Michael Reagan is Ronald Reagan’s son and Nancy’s stepson. He battled many demons in his past. (Getty)
Michael Edward Reagan is Nancy’s stepson and Ronald Reagan’s son from his first marriage to Jane Wyman. Michael is married and has two children, Cameron and Ashley. Although Michael and Nancy had a period of time when they were estranged, resulting in Nancy not even seeing Michael’s daughter Ashley for the first year after she was born, the two reconciled later. They have been very close for a long time. However, he didn’t make it to Nancy’s funeral. Find out why in Fact #3.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. Michael Reagan Is a Conservative, Political Strategist
Republican presidential candidate, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R) and his wife Callista Gingrich listen to Michael Reagan during a campaign rally at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront hotel January 30, 2012. (Getty)
Michael Reagan is a conservative, just like his dad, and is a political commentator. He worked as a salesman in the early 1970s and as a special events director. He tried acting for awhile, including on Falcon Crest with his mom, Jane Wyman. Then he hosted several talk radio shows, but they didn’t last for very long. Finally, he decided to move into public speaking and political commentary, which he still does today. He’s written two memoirs: “On the Outside Looking In” and “Twice Adopted.”
2. He Dealt With Abandonment and Rejection Feelings From Both His Mother And Nancy
Michael Reagan walks onto the stage to speak about his father, former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, on night three of the Republican National Convention on September 1, 2004. (Getty)
Reagan had a difficult childhood and he wrote about it extensively in his first memoir, which was highly controversial. He talked about how his parents were divorced when he was 3 and how, at 14, he moved in with Ronald and Nancy after endless fights with his mom, Jane. But Michael felt left out compared to Ron and Patti. He wrote about how Nancy and Ronald took their children to church without Michael, and how Nancy took Ron and Patti to see their dad after he was shot and in the hospital but Michael and Maureen couldn’t go. He attributed all that to Nancy’s being very insecure from her own childhood, The Chicago Tribune reported in 1988.
In Michael’s memoir, he also wrote about he he was sexually molested at the age of 7 at a day-camp and photographed nude, the New York Times reported. He was terrified those photos would be made public and hurt his dad’s career somehow. It wasn’t until Michael was an adult and about to release his memoir that he told his dad about the abuse, in the late 1980s. After the memoir, Michael said his dad hugged him for the very first time.
3. His Two Children, Cameron and Ashley, Will Be Attending Nancy Reagan’s Funeral in His Place
Michael’s children are Cameron and Ashley Reagan. Cameron had a few run-ins with the law, but he has since straightened out his life. (Facebook)
Michael Reagan and his wife, Colleen, can’t attend Nancy Reagan’s funeral because they are traveling in Asia on business, Michael explained on Twitter. They plan to honor Nancy on the USSS Ronald Reagan in Tokyo next week. However, their children Cameron and Ashley will be at the funeral service.
We are blessed that Cameron & Ashley are there to honor their Grandmother this week while we am traveling in Asia on business..God Bless
Michael’s son, Cameron, had a few run-ins with the law when he was younger, Daily Breeze News reported in 2010. But after these run-ins with the law, Cameron straightened out his life. In 2010, at the age of 31, he was arrested at his residence after police responded to a silent alarm. That arrest was a misunderstanding, since Cameron had just returned home with friends and had unknowingly tripped the alarm, Daily Breeze reported.
Michael also has a daughter, Ashley. She often posts proud photos and status updates about her dad, her mom, and her grandparents, Jane Wyman and Ronald Reagan, along with Nancy Reagan, whom she considers another grandmother. She’s a kindergarten teacher and office director of the Reagan Legacy Foundation.
4. Michael Has Said His Father Would Be Appalled By the Current State of Politics
Michael and his wife, Colleen Reagan. (Facebook)
Michael Reagan has been very outspoken about the current state of politics. He said that his father would be absolutely appalled if Donald Trump were the GOP nominee, Newsmax reported.
If the Republican Party nominates Trump, I hope that I don’t hear from my father’s grave “I didn’t leave the Party, the Party left me.”
He said that he’s tired of people saying Trump reminds them of his dad. In fact, he said, Donald Trump never supported Reagan. He supported Walter Mondale and Jimmy Carter against Ronald Reagan. He said that Trump’s switching from liberal to conservative was nothing like his dad’s. His dad’s switch didn’t happen overnight, he said, while Trump’s happened because he wanted to win the nomination.
Michael recently announced that he was support John Kasich for the Republican nomination.
5. He and His Liberal Brother, Ron, Have Had Very Heated Disagreements
Michael Reagan shared this message about Nancy on Twitter and Facebook. The one thing he and his brother Ron agree on is their love for their family. (Facebook)
Michael and Ron are friends, but they’ve had a lot of tension between them over the years. As a child, Michael was once falsely accused by the Secret Service of being a kleptomaniac, he told the Chicago Tribune. His family believed them, which caused resentment because Michael felt like they let his brother Ron get away with pretty much anything.
Today, Ron is an ardent liberal and avowed atheist, while Michael is a born-again Christian and passionate conservative. They often butt heads in the political arena. Once, Ron made a comment hinting that his father may have had early Alzheimer’s while he was in office. Michael got very angry about that statement, and Ron later relented, saying that he had never meant to say his dad suffered dementia while holding office.