Trump Blazed a Trail That Clears the Way for Biden
Prior transformational presidents — including FDR and Reagan — built on the norm-breaking of their opposite-party predecessors. Here we go again.
Reagan followed Carter in more ways than one.
Source: Keystone/Hulton Archive via Getty Images
President Joe Biden's bid to retool the U.S. economy has me thinking about the parallels with earlier transformational presidents: FDR and Reagan. One of the most interesting aspects of these previous administrations was that the big changes they implemented actually began under their predecessors of the opposite party. Just as Ronald Reagan expanded on Jimmy Carter's accomplishments, and Franklin D. Roosevelt got a running start from Herbert Hoover, Biden is benefiting from a change in momentum that began under Donald Trump.
Reagan’s economic program consisted of three main pillars: tax cuts, deregulation and tight money. But the latter two were actually hallmarks of the Carter administration.