“Reagan” movie star Dennis Quaid rallied for former President Trump in Coachella, California, on Saturday, addressing a crowd in the deep blue state that was once Vice President Harris’ turf.
“God bless you. God bless America. I’m here today to tell you that it’s time to pick a side,” Quaid said on stage. “Are we going to be a nation that stands for the Constitution? Or for TikTok? Are we going to be a nation of law and order? Or wide open borders? Which is it? Because it’s time to pick a side.”
Speaking in the desert city east of Los Angeles known for its namesake annual music festival, Quaid said he played President Ronald Reagan, his “favorite president of the 20th century,” in the 2024 biopic. The actor drew parallels between the political landscape when Reagan was first elected and the present.
“It’s amazing how the issues of the 1980 election are very similar to what they are today,” he said, recalling the record high inflation back then, as well as the Iran hostages.
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Dennis Quaid speaks at a campaign rally for Donald Trump at the Calhoun Ranch, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Coachella, Calif. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“We were a nation in decline. That’s what they told us. Ronald Reagan came along and said, no, we’re not a nation in decline. We’re going there. And we followed him,” Quaid said, pointing upwards. “The same with Trump, with President Trump. My favorite president of the 21st century.”
The actor said that when he voted for Reagan decades ago, he went home to his roommate in Los Angeles at the time, who asked him who he voted for and told Quaid, “You are kicked out of the hippies.”
“I’m gonna ask you a question that Reagan asked America back then, and I think it’s the question that got him elected. Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Quaid said.
Dennis Quaid departs after speaking at a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Calhoun Ranch, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Coachella, Calif. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“Four years ago, under President Trump, we had energy,” he said. “We were an energy independent nation. We had cheap gas. We were actually exporting oil to our allies and our friends. Today, Putin is making money hand over fist, selling oil that he uses to pay for his Soviet-style comeback war that he has with Ukraine, and while we’re shutting down our pipelines over here and capping our wells, and begging Saudi Arabia and Venezuela to ‘pretty please, will you please sell us some oil? We’re kind of short right now.'”
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When Trump left office, Quaid said, inflation was low and there was “peace in the Middle East,” crediting Trump as having been “right on the verge of accomplishing the Abraham Accords,” making peace between Israel and Arab nations. The actor also said Trump was negotiating a withdrawal from Afghanistan with “honor and order,” recalling how the former Republican president said he threatened a Taliban leader with a satellite image of his house.
Dennis Quaid speaks at a campaign rally for former President Trump at the Calhoun Ranch, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Coachella, Calif. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)
“Iran was bankrupt,” Quaid continued. “They weren’t able to give weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah. And look at where we are today. We basically funded that war. Four years ago, we had a secure border. We were on our way to even doing more and having a wall. That’s what a nation is. It has a wall.… But I guess it’s like voter I.D. you don’t need it in this country for some reason.”
The actor concluded with a personal story about his housekeeper, Josie, who he said was in the United States illegally for more than a decade and used her sister’s identification. When Trump was elected in 2016, Quaid said the housekeeper from Mexico “was in fear that she was going to be sent back to her country.”
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“I told her, I said, ‘Josie, no, you’re not. That’s not what he’s talking about. He wants people to come here the right way, I’m going to become your sponsor,'” he said. “And so we started it. Right now she has her green card today, and she so wants to get her citizenship before so she can vote for Donald Trump.”
“So like I said, people, it’s time to pick a side. Who are you going to pick? God bless you,” Quaid added.