Dennis Quaid says Ronald Reagan's story 'exemplified what we need to get this nation back to'
"Reagan" star Dennis Quaid says Americans are asking the same question today as they did in the late 1970s: "Are you better off than you were four years ago?"
Dennis Quaid is drawing parallels between the late 70s and the Reagan presidency to today, reliving the great relationship of two political rivals who worked together to make this country a better place for the American people.
"They exemplified the way we would like to get this nation back to, as far as the unity and working it out with one another," Quaid said from the Republican National Convention Thursday night on "The Bottom Line."
The beloved "Parent Trap" actor sat alongside his "Reagan" co-star Dan Lauria, as the two discussed what they learned from the 40th president and his friendship with Tip O’Neill, a Massachusetts Democrat who served as House speaker at the time.
"These days remind me very much of 1978, ‘79 in the country, with the economy, the Middle East, Iran," Quaid said. "There was a malaise during the Carter administration that was admitted, and along came Mr. Reagan. And he asked people: Are you better off than you were four years ago? And I think you can ask the same question today."
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Lauria agreed that the pathway back to prosperity and opportunity begins when politicians stop fighting and start working together.
"That's always the key of getting anything done, even a movie, is being able to work together," Lauria said. "And Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan, they didn't really know each other that well before Ronald Reagan became president. But they found a common ground, they worked together, and what I love about it, they actually became friends."
Reagan’s biopic, which is set to release in theaters on Aug. 30, follows the former president as a young boy in Dixon, Illinois, before Quaid takes center stage as 35-year-old Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan.
The movie allegedly ends with Reagan’s goodbye to the American people when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1994.
"Tip O'Neill was, outside of Nancy, Ronald Reagan's first visitor to the hospital after the assassination attempt on him," Quaid pointed out. "In fact, I think the first thing he said, as I told people, [was] to keep the Democrats at least 150 yards away."
"They prayed together and they changed history together," he continued, "working with Congress during that time, and the nation came together, united."
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In a previous interview with Fox News Digital, Quaid reportedly agonized over the idea of playing President Reagan and the Emmy Award-winning actor questioned the decision when first offered the role six years ago.
"I didn't say no, and I didn't say yes because, really, fear," Quaid had exclusively told Digital. "Reagan was my favorite president personally, and he was also such a recognizable figure around the world, sort of like Muhammad Ali."