Here's the image in the original tweet, which is from 2017:
The tweet is gone now, and the account from which it was taken has been suspended.)
As quite a few observers have already noted, the quote is fake. (The photo, from 1987, is real.) There's nothing surprising about the president tweeting false information, obviously -- what surprises me is that the quote is popular among Republicans at all.
For as long as I can remember, Ronald Reagan has been the god among mortals for the Republican electorate. They've long believed he was the greatest president of all time. All aspirants to wingnut greatness have been compared to Reagan, and all have fallen short.
Until Trump. Whether or not they're willing to utter the heresy in so many words, right-wing voters clearly now believe that Trump is a greater hero than Reagan. Reagan has faded in memory -- Trump is the greatest lib-owner of all time (which is how these things are measured, of course, no matter what right-wingers tell you). All that remains is for some respected eminence to declare publicly what Republican voters feel in their hearts: Trump is #1. King Ronnie has been dethroned.
If you believe that Reagan still reigns supreme in these voters' hearts, ask yourself: Why would they appreciate a depiction of their greatest hero declaring himself subordinate to a lesser demigod? It makes sense only if they now believe Trump is the king.
The cult of Reagan is moribund. Trump is now their favorite president ever.
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