History Extra Podcast — “Reagan’s plan to ‘make America great again’”

Date: October 16, 2025
Host: Matt Elton
Guest: Phil Tinline, author and documentarian

Overview

This episode explores the origins of the phrase "Make America Great Again," often credited to Donald Trump, but initially used in a strikingly similar form by Ronald Reagan in his 1980 campaign. Host Matt Elton talks with author and broadcaster Phil Tinline about Reagan’s messaging, the context of 1980s America, the social and economic shifts of the era, the realities versus imagery of “greatness,” and how the rhetoric and circumstances of Reagan’s presidency echo into the present day.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Origin and Use of “Make America Great Again”

• Reagan’s Version: Reagan’s slogan in 1980 was, “Let’s make America great again,” subtly more collaborative than the later imperative form “Make America Great Again”.
  • (03:07) Phil Tinline: “In the 1980 campaign the slogan was 'let’s make America Great Again'. … There’s no sense that America had taken a wrong turn or was in decline, and that there was a golden age in the past that it was imperative to get back to.”
  • The phrase tied into messaging of a return to a mythic “golden age” and was followed, after Reagan’s first term, by the campaign line: “It's morning again in America.”

2. American Self-Image Prior to Reagan

• Post-War Optimism: Following WWII, America experienced two decades of unprecedented growth and confidence, particularly among white men.
• Traumatic Shocks to Self-Image:
  • Vietnam War: Defeat and disillusionment undermined national confidence.
  • Economic Turmoil: The 1970s brought stagflation—simultaneous high inflation and unemployment—plus the 1973 oil shock.
  • Scandal and Distrust: Watergate and revelations of CIA/FBI misconduct deepened doubts.
  • Limits on Ambition: President Carter—perceived as weak—urged Americans to accept limits, violating deeply held beliefs in the American dream.
    • (06:18) Phil Tinline: “The offer that Reagan makes, is freedom from limits.”

3. Reagan as a Personality and Candidate

• Mocked for Hollywood Roots: Reagan’s image as an actor led to public snobbery and questions of authenticity.
  • (10:59) Phil Tinline: “There’s an article in Harper’s Magazine... called 'the candidate From Disneyland.' ... Reagan is a very, very interesting sort of a Hollywood figure because actually he was a trade union leader. ... He’d also been quite left wing.”
• Political Chameleon: Started as a New Deal Democrat and union man; later championed conservative economics, particularly around tax cuts inspired by supply-side theories.

4. Cultural Reflections: Hollywood & American Mood

• Cultural Shift:
  • Late 1970s films portrayed a gritty, downbeat America (e.g., "Taxi Driver," "Dog Day Afternoon").
  • By mid-1980s, film and advertising projected a sunnier, adolescent, almost escapist vision ("Goonies," "Back to the Future").
  • (09:46) Phil Tinline: “If you watch Hollywood movies from the late 70s into... the mid-80s, [there’s] a sense of inevitable depression and... despairing contempt. ... The image Hollywood presents from about 1982, 83... is a much more sunny, fun, teenage version of itself.”

5. Economic Context & Impact

• Economic Crisis: Double-digit inflation (11% in 1979) and high unemployment.
  • Carter’s hardline on inflation—by raising interest rates—triggered recession and 10%+ unemployment.
• Reaganomics: Large tax cuts and shifts in welfare policy.
  • Targeted cuts hit the working class disproportionately; Social Security and entitlements were left mostly untouched.
  • (14:53) Phil Tinline: “There is a rebalancing of who matters in the economy… That, in a way, is a pretty epochal shift.”
• Boom for Some, Bust for Others: By 1984, economic growth returned (helped by lower oil prices) but produced greater inequality.

6. Foreign & Military Policy: Cold War Dynamics

• Escalation & Peacemaking:
  • Military spending rose by a third; rhetoric intensified vis-à-vis the “Evil Empire.”
  • Reagan maintained a duality—projecting strength while quietly seeking diplomatic engagement, especially after Mikhail Gorbachev’s rise.
  • (19:02) Phil Tinline: “There is a sense that in the second term, Reagan is able to engage with Gorbachev... But it’s an interesting dual... ambiguous policy.”
  • “Peace through strength” served as a guiding phrase—embraced by both Reagan and, later, Trump.

7. Relationship with the Christian Right

• Wooed, But Delivered Little:
  • Reagan successfully attracted the Moral Majority and other religious conservatives, even though he was less personally devout than Carter and did not notably advance much of their agenda (e.g., appointed Sandra Day O’Connor to the Supreme Court).
  • (23:13) Phil Tinline: “...in the 1980 election... do the Christian right pick... Jimmy Carter, or... the divorced Hollywood actor? They pick Reagan. ... It’s about politics first.”

