Best celebrity-turned-president: Ronald Reagan or Donald Trump? | The Tylt

To help celebrate America's birthday we're asking our readers: Who's your favorite president? We've got Democrats, Republicans, Founding Fathers, wartime leaders, and celebrities-turned-politicians for you to choose from.

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Greatest founding father: George Washington or Thomas Jefferson?

Greatest wartime president: Abraham Lincoln or Franklin D. Roosevelt?

Hottest Democratic president: Barack Obama or JFK?

In his pre-presidential life, Donald Trump made it to the small screen as well as motion pictures, making cameo appearances on "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," "Suddenly Susan," "Sex and the City" and more. (Seriously, Trump's video reel is mind-blowing—you gotta see it). He even received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007.

R. Tyson Smith makes the case that Trump owes a great deal of his political success to showmanship techniques he borrowed from professional wrestling.

Unlike competitive sports, pro wrestling is premised on telling the best story. As a performer it doesn’t matter if you win; what matters is the strength of the emotional response you generate from fans. Trump doesn’t simply possess a performative style that resembles those of pro wrestlers. For years he’s been connected with WWE and has actually participated in several of their shows.

But Reagan was also a master of spectacle and showmanship. He made unprecedented use of video; Reagan’s term in office generated as much video as the five previous presidents combined. White House advisers were careful to control Reagan’s image, presenting him in different roles but always as the hero of the piece. The Gipper himself agreed his entertainment career helped him immeasurably.

“There were times when I wondered how you could do the job if you hadn’t been an actor.”

Ronald Reagan was so smooth and so effective a performer that he completely won over the American people. #Reagan #history

— Nikhil Mahadea (@IntelligCitiz) June 12, 2017

Many biographies of Reagan refer to his presidency as the greatest role of his lifetime.

RR Never quit performing - went for role of life time. MT @BorowitzReport: Sarah Palin: "Ronald Reagan quit being a TV performer to go ...

— Randall Holmes (@RandallSHolmes) February 5, 2011

Trump himself hailed Reagan's abilities as a showman.

Ronald Reagan is another example," wrote Trump. "He is so smooth and so effective a performer that he completely... https://t.co/uQYekQnvyG

— Bradley gulotta (@rxpatriot46) February 25, 2016