Trump is no Gerald Ford. He is not even George W. Bush.

I teach at the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, named for the 38th president, the only Michigander to serve in the White House.

President Ford famously said, “I believe that truth is the glue that holds government together, not just our government, but civilization itself.”

Ford's determination to do the right thing was so strong that he put the country above his own re-election efforts by pardoning former President Richard Nixon so that our country could move forward from the Watergate scandal and face challenges at home and abroad could provide. For this, Ford was awarded the Profile in Courage Award.

Compare that to former President Donald Trump. According to the Washington Post, Trump made false or misleading claims more than 30,000 times during his four years in office. And he continues to repeat falsehoods at every rally he holds.

Trump is no Gerald Ford.

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He's not that Republican either

President Ronald Reagan said in his very first year in office: “Our nation is a nation of immigrants. Our strength, more than any other country, comes from our own immigrant tradition and our ability to welcome people from other countries.” (Incidentally, America under Reagan created 20 million new jobs, proving that immigration and a robust economy go hand in hand go.)

Trump has said that immigrants are “poisoning the blood” of our country, that immigrants are attacking our “cities and villages,” and that illegal immigrants are “animals” and “not people.”

Trump is no Ronald Reagan.

George HW Bush won the Distinguished Flying Cross for bravery as a fighter pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II. As president, Bush risked his presidency to defend a smaller, weaker country – Kuwait – as it was being harassed and invaded by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Trump said he would encourage Russia, which has invaded Ukraine, to do “whatever the hell it wants” with any NATO country if that country had not allocated a certain amount for defense spending. Asked whether he had spoken to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Trump replied: “If so, that's a smart thing to do.”

Trump is no George HW Bush.

In 2003, President George W. Bush announced a comprehensive investment plan to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic around the world, particularly in poorer African countries. Two decades later, it remains the largest health investment by any country, more than $100 million across 50 countries, and is estimated to have saved more than 25 million women and men.

Trump has called immigrants from many of these African nations “damned countries.”

Trump is no George W. Bush.

The late US Senator John McCain ran for president against Barack Obama. But when a supporter of his then-Senator fired. Obama as an “Arab” quickly responded to McCain by saying, “No, ma'am, he's a decent family man, citizen, with whom I happen to have differences of opinion on fundamental issues, and that's what this campaign is about.”

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For four years, Trump spread the lie that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. Trump also said that Obama was “the most ignorant president in our history.” And Trump has called Obama “the founder of ISIS.”

Trump is no John McCain.

When U.S. Senator Mitt Romney was called as an impartial juror in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, Romney voted country over party. “President Trump attempted to rig the election by pressuring the Secretary of State of Georgia to falsify the election results in his state. President Trump also violated his oath of office by failing to protect the Capitol, the Vice President and others at the Capitol. “Each and every one of these conclusions compels me to support the conviction,” Romney said, referring to the insurrection at the United States Capitol that resulted in the deaths of several people, including some police officers.

Trump has promised to pardon those whose violent attack on the Capitol resulted in the deaths of police officers.

Trump is no Mitt Romney.

There is a conclusion

All of this evidence begs the question: Why would any Republican in Michigan who voted for Gerald Ford – or Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush or George W. Bush, Senator John McCain or Mitt Romney – ever vote for someone like Donald Trump have? ?

The answer is clear: they shouldn't.

Rusty Hills is a former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party and was the top aide to former Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters and we can publish it online and in print.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Opinion: Trump is no Gerald Ford. Or Ronald Reagan. Or George Bush.