8. Political Messaging: “Morning Again in America”

• Legendary Campaign Ad:
  • The 1984 “Morning Again in America” advert became a symbol of national renewal—emphasizing optimism and gentle patriotism.
    • (25:15) Phil Tinline: “It combines a number of qualities… almost perfectly encapsulate Reagan’s offer. Reagan is only mentioned at the very end. ... It knows what it’s doing.”
  • The ad’s imagery: small towns, picket fences, happy families—strategically appealing to nostalgia.

9. Underlying Problems & Legacies

• Papered-Over Issues:
  • Beneath the optimistic veneer, inequity deepened, farmers and minority communities were left behind.
  • National deficit soared; military spending ballooned.
  • Iran-Contra scandal tainted Reagan’s image in his later years.
    • (32:49) Phil Tinline: “There is the deficit, there is the huge amount of money spent... The Iran Contra scandal... this is pretty grim stuff.”
    • Farmers and black communities felt increasingly excluded from the “dream.”

10. Comparing Reagan and Trump: Parallels & Lessons

• Delusions & Strength:
  • Both leaders united Americans around a mythic past and the need for a “strong” president, but both were prone to self-delusion or mythmaking.
  • (35:33) Phil Tinline: “There is something self-deluding about Reagan. Reagan believed things that weren’t true... He had a sense that if I want it to be true, it kind of is. ... I do think that there is something of that with the Trump administration as well, given Trump’s… complex relationship with the truth.”
• Role of the Office:
  • The presidency demands impossible symbolic leadership of “hopes and fears” of millions.
  • Key voter concerns persist as “prices, border, strength” (as heard on the ground in 2024/25).
  • Both presidencies were marked by a rhetoric of “peace through strength” and the need for America to stand tall.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Reagan’s Promise:

  • “That’s the offer that Reagan makes, is freedom from limits.”
    —Phil Tinline (06:18)

• On Reagan's Early Image:

  • “There’s an article in Harper’s Magazine… called 'the candidate From Disneyland.'”
    —Phil Tinline (10:59)
  • “He had been the head of the Screen Actors Guild. He’d also been quite left wing... when he met [director Don Siegel]… he thought he was a communist.”
    —Phil Tinline (10:59)

• On Carter's Malaise:

  • “He does this famous broadcast… where he talks about a crisis of confidence. … Carter sitting there in his cardigan, kind of rather embodies it.”
    —Phil Tinline (13:36)

• On 1984 Campaign Ad:

  • “This advert... is a work of out and out political genius in my view. … It combines a number of qualities which just, I think almost perfectly encapsulate Reagan’s offer.”
    —Phil Tinline (25:15)

• On Changing America in Film:

  • “Films like the Goonies, you know, Back to the Future… do have this sense of you can make as much mess as you want and someone else will clear it up, but, you know, nothing really can go wrong.”
    —Phil Tinline (29:44)

• On Reagan vs. Trump:

  • “There is something self deluding about Reagan… He had a sense that if I want it to be true, it kind of is… I do think that there is something of that with the Trump administration as well, given Trump’s… complex relationship with the truth.”
    —Phil Tinline (35:33)

• On What Americans Want:

  • “The three things that I essentially heard [from voters] were prices, border, strength, and there is something about that phrase I used before. Peace through strength.”
    —Phil Tinline (35:33)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:59 — Episode introduction and context for Reagan’s slogan
• 03:07 — Reagan’s campaign messaging and “let’s make America great again”
• 04:54 — The national mood and traumas leading to the late ‘70s
• 06:18 — Carter’s limits vs. Reagan’s “no limits” vision
• 10:44 — Reagan’s Hollywood and political background
• 14:53 — Economic crisis and Reaganomics
• 19:02 — Cold War military buildup and diplomatic outreach
• 23:13 — Relationship with the Christian right
• 25:15 — “Morning Again in America” advert and its significance
• 28:03 — Cultural shift: from ‘70s gritty realism to ‘80s escapism
• 32:49 — Mounting problems: deficit, Iran-Contra, left-behind communities
• 35:33 — Parallels and lessons: Reagan and Trump

Tone and Takeaways

The conversation is vivid, accessible, and reflective, blending historical analysis with cultural commentary. Tinline’s tone is both critical and appreciative, finding nuance in Reagan’s character and presidency—he is seen not as a simplistic Hollywood figure, but as a complex, deeply political, and paradoxical leader. The episode suggests that while Reagan’s messaging brought hope and optimism for many, it also masked persistent inequalities and papered-over challenges—legacies that continue to resonate in modern American politics.