Ronald Reagan: Heir to The Republican Throne (Part 2)

The Rest Is Politics: US

Goalhanger

News, Government, Politics

4.4 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 11 September 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

*Founding Members exclusive* Ronald Reagan seized the political moment after electrifying conservatives with his “Time for Choosing” speech. In this episode, Katty Kay and Anthony Scaramucci trace Reagan’s rise from outsider to Governor of California, navigating student protests, rising crime, and the turmoil of the late 1960s. Reagan became a national figure, and his ambitions stretched further. We explore Reagan’s first bid for the presidency, the lessons he learned, and how he built the political machine that would eventually carry him all the way to the White House. Become a Founding Member: Go deeper into US politics every week with ad-free listening, members-only miniseries, early access to live show tickets and a bonus members-only Q&A podcast every week. Sign up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠therestispoliticsus.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠@RestPoliticsUS⁠⁠⁠ Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠@RestPoliticsUS⁠⁠⁠ Email: ⁠⁠⁠therestispoliticsus@goalhanger.com⁠⁠⁠ Assistant Producer: India Dunkley Producer: Fiona Douglas Video Editor: Kieron Leslie, Adam Thornton Social Producer: Charlie Johnson Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Head of Content: Tom Whiter Head of Digital: Sam Oakley Exec Producers: Tony Pastor, Jack Davenport Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Ronald Reagan knew how to go big and go bold.
0:04.3	He truly was the great communicator.
0:06.9	Let us renew our determination, our courage, and our strength.
0:10.5	He starts off, of course, by running for governor.
0:13.2	The gold of the golden state is to be found in its people.
0:16.2	Reagan wins this thing by a landslide.
0:18.4	California has been his testing ground, and he has got his eyes on something bigger.
0:23.6	I'm here tonight who announced my intention
0:26.6	to seek the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
0:30.6	We must reduce personal income tax rates.
0:33.6	This type of what I call a voodoo economic policy, it's just going to work.
0:39.5	Only one man has the proven experience we need. Together, we'll make America great again. Thank you
0:46.7	very much.
0:47.9	Thank you. Reagan. Reagan. Right. Hi. It's Katty. We've just launched our brand new series on Ronald Reagan, and it's
0:56.5	exclusively for members of the rest is politics, US. In episode one, you'll remember, we traced
1:01.8	Reagan's unlikely transformation from Hollywood actor and Democrat to a rising Republican star with
1:08.0	national ambitions. In this episode, we're diving into the turbulence of
1:13.2	1960s, California, the student protests, the violent unrest, the backlash over rising crime. And it's
1:21.4	in this chaos that Ronald Reagan seizes his chance, runs for governor and sets the stage for his extraordinary rise to the
1:29.6	White House itself. So if you want to hear this series, just head to the rest is politics,
1:34.5	US.com and sign up. Here's a clip. Hope you enjoy it.
1:42.5	President Nixon was serving his second term. So Ronald Reagan, I think Anthony, assumed at this point that once Nixon left office, having been a very successful two-term governor of California, he was a very plausible fit to take over from Richard Nixon. But of course, things didn't go
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