For months now I have avoided writing this. I dreaded the process and hoped it wouldn’t be necessary. But alas, events and the pleas of others have compelled me. Three emails in the span of about 30 minutes last Tuesday sealed the deal. “Recently, in discussions with Trump supporters, I have had many say to me that one of the reasons they support Trump is because he is the modern-day equivalent to Ronald Reagan,” writes Connor, a former student of mine in his final year of law school. “Trump supporters keep perpetuating this comparison. Considering your expertise on everything Reagan, I wanted to mention this to you, in hopes you would write an article on it.”

Connor’s email was far from the only such entreaty. I have been receiving these requests for months. Further back still, one writer about a year ago wrote a piece asserting 15 similarities between Reagan and Trump. That thing has been sent to me more often than I could count. It practically went viral. Enough is enough. Yes, it’s time.

I can hear Trump supporters protesting me writing this now, insisting that it’s time to unite against Hillary and support their Donald. But Trump’s status as the presumptive nominee is a separate issue from the comparisons to Reagan, which seem to be picking up steam. The constant claims of Trump being “another Reagan” must be addressed and must be stopped, if merely in service of truth, but also in service of what Ronald Reagan really represented and what we need to remember. The indisputable reality is that there is no meaningful, legitimate set of similarities between Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan.

Before proceeding further, I’ll begin with a general statement on my Reagan bona fides — that is, for Trump supporters new to the conservative movement who have no idea who I am.