View source for Michael Reagan

{{short description|American television personality and journalist}}
{{Other people}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Michael Reagan
| image              = Michael Reagan by Gage Skidmore.jpg
| caption            = Reagan in 2017
| image_size         = 
| birth_name         = John Charles Flaugher
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1945|3|18}}
| birth_place        = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| occupation         = Radio talk show host, writer
| spouse             = {{unbulleted list
| {{marriage|Pamela Gail Putnam|1971|1972|end=divorced}}
| {{marriage|Colleen Sterns|1975}}
}}
| party              = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| children           = 2<ref name="Cameron Reagan">{{cite news|first=Seema|last=Mehta|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/01/former-president-ronald-reagan-grandson-cameron-reagan-arrested.html|title=Reagan grandson arrested in Van Nuys|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|location=Los Angeles, California|date=January 7, 2010|access-date=April 23, 2014}}</ref><ref name=PortraitOfAMarriage>{{cite book|first=Anne|last=Edwards|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xQpOAgAAQBAJ&q=ashley+reagan&pg=PT484|title=The Reagans: Portrait of a Marriage|publisher=[[St. Martin's Griffin]]|location=London, England|date=2004|isbn=0312331177}}</ref>
| father             = [[Ronald Reagan]] (adoptive)
| mother             = [[Jane Wyman]] (adoptive)
| relatives          = {{ubl|[[Maureen Reagan]] (adopted sister)|[[Patti Davis]] (adopted sister)|[[Ron Reagan]] (adopted brother)|[[Nancy Reagan]] (stepmother)}}
| employer           = [[Newsmax]]<ref name="Reuters" />
}}

'''Michael Edward Reagan''' (born '''John Charles Flaugher'''; March 18, 1945)<ref>{{cite LCAuth |id=n90708626 |text=Birth Date March 18, 1945 |access-date=August 4, 2020}}</ref> is an American conservative political commentator, [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] strategist,<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kraushaar|first1=Josh|title=Mark Reardon: Republican Strategist Michael Reagan|url=http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/08/26/mark-reardon-republican-strategist-michael-reagan/amp/|access-date=April 22, 2017|work=[[CBS St. Louis]]|date=August 26, 2013}}</ref> and former radio talk show host. He is the adopted son of former U.S. president [[Ronald Reagan]] and his first wife, actress [[Jane Wyman]]. He works as a columnist for [[Newsmax]].<ref name="Reuters" />

==Early life==
Michael Edward Reagan was born John Charles Flaugher at [[Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center]] in Los Angeles to Essie Irene Flaugher<ref name="autobiog">{{cite book |last1=Reagan |first1=Michael |last2=Denney |first2=James D. |last3=Denney |first3=Jim |title=Twice Adopted |date=2004 |publisher=B&H Publishing Group |location=Nashville, Tennessee |isbn=978-0-8054-3144-5 |pages=1–4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aeiyo_KOKIcC&pg=PA4 |access-date=December 30, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Kentucky, Vital Record Indexes, 1911-1999 |website=[[FamilySearch]] |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKHP-4JHN |access-date=February 23, 2024}}</ref> (October 18, 1916<ref>{{cite web|website=familytreemaker.genealogy.com|url=http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/e/f/Ann-Mefford/ODT1-0005.html|title=Genealogy of Campbell Rice|access-date=July 4, 2009}}</ref> – December 26, 1985),<ref>{{cite web|author=Dougherty, Margot|author2=Armstrong, Lois|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20098541,00.html|title=Binding Up the Wounds|work=[[People (magazine)|People]]|access-date=February 29, 2016}}</ref> an unmarried woman from [[Kentucky]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kydgi.ky.gov:2005/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2FORP&CISOPTR=614&REC=2 |title=Irene Flaugher, mother of Michael Reagan |access-date=August 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090928000520/http://kydgi.ky.gov:2005/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2FORP&CISOPTR=614&REC=2 |archive-date=September 28, 2009 |publisher= Kentucky Historical Society|date = April 9, 2006}}</ref> who became pregnant through a relationship with John Bourgholtzer (1918–1993), a [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] corporal. He was adopted by [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Jane Wyman]] shortly after his birth.<ref name=TwiceAdopted/>

Reagan was expelled from [[Loyola High School (Los Angeles)|Loyola High School]] after a short period at the school<ref name=TwiceAdopted>{{cite book|first=Michael|last=Reagan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Aeiyo_KOKIcC&q=michael+reagan+at+loyola+high+school&pg=PA168|title=Twice Adopted: An Important Social Commentator Speaks to the Cultural Ailments Threatening America Today|publisher=B&H Books|location=Nashville, Tennessee|date=2005|isbn=0805431446|page=168}}</ref> and in 1964, he graduated from the [[Judson School]], a boarding school outside of [[Scottsdale, Arizona]].<ref name=Tribune041788>{{cite news|first=Cheryl|last=Lavin|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1988/04/17/family-outcast/|title=Family Outcast: A Reagan Son Sadly Remembers Years Of Neglect|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|publisher=[[Tribune Media Services]]|location=Chicago, Illinois|date=April 17, 1988|access-date=February 5, 2011}}</ref> He attended [[Arizona State University]] for less than one semester and [[Los Angeles Valley College]]<ref name=PamelaPutnamMarriage2/><ref name=Barrett/> but never graduated.

