Michael Reagan, eldest son of Ronald Reagan, dies aged 80

Michael Reagan, the eldest son of Ronald Reagan and a conservative commentator, has died. He was 80.The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute announced his death in a post on the social platform X on Tuesday, calling him “a steadfast guardian of his father’s legacy”.“Michael Reagan lived a life shaped by conviction, purpose, and an abiding devotion to President Reagan’s ideals,” the foundation said.His cause of death was not immediately announced.Reagan was a contributor to the conservative Newsmax television network and was known for his talk radio program, The Michael Reagan Show.He was born to Irene Flaugher in 1945 and adopted just hours after his birth by Ronald Reagan and his then-wife, actor Jane Wyman.The young Reagan followed in his parents’ footsteps.After attending Arizona State University and Los Angeles Valley College, Reagan took up acting, playing in television shows including Falcon Crest, and he spent nearly two decades as a conservative radio talkshow host, speaking about politics and culture.In two autobiographical books titled On the Outside Looking In and Twice Adopted, he told of an at-times difficult childhood, which included coming to terms with his adoption, and his journey of faith.Reagan penned several others, including Lessons My Father Taught Me, published in 2016, where he detailed lessons learned growing up the son of Ronald Reagan.Throughout his life, Reagan raised money and worked for charities, using powerboat racing as a means of fundraising for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Statue of Liberty Restoration Fund. Reagan sat on the advisory board for Mixed Roots Foundation, which focuses on foster care and adoption in the US and globally.Reagan served as chair of the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation board for three years, working on the same disease his father succumbed to in 2004.As president and chair of the Reagan Legacy Foundation, he championed the legacy of his father. The conservative former president was known for trying to scale back government and devoting his presidency to winning the cold war.Michael Reagan’s second and decades-long marriage was to his wife Colleen, with whom he had two children.