sort of establish a continuity between Reagan and Trump that just isn't there in the capacity she's describing it to be in.

I don't know. I think it's there in some degree. Maybe it's being exaggerated, but also I don't hear people say oh, Trump's just like Reagan that much. And also the people I hear saying that are in fact conservatives. I mean, they of course mean that in the positive way. Yeah. I mean, it's funny. And like, this isn't been the first thing. So like basically when at the time in the 70s, let's just say. So as an act of goodwill, Jimmy Carter gave the Panama to Canal to Panama. And like,

that was a huge political issue at the time. And like my Papa, who's in his 80s, still talks about that. And my dad does because he was a kid. And he remember. remembers his pop in the 80s. And like now this is being talked about again, I think probably for the first time seriously in years. I don't know if that'll happen. But like, I don't know in that sense, I think it's similar or like, broadly speaking, Reagan's views on Department of Education and his. So, I mean, maybe it's exaggerated a bit. But I mean, I think she's just saying it reminds me. So maybe to say that 1980s is straight up back isn't accurate, but maybe to say there's reminders because like I'm hearing people on the right say that too. Well, that's the thing about

this article. She's going entirely based off of vibes. Like this is an empirical article. And that's totally fine if you just want to talk about the feel of the 80s and reminisce and like, you know, draw connections. But, but this is, this is, um, pseudo political. This is not, this is, this is, you know, very far from like, true or empirical. I mean, hot, hot take, but I mean, like, I think that's okay. She's not trying to say it's empirical. She's just saying her opinion of it has similar vibes. Like, I mean, she's basically saying that. Like, I don't, I don't think she's, like, being misleading necessarily in that sense. You can say she's exaggerating, but, like, I think she's being accurate to her opinions on what's going on, like, and the views and how they remind her.

Well, I mean, yeah, I would agree that she's doing that. But then the question becomes to what end? Like, why are you saying that Trump gives you Reagan vibes? And I think, I think, well, yeah, I think that gets revealed in one of these paragraphs where she says, where should I start here? At the time, the real life Wall Street executive Michael Milken, who would later go to prison for securities fraud, was a national celebrity, Trump pardoned him in 2020, the takeaway for young people was easy. Any kind of moralism around moneymaking was regarded as uncool or possibly even un-American. And it's like, okay, I think that ultimately embodies sort of the whole point about this article is, you know, these people from the 80s who are, you know, capitalists were kind of mean and so is Trump. And it's like

literally the same, bro. And it's like, okay. I mean, that's not a, that's not a, a poignant observation. That's not super profound. That's not, you know, the best point. I mean, I think this is an interesting article. I do think that she makes some, like, accurate observations, but, but in other regards, it's, it's just completely out of touch. I, I think it's, you can, I think I might not necessarily agree with being a young progressive because I'm not, but I feel like it seems fairly accurate to one's opinion and, whatnot. I mean, yeah. I mean, yeah, like what I might disagree with is, like, she says, I can now recognize this cruelty underneath the glitter and appeal to what would-beal beliefs. And, like, I'm not an expert on Reagan. I'm not going to say all he did was good, but, like, I might be biased just thinking he probably generally was active in things that were good for the economy or, I don't know, stuff like that. But I don't, yeah, I just think she's, She's just saying, wow, this reminds me of when it was like it's being cool to be, you know, Republican again or something like that.

Well, I think that's true. That definitely is a good observation, but I don't think it's, I don't think that the way she goes about expressing that is the most intelligent, if that makes sense. Yeah, no, I see you. I see you. Yeah, I just, I just think she might actually have somewhat of a point if, like, people I know on the right compare Trump to Reagan, at least in terms of lives, even if their actual politics. policies are different. Yeah, I would say that it's very hard to compare the two. I know that his slogan comes from Ronald Reagan, you know, stuff like that. I know that a lot of think tanks and a lot of political leaders try to link themselves to Reagan, but I don't think that there's a very tangible link anymore. And I think, as I was saying before, Spires says that, um,

