Legendary actor Dennis Quaid says America has a lot to learn from President Ronald Reagan’s friendships with politicians from the opposing party, including his close relationship with then-Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill. Quaid will play the former president in an upcoming biopic. Reagan (PG-13) chronicles the 40th president’s journey from his Hollywood acting days to his two terms in office and his battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Reagan It will be released in theaters on August 30th.
The film portrays Reagan as a devout Christian who considered his political opponents friends on the sidelines. In one moving scene, O’Neill, a Democrat, visits Reagan, a Republican, in the hospital shortly after the president survives an assassination attempt. O’Neill tells Reagan he’s been praying for him.
“Basically his nemesis was the first to visit him in the hospital,” Quaid told Crosswalk Headlines. “They joked with each other. O’Neill said, ‘I’d do anything to pass a tax cut.’ They prayed there together. Their relationship was just two Irish guys having a beer after 6 p.m., forget about party politics, they were like, ‘Let’s have a conversation.’ That was their interaction.”
“They may have disagreed 30 percent of the time, but that doesn’t mean they were 30 percent enemies. They were 70 percent friends.”
Quaid said America’s polarized political culture could take some lessons from Reagan and O’Neill’s friendship.
“What’s missing today is dialogue, compromise,” Quaid said. “… We have to get back to that. People don’t even know where to start right now. We seem to be so entrenched. But we have to start somewhere.”
Quaid lamented the fact that “we pass each other on the street all the time,” “we stop by each other’s business,” and “we’re all friendly until we realize we’re labeled, and then things start to go awry.”
“We’re all Americans, and we really need to learn how to embrace each other’s strengths and what we have, instead of our differences.”
Watch: Official Trailer for the Movie “Reagan” (2024) – In theaters August 30
Photo credit: © Rawhide Pictures
Michael Faust He has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years, and his work has appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star and Knoxville News Sentinel.
