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Ronald Reagan
- Enacted stricter gun control as Governor of California with the explicit goal of weakening the Black Panther Party
- On his policy of sending in armed National Guard soldiers into colleges to quell student protests, Reagan said "If it takes a bloodbath, let's get it over with. No more appeasement."
- Opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited racial discrimination in voting.
- Exaggerated and lied about "welfare queens" abusing social security, veteran's benefits, etc. as an excuse to gut social programs.
- Instituted regressive tax hikes which hit the poor harder than the rich.
- Froze minimum wage increases.
- Broke up the air traffic controllers' union, leaving 12,000 people jobless.
- Vetoed (his veto was overturned) the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, which "specifies that entities receiving federal funds must comply with civil rights legislation in all of their operations."
- Greatly expanded the War on Drugs, which disproportionately targeted and imprisoned Black people.
- Sold arms to Iran to fund the Contras, right-wing rebels in Nicaragua famous for their human rights abuses, including raping, torturing, kidnapping, and murdering civilians, and deliberately targetting hospitals.
- Supported apartheid, vetoing the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act.
- Believed Americans who fought against Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil war were "on the wrong side."
- Conducted air strikes on Libya, which killed dozens of civilians. The air strikes were deemed a violation of international law by the United Nations General Assembly.
- Left a wreath at a military cemetery in Bitburg, Germany. When it came out that members of the Nazi paramilitary Schutzstaffel were buried at that cemetery, Reagan said "[German soldiers] were victims, just as surely as the victims in the concentration camps."
- After certain African delegates to the UN opposed the US in a vote, Reagan said: "To see those ... monkeys from those African countries, damn them! They're still uncomfortable wearing shoes!"
- Publicly defended Rhodesia, a white-minority dominated ex-colony in Southern Africa.