President Donald Trump Reportedly Slammed as Mentally Ill Over a Recent Ronald Reagan History Error

President Donald Trump faced criticism after disputing Ronald Reagan's use of 'Make America Great Again' during a campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday, 5 October.

Trump's claim that Reagan never used the wording is contradicted by records preserved by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

Trump made the remarks while campaigning alongside Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts ahead of the 3 November midterm elections. Ricketts is seeking his first full six-year Senate term against independent candidate Dan Osborn, whose campaign has Democratic support.

The controversy began when Trump discussed the origins of the slogan that has become synonymous with his political movement. He said he thought of the expression in 2015 before addressing Reagan's earlier association with similar wording.

Donald Trump Disputes Reagan's MAGA Slogan

'Make America Great Again. 2015, I thought of that expression. Make America Great,' Trump told supporters.

He then disputed the comparison with Reagan. 'Somebody said, 'No, it was Ronald Reagan.' No no. This was 'Let's Make America Great,'' Trump continued. 'There's a big difference. And he never used it, too.' Historical records, however, contradict that assertion.

Material preserved by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library includes a campaign text in which Reagan explicitly called 'Let's Make America Great Again' his campaign slogan.

'I chose as the slogan of my campaign, 'Let's Make America Great Again,'' Reagan said in the archived material.

The library also catalogues a Reagan campaign button bearing the words 'Let's make America great again.' Its collection therefore provides primary evidence that Reagan used the expression during his political career.

Trump later turned the shorter 'Make America Great Again' wording into the defining slogan of his own campaigns and political movement.

His Nebraska remarks drew online criticism after accounts of the comments circulated. One social media user quoted in the original report described Trump as 'mentally ill,' while others accused him of lying and pointed to material from Reagan's campaign.

The health-related description was the opinion of an individual social media user, not a medical assessment. Nothing in the reporting establishes or supports any diagnosis involving the president.

The factual dispute is instead much narrower. Trump said Reagan never used the slogan, but Reagan's archived campaign materials show he did.

Nebraska Rally Puts Senate Race in Focus

Trump made the comments during a campaign appearance intended to support Ricketts as Republicans defend the Nebraska Senate seat ahead of November's election.

Ricketts entered the Senate after Ben Sasse resigned his seat in 2023. He was appointed to fill the vacancy and later won the 2024 election to serve the remainder of Sasse's term.

He is now seeking his first full six-year term. 'The president's coming to Nebraska to help me campaign, so I can get reelected,' Ricketts told The Associated Press last week on Capitol Hill.

His opponent, Osborn, is running as an independent. Democrats are supporting his campaign rather than fielding their own candidate in the Nebraska contest.

The race has attracted greater national attention after initially appearing unlikely to become highly competitive. Trump's Nebraska appearance formed part of what he has described as a 32-day campaign blitz before Election Day. His recent campaign schedule has also taken him through Republican-leaning states including Oklahoma and Alabama.

Trump Addresses Nebraska Economic Concerns

The Grand Island rally extended beyond the Senate race and Trump's remarks about Reagan. Economic issues affecting Nebraska, including agriculture and fuel costs, were also part of the president's appearance.

Trump signed an executive order expanding access to tax-exempt red-dyed diesel during the event. His administration presented the measure as an effort to lower costs for truckers and other eligible users.

Agriculture has become another point of tension.

The Trump administration's proposal to allow additional beef imports has drawn criticism from Nebraska ranchers, while Ricketts has urged the White House to pursue measures to strengthen domestic cattle production.

'The plan to import low-quality foreign beef is not helping Nebraska ranchers,' Ricketts previously said. 'I would advise the White House to change that policy and look for longer-term things that will help us build the size of the herd and ultimately bring the price of beef down for consumers.'

Those policy disputes provided the broader political backdrop to Trump's visit as Republicans campaign to retain control of competitive congressional seats.

His Reagan comments created a separate and readily verifiable controversy. The archival record shows Reagan not only used the phrase but explicitly identified 'Let's Make America Great Again' as his campaign slogan, directly contradicting Trump's statement that he 'never used it.'