CAN A CASE BE MADE THAT TRUMP IS OUT-GIPPERING THE GIPPER? Check out these five ways President Donald Trump shook up Washington in 2017, then compare them with President Ronald Reagan’s first-year record. Reagan cut taxes, scared the Iranian Mullahs so much they quickly released 52 American hostages they’d held hostage for more than a year, began reversal of the Carter-era defense readiness decline and launched major spending and regulatory reforms. Speaking as a former Reagan political appointee, I have to say Trump is, at the very least, following very closely in the Gipper’s hallowed footsteps.