The Republican presidential debates from the Reagan Library

CNN hosted a Republican presidential candidates debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday night.

A different Politico article from earlier Wednesday evening quotes an unnamed senior campaign operative, who griped: “There is definitely some confusion on the ground, between the Reagan foundation and CNN sometimes no one knows who’s in charge”.

Trump remains the front-runner for next year’s Republican presidential nomination across multiple national polls despite questions about his conservative credentials. She sharply outlined her approach to foreign policy and engagement with Russian Federation , citing the importance of knowing the name of General Qassem Suleimani, the commander of the Quds Force, an elite military unit in Iran.

If these past few weeks are any indication… When Reagan left Washington in 1989, I traveled with him around the world, benefited from his wisdom and advice and came to know him and Mrs. Reagan rather well.

The only person to benefit from Republican attacks on Trump, Santorum said, is Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee. Walker, like Carson, began a response with “That’s not what I said“, which is always a weak way to respond: Only Trump can pull it off. No one killed Trump.

I won’t bore you with multiple excerpts along these lines; suffice it to say that Reagan wrote with similar passion and precision about issues ranging from the use of DDT to stop malaria to human rights abuses in the Soviet Union to welfare reform at home. It was a jab at a candidate he’s repeatedly called “low energy”. One sentiment I could do without, however, is the idea that Trump is Ronald Reagan Reborn.

In 1984, Trump made his first donation to Reagan, though that was after he had made a donation to his opponent Walter Mondale. Trump then returned to his core message on immigration.

Trump has frequently claimed he has inherited the former president’s legacy during his appearances on the campaign trail this election cycle.

“You really look, when he was governor of California he signed an abortion bill. As it relates to my brother, he kept us safe”. The audience, which was a Bush, establishment-type crowd, gave some of the most sustained applause of the night.

There’s nothing new about Republican politicians trying to channel Ronald Reagan, or about their critics pointing out the differences between today’s conservatives and the popular former governor and president.

On the other hand, in the quarter century since Reagan bombed Libya, Bush invaded Iraq, prompting Gadhafi to end his WMD program, invite in United Nations weapons inspectors, and pay the families of the Lockerbie bombing victims $8 million apiece. Plenty there for Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina and Scott Walker to admire. Rand Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Continued to season his comments with his family history as the son of a Cuban immigrant. He rattled off a list of threats: North Korean missiles, Russian incursions into the Ukraine, and Chinese cyberattacks. “You can’t predict it, sometimes you can’t control it”.

Sure, these two outsider candidates have sniped at each other in the past, with Trump infamously insulting Fiorina’s looks.

After the narrator from the original ad says, “It’s morning again in America”, the ad cuts to Trump at a podium saying, “Sadly, the American dream is dead”. It’s the sort of optimistic, inclusive spirit which the other debate participants seemed to lack.

Some candidates disappeared for long stretches of the event. Ted Cruz, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Florida Sen.