Republican Party (United States)

==== Reagan era====
{{Main|Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Presidency of George H. W. Bush}}
{{multiple image
| total_width   = 200
| caption_align = center
| image1        = Official Portrait of President Reagan 1981.jpg
| caption1      = [[Ronald Reagan]], the 40th president (1981–1989)
| image2        = George H. W. Bush presidential portrait (cropped).jpg
| caption2      = [[George H. W. Bush]], the 41st president (1989–1993)
}}

The [[Reagan presidency]], lasting from 1981 to 1989, constituted what is known as "[[Reagan era|the Reagan Revolution]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Troy |first=Gil |title=The Reagan Revolution: A Very Short Introduction |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0195317107 |edition=1st}}</ref> It was seen as a fundamental shift from the [[stagflation]] of the 1970s preceding it, with the introduction of [[Reagan's economic policies]] intended to cut taxes, prioritize government [[deregulation]] and shift funding from the domestic sphere into the military to check the [[Soviet Union]] by utilizing [[deterrence theory]]. During a visit to then-[[West Berlin]] in June 1987, he addressed Soviet leader [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] during a speech at the [[Berlin Wall]], demanding that he "[[Tear down this wall!]]". The remark was later seen as influential in the [[fall of the wall]] in November 1989, and was retroactively seen as a soaring achievement over the years.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fisher |first=Marc |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/06/12/tear-down-this-wall-how-reagans-forgotten-line-became-a-defining-presidential-moment/ |title='Tear down this wall': How Reagan's forgotten line became a defining moment |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=June 2017 |access-date=November 7, 2022 |archive-date=November 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108135940/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/06/12/tear-down-this-wall-how-reagans-forgotten-line-became-a-defining-presidential-moment/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Soviet Union was [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolved in 1991]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/12/24/ussr-breakup-gorbachev-history|title=Looking back at the breakup of the Soviet Union 30 years ago|website=www.wbur.org|date=December 24, 2021|access-date=November 4, 2023|archive-date=November 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104143442/https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/12/24/ussr-breakup-gorbachev-history|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/soviet-union-collapse-timeline/31487661.html|title=The Undoing Of The U.S.S.R.: How It Happened|first=Kristyna|last=Foltynova|website=rferl.org|date=October 1, 2021|access-date=November 4, 2023|archive-date=April 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413175407/https://www.rferl.org/a/soviet-union-collapse-timeline/31487661.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/2021/12/24/it-s-30-years-since-the-collapse-of-the-soviet-union|title=It's 30 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union|website=euronews|date=December 24, 2021|access-date=November 4, 2023|archive-date=January 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109160439/https://www.euronews.com/2021/12/24/it-s-30-years-since-the-collapse-of-the-soviet-union|url-status=live}}</ref> Following Reagan's presidency, Republican presidential candidates frequently claimed to share Reagan's views and aimed to portray themselves and their policies as heirs to his legacy.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jbU2mBCgfXkC&pg=PA133|title=American Culture Transformed: Dialing 9/11|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1137033499|year= 2012|access-date=June 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406235334/http://books.google.com/books?id=jbU2mBCgfXkC&pg=PA133|archive-date=April 6, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Reagan's vice president, [[George H. W. Bush]], won the presidency in a landslide in [[1988 United States presidential election|the 1988 presidential election]]. However, his term was characterized by division within the Republican Party. Bush's vision of [[economic liberalization]] and international cooperation with foreign nations saw the negotiation and, during the presidency of Democrat [[Bill Clinton]] in the 1990s, the signing of the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA) and the conceptual beginnings of the [[World Trade Organization]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/12/02/how-george-hw-bush-pushed-united-states-embrace-free-trade/|title=How George H.W. Bush pushed the United States to embrace free trade|first=Amanda|last=Erickson|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=December 2, 2018|access-date=May 30, 2021|archive-date=May 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516204027/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/12/02/how-george-hw-bush-pushed-united-states-embrace-free-trade/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Independent politician]] and businessman [[Ross Perot]] decried NAFTA and predicted that it would lead to the [[outsourcing]] of American jobs to [[Mexico]]; however, Clinton agreed with Bush's trade policies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta-timeline/opposed-from-the-start-the-rocky-history-of-nafta-idUSKCN1AW09M|title=Opposed from the start, the rocky history of NAFTA|work=[[Reuters]]|date=August 16, 2017|access-date=May 30, 2021|archive-date=January 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115210509/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta-timeline/opposed-from-the-start-the-rocky-history-of-nafta-idUSKCN1AW09M|url-status=live}}</ref>

Bush [[1992 United States presidential election|lost his re-election bid in 1992]], receiving 37 percent of the [[popular vote (United States presidential election)|popular vote]]; Clinton garnered a plurality of 43 percent, and Perot took third place with 19 percent. While there is debate about whether Perot's candidacy cost Bush re-election, [[Charlie Cook]] asserted that Perot's messaging carried weight with Republican and conservative voters.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/did-perot-spoil-1992-election-for-bush-its-complicated-11562714375|title=Did Perot Spoil 1992 Election for Bush? It's Complicated.|first=Eliza|last=Collins|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=July 10, 2019|access-date=May 30, 2021|archive-date=June 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609164408/https://www.wsj.com/articles/did-perot-spoil-1992-election-for-bush-its-complicated-11562714375|url-status=live}}</ref> Perot subsequently formed [[Reform Party of the United States of America|the Reform Party]]; future Republican president [[Donald Trump]] was a member.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/05/donald-trump-reform-party-2000-president|title=How Trump's political playbook evolved since he first ran for president in 2000|first=Edward|last=Helmore|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=February 5, 2017|access-date=May 30, 2021|archive-date=February 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216014439/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/05/donald-trump-reform-party-2000-president|url-status=live}}</ref>