in one of her paragraphs, if you understand that this worldview is permanently frozen in the 1980s, and she's referring to sort of the pro-Trump worldview, and I think that that sentence just puts into perspective how out of touch this article is, because the way I view Trump as being a candidate for president who completely broke out of that mold of that World War II, mindset, that post-World War II mindset, where, you know, we were fighting communism and we have to necessarily be opposed to Russia and, you know, we have to be constantly worrying about containing

communism and stuff. And while communism was a huge threat, and it still is to some degree, I think that Trump really, really, in a way that this author does not recognize shifted that perspective a lot. especially among young voters. Yeah. I mean, I think he did shift it maybe to being more of against China than Russia, although like he has very much made pretty strong comments against Russia and Ukraine. But I mean, I think there's some interesting similarities with Reagan being kind of a movie star

and Trump being well established also in business before he ran for president. Like he's more of a pre-celebrity figure than like, I don't know, even Bill Clinton, who was well known, but like, you know, was in. known in politics beforehand. Yeah, I think it's just part a little hard for me because I don't fully necessarily like agree with the turn of conservatism that Trump is taking. So like I don't like the governance of China, but I don't like the governance of Russia either.

So it's like, I wouldn't want him to necessarily like de-emphasize one for the other. Well, just because, you know, you don't like the governance of another country. you have to go in and alter it, you know? Yeah. Like, we don't want that for ourselves, but if that's what other people are doing, you know, that's unfortunately isn't really our business. And I think that's sort of what he sort of brought to the forum policy. Yeah, I think he's trying to make us focus hopefully on our own interests.

But, yeah. Yeah, no, it's more so just like at least recognizing like certain things that could be threats in affecting us. Like, you know. people who know me personally know I might be a little biased to feel certain ways about certain countries no not so okay and like yeah you know regardless of how you feel about Trump and his personal life and even Elon Musk especially with some of the stuff that's come out with Elon Musk you know I don't I don't know if that necessarily applies to what your political perspective is going to be about

issues that, you know, seriously affect your life. I think it depends on the person, maybe, but it's still hard for me to separate one's personal life, and I don't always really. Like, it's something I still take into account with them being able to rule. And not everyone's like that. But I guess for me, just like in the broad Christian tradition I've been raised in, like, one's personal troubles might, in some cases, reflect on how they rule publicly. I mean, I think, yeah, there's people who are maybe pragmatically are good rulers.

but if possible I'd like someone who's both has a moral personal life and moral in public policy. Yeah, I mean, I'll take someone who's moral in public policy, but immoral in the personal life, like over someone who's just, you know, terrible in both. But, you know, like, it gets, it's hard for me and I don't, I, I do not want to suddenly be okay with someone's personal life just because I also agree with like what they might be doing publicly. Sure, but I think it's very difficult to worry about the morality of a certain candidate when your job just got shipped overseas or, you know, some H-1B migrant just replaced you

at your tech firm. It's like it's really easy to care about it when you have the means to care about it. But a lot of people simply don't have the means to care about whether or not Elon Musk slept with a new E-girl or something. I mean, yeah, ideally, ideally, yeah, but ideally you would have the means to care for it. I think that's the problem. It's actually sad that we're so desperate that, like, we just want someone who, like, is good in policy, even if they are not a good person morally.

Yeah, I think it's really funny to watch the left start moralizing now that they're in a losing position. I think that's very, very characteristic of someone who is in a losing position to begin moralizing about certain issues. All I can say is I don't, I tend to not like Musk's a lot of. of Musk's actual beliefs and his personal life and some of Trump's personal beliefs and some of Trump's personal life, although he's not in the same level of Musk. I mean, it's just, it's just sad to me, Musk and how he just has this, all these kids, he doesn't care for and just, he's, he's an insult to people who claim to be conservative. I think that's, that's very strange, especially the transhumanism part is very strange. It bothers me so much.

It bothers me so much. But, yeah, I mean, I'm going to, I'm going to say. Yeah. Stay suspicious about certain folks. That's all we have time for today. Thank you for listening to Fly Over Features on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM. I'm Sophia Mant, speaking with Emma Vrini.