The author of books that inspired the 'Reagan' movie sees similarities between 2024 and 1980.

Dr. Paul Kengor, the author of the books that inspired the movie "Reagan," believes that the upcoming confrontation between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris resembles the 1980 presidential election.

In 2004, Kengor, a political science professor at Pennsylvania's Grove City College, published "God and Ronald Reagan," which explored the former president's faith journey. The book was a success and caught the attention of filmmaker Mark Joseph, who had been waiting for a book like it to tell Reagan's story from a different perspective. Joseph asked Kengor if anyone had the film rights to the book, and the rest is history.

The two decided to focus the movie on "The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism" instead of "Reagan," which was released in 2006 and starred Dennis Quaid and Jon Voight.

The 2024 presidential candidates have mentioned "inflation" more frequently than "communism," according to Kengor. Despite Kengor's admission that times have changed significantly, he still sees similarities between the 2024 and 1980 elections, when Reagan won in a landslide against incumbent President Jimmy Carter.

The slogans, for one thing.

President Reagan was the original source of the phrase "Make America Great Again," which is now commonly associated with Trump and his supporters.

"In 1980, Reagan used a message that is similar to Trump's current campaign slogan, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" This was a key theme in Reagan's 1980 campaign, and it is also a central part of Trump's "Make America Great Again" message."

Kengor re-read "The Crusader" to refresh his memory on the 1980 election.

"Reagan's "Make America Great Again" was likely the inspiration for the title of either part two or three in the book. I saw this and thought it might be perceived as a Trumpish thing, but it was actually Reagan's first."

Kengor searched his desk for old "Make America Great Again" campaign buttons.

"Although I have a button on my desk with a picture of Reagan 1980 and the phrase 'Make America Great Again,' Trump did not steal it from Reagan. He used it as a Reaganesque phrase in 2016, and it eventually became associated with him, ending up on his red hat. This shared history makes it a commonality."

Reagan's strong conservative principles are still relevant in the current Republican platform, with Trump embodying those values.

"He stated that he authored a book titled "11 Principles of a Reagan Conservative," which is a joint publication with Young America's Foundation and the Reagan Ranch Center. The book outlines the 11 essential Reagan principles, including faith, freedom, family, sanctity of human life, limited government, lower taxes, peace through strength, anti-communism."

"Conservatism is based on time-tested ideas and principles, and therefore, regardless of the time or campaign, conservatives should share these principles if they are genuinely conservatives. As Kengor stated, Trump can check the box on all 11 of Reagan's principles, and these ideas should be transferred forward to conservatives in 2024 and beyond."

Planet Chronicle Digital's Elizabeth Heckman contributed to this report.