Ronald Reagan's daughter Patti Davis slams Trump’s foreign policy in 2nd term: 'We’re hated in the world'

Appearing on CNN’s ‘Anderson Cooper 360’, Patti Davis said that her father 'would be grieving' seeing the current American political scenario
PUBLISHED MAR 13, 2025
Ronald Reagan's daughter Patti Davis has said Donald Trump is harming America's standing in the world (Bettmann/Contributor, Instragram/ andersoncooper360 and Getty Images)
Ronald Reagan's daughter Patti Davis has said Donald Trump is harming America's standing in the world (Bettmann/Contributor, Instragram/ andersoncooper360 and Getty Images)

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Patti Davis, daughter of former President Ronald Reagan, slammed President Donald Trump’s second term in the Oval Office as she called him out for tarnishing the US’ standing in the world.

Appearing on CNN’s ‘Anderson Cooper 360’, the 72-year-old said on Tuesday, March 11, that her father “would be grieving” seeing the current American political scenario, as reported by The Hill.

She continued, “The America that I grew up in, that we all have known, is one that had alliances and was friends with other countries, and it would go to other countries who were in trouble, who were being tyrannized, or invaded, or, you know, otherwise suffering from famines, for example.”


 
 
 
 
 
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Patti Davis says America has changed for the worse

President-elect Ronald Reagan & wife Nancy say goodbye to daughter Patti as they leave their Pacific Palisades home for Washington DC. (Photo by Dirck Halstead/Getty Images)
President-elect Ronald Reagan and wife Nancy say goodbye to daughter Patti as they leave their Pacific Palisades home for Washington DC (Dirck Halstead/Getty Images)

Since retaking the White House in January, Trump has gone confrontational with many countries by ensuing a trade war with Canada, Mexico, and China. He also had a very heated meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February as they met to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Davis told Cooper that these actions of the Republican leader are contrary to what her father taught her - the belief that America is “this force in the world that if another country was in trouble, would cross oceans to help them.”

The author then went on to mention the 1985 song ‘We Are the World’, which was the African famine relief charity single, featuring over 45 of the era's most popular singers and songwriters, during Reagan’s second term.


WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 28: U.S. President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on February 28, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump spoke about his contentious Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on February 28, 2025 in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“That’s the America that we know, and that we have been bonded with, and suddenly that America is no longer that. Suddenly we’re hated in the world,” she stated.

Actress/author Patti Davis attends book signing for her new book
Actress/author Patti Davis attends book signing for her new book 'The Earth Breaks In Colors' at Book Soup on February 10, 2016 in West Hollywood, California (Beck Starr/Getty Images)

Patti Davis claims ‘strength is forming alliances’ not enemies

Davis then added, “That phrase, 'peace through strength'—I think we have to define what strength is. I don't think bullying is a strength. I don't think being overly aggressive is a strength. Strength is forming alliances.”

Patti Davis visits the SiriusXM Studios on February 07, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)
Patti Davis visits the SiriusXM Studios on February 07, 2024 in New York City (Noam Galai/Getty Images)

This came after the actress wrote an op-ed for The New York Times

She said that her father spoke with her the night of his 1981 inauguration and told her that he ran for the office to “make this world a safer, more peaceful place.”

“When he left and the stillness of Lincoln’s bedroom folded around me, with all of its history and stories, I was struck by the fact that he spoke about the world, not just America,” she noted.

Patti Davis speaks at the funeral service held for her father former President Ronald Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Reagan was buried on the west lawn at the Library after a week of memorial services and national mourning. He died on June 5, 2004, at his home in Bel Air, California. (Photo by Ann Johansson/Corbis via Getty Images)
Patti Davis speaks at the funeral service held for her father former President Ronald Reagan at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Reagan was buried on the west lawn at the Library after a week of memorial services and national mourning (Ann Johansson/Corbis via Getty Images)

Though Davis disagreed many times with Reagan’s policies, she asserted, “I knew he wanted America to be a strong partner in the world, bonding with other countries to defeat tyranny and aggression.”

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