From the ‘City Upon a Hill’ to ‘American Carnage’: A Comparative Analysis of the Reagan and Trump Revolutions

Abstract

ABSTRACT The elections of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and Donald Trump in 2016 were widely portrayed as transformative political moments. While some interpretations link them within a continuous conservative trajectory, this article argues that they represent distinct political paradigms. Using a qualitative comparative approach grounded in primary and secondary sources, the study examines ideological, policy, stylistic, and coalitional differences between the two presidencies. It identifies a shift from Reagan's fusionism—combining free‐market economics, social conservatism, and anti‐communist internationalism—to Trump's hybrid of economic nationalism, nativism, and foreign policy realism. Their governing approaches diverged significantly in fiscal policy, regulatory philosophy, and international engagement. Stylistically, Reagan's optimistic and institution‐affirming rhetoric contrasts sharply with Trump's confrontational and institution‐challenging discourse. Coalitionally, Reagan constructed a broad, cross‐class alliance, whereas Trump mobilized a narrower base centered on white working‐class and evangelical voters. The findings suggest that Reagan's project sought to reconstruct the post–New Deal order, while Trump's represents a form of identitarian insurgency. The transition between the two signals not ideological continuity but fragmentation within American conservatism, with broader implications for populism, presidential leadership, and party transformation.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Presidential Studies Quarterly, 2026 · DOI ↗