Reagan admirers raise money for students, military members to see eponymous film

Three organizations that are fans of President Ronald Reagan are collecting money to send young people to see the movie "Reagan," now in theaters and starring Dennis Quaid as the 40th president and Jon Voight as a Russian spy.

Turning Point USA, the conservative group founded by radio host Charlie Kirk that operates on 3,500 college and high school campuses, is collecting tax-deductible donations by advertising “a tremendous opportunity to share your love of Ronald Reagan with the next generation.”

“We need to be reminded of the lessons Ronald Reagan taught us,” Kirk told Just the News. "We hope this initiative will allow thousands of young people to watch this movie – especially as Hollywood tries to besmirch Trump.”

Kirk’s reference is to "The Apprentice," which opens in theaters Friday and is reportedly a very negative take on former President Donald Trump.

Before running successfully for president in 2015, Trump was a New York real estate mogul who starred in a reality TV show of the same name. Trump, now the GOP presidential nominee, is portrayed in the film as a greedy, sexual predator who assaults his first wife, Ivana.

Also, a charitable group called Friends of Reagan Movie, or FORM, which is unaffiliated with the film, has sprung up and its website, reaganmoviefriends.org, is also taking donations that it will use to buy movie tickets for young folks.

A group of people who knew Reagan, including John Cox, a businessman who ran unsuccessfully for California governor, created FORM as a way for people who were impacted by Reagan’s presidency to “pay it forward,” according to their website. 

Cox told Just the News that beyond purchasing tickets for high school and college students, his group is also sending military personnel, such as those in the Navy stationed aboard the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, to the film. 

Cox said that his group is motivated by the Reagan tax cuts, rearming of the military and anti-communist and pro-freedom stances. “Young people who are far removed from the Reagan years need to learn these lessons so they do not repeat the mistakes Reagan had to correct,” he said.

Not to be outdone, Young America’s Foundation is also asking for donations to send students to see Reagan, noting that the former president promoted “traditional values, free enterprise and a strong national defense,” as does YAF.

The nonprofit YAF debuted in 1969 and co-founded the Conservative Political Action Conference, better known as CPAC, in 1974.