Trump criticises Reagan Foundation after request to stop using late president's image

Donald Trump has hit back at the Ronald Reagan presidential foundation for asking him to stop using the former president’s name and image to raise funds.

In comments posted to Twitter on Sunday, the president called-out the foundation’s chairman over demands that the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee (RNC) stop raising money with Reagan’s name and image.

Mr Trump told the foundation’s chairman and The Washington Post CEO, Frederick J Ryan Jr, that he would “win anyway” in November, without the paper’s support.

“So the Washington Post is running the Reagan Foundation, and RINO Paul Ryan is on the Board of Fox, which has been terrible,” wrote Mr Trump.

“We will win anyway, even with the phony Fox News suppression polls (which have been seriously wrong for 5 years)!”

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute’s complaint came after the 40th US president’s name and image were used to sell commemorative Reagan-Trump coins.

Melissa Giller, the foundation’s chief marketing officer, told The Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty last week that the RNC had agreed “within seconds” to stop using Regan’s name.

Meanwhile, Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told The New York Post that the Reagan foundation’s demands were “no surprise”.

“It should be no surprise that the publisher and CEO of the Washington Post wants to interfere with President Trump’s re-election campaign,” said Mr Murtaugh.

“As Republicans, we all honour Ronald Reagan’s contribution to this country and our party,” he added.

Mr Trump, who has continued attacks on unsupportive US media outlets as his poll numbers slide against Democrat Joe Biden, has previously invoked Reagan.

That includes the apparent repurposing of Reagan’s 1980 campaign slogan which said “Let’s make America great again”.

The Independent has contacted the foundation for comment.

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