In 1965, the FBI warned Ronald Reagan that in the course of an organized crime investigation it had discovered that Michael was associated with the son of crime boss [[Joseph Bonanno]], which would have become a campaign issue had it been publicly known. Reagan thanked the FBI and said he would tell his son to discreetly discontinue the association.<ref>{{cite book |first=Seth|last= Rosenfield|title=Subversives: The FBI's War on Student Radicals, and Reagan's Rise to Power |publisher=[[Picador (imprint)|Picador]]|location=London, England|date=2013|isbn=978-1250033383|page=297}}</ref>

==Careers==

===Salesman===
Sometime before September 1970, Reagan was working as a salesman for the clothing company [[Hart, Schaffner, & Marx]]. He then became a director of special events catering at Michaelson Food Service Company in Los Angeles.<ref name=PamelaPutnamMarriage2/> In 1981, Reagan was hired as a salesman for Industrial Circuits, a circuit board company owned by [[Robert Herring (businessman)|Robert Herring Sr.]]<ref name="Reuters">{{cite news |date=October 7, 2021 |first=John |last=Shiffman |title=The tech entrepreneur who founded Trump's go-to TV news network |url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-oneamerica-founder/ |publisher=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>

===Actor===
Reagan has had small roles in movies and television shows since 1985, including ''[[Falcon Crest]]'', which starred his mother, Jane Wyman.<ref name=MReaganIMDB>{{cite web|title= Michael Reagan|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0713976|publisher=IMDb| access-date=January 23, 2015}}</ref>{{better source|date = June 2025}}

===Television===
In 1987, Reagan served as the host for the first season of the television [[game show]] ''[[Lingo (American game show)|Lingo]]''.<ref>White, Peter (February 11, 2022). [https://deadline.com/2022/02/rupaul-charles-word-quiz-lingo-reboot-cbs-1234931785/ RuPaul Charles To Host CBS Reboot Of Word Quiz ‘Lingo’]. ''[[Deadline Hollywood|Deadline]]''. Retrieved May 1, 2022.</ref>

===Radio===
His work in [[talk radio]] started in the [[Southern California]] local market as a guest host for radio commentator [[Michael Jackson (radio)|Michael Jackson's]] talk radio show slot on [[KABC (AM)|KABC]] in Los Angeles.<ref name="latimes-reagan">{{cite news|first=Judith|last=Michaelson|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jan-29-ca-58812-story.html|title=Michael Reagan Finds a Home on L.A.'s KIEV|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=January 29, 2000|access-date=December 9, 2015}}</ref> After this beginning, he landed a talk show spot on [[KSDO]] radio in San Diego.<ref name="KSDOLaTimes">{{cite news|first=Kevin|last=Brass|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-01-30-me-1331-story.html|title=KSDO Replaces Michael Reagan With Rush Limbaugh|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=January 30, 1992|access-date=December 9, 2015}}</ref>

Reagan also hosted ''The Michael Reagan Show'' nationwide for most of the 2000s. The show was variously syndicated on [[Premiere Networks]]<ref name="latimes-reagan"/> and [[Radio America (United States)|Radio America]].<ref name=RadioAmericaReplaced>{{cite press release|author=Staff|title=Roger Hedgecock Goes Daily with Radio America|url=http://www.kcbd.com/story/9249929/roger-hedgecock-goes-daily-with-radio-america|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426232821/http://www.kcbd.com/story/9249929/roger-hedgecock-goes-daily-with-radio-america|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 26, 2014|location=Lubbock, Texas|publisher=[[KCBD]]|date=October 28, 2008|access-date=April 25, 2014}}</ref> Since then he has focused on public speaking about his father.<ref name="Radar11192014">{{cite news|first=Melissa|last=Cronin|url=http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2014/11/racist-reagan-michael-mexicans-court-case|title=Racist Reagan! Son of Former President Caught in Scandal Over Hateful Rants About 'Mexican A**holes' & Muslims|work=Radaronline.com|date=November 19, 2014|access-date=November 30, 2014}}</ref>

===Author===
In 1988, he wrote, with [[Joe Hyams]], an autobiography, ''Michael Reagan: On the Outside Looking In''.<ref name="Mike">{{cite book |first1=Michael |last1=Reagan |first2=Joe |last2=Hyams |title=Michael Reagan: On the Outside Looking In |publisher=[[Kensington Publishing Corporation]] |location=New York City |date=1988 |isbn=0821723928}}</ref> He also wrote that he was sexually abused at the age of seven by a camp counselor.<ref>{{cite news|first=Edwin|last=McDowell|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/02/us/reagan-s-son-tells-of-abuse-as-a-youth-by-man-at-camp.html|title=REAGAN'S SON TELLS OF ABUSE AS A YOUTH BY MAN AT CAMP|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|location=New York City|date=May 2, 1987|access-date=May 21, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Brian|last=Beutler|url=http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Conservatives_also_seek_Hastert_resignation_1002.html|title=Conservatives also seek Hastert's resignation|website=[[The Raw Story]]|publisher= Raw Story Media, Inc.|location=Washington DC|date=October 2, 2006}}</ref>

In 2005, he wrote ''Twice Adopted'' about his feelings of rejection being adopted, parents divorcing and becoming a born-again Christian.<ref name=TwiceAdopted/>

==Political commentary==

===Same-sex marriage===
In April 2013, in a syndicated column, Reagan accused American churches of not fighting hard enough to block [[Same-sex marriage in the United States|same-sex marriage]]. He wrote that, in regard to arguments supporting gay marriage, similar arguments could be used to support [[polygamy]], [[bestiality]], and murder. As he wrote: "There is also a very [[slippery slope]] leading to other alternative relationships and the unconstitutionality of any law based on morality. Think about polygamy, bestiality, and perhaps even murder."<ref name=GayMarriage>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Reagan|url=http://www.irontontribune.com/2013/04/02/churches-time-to-fight-back|title=Churches: Time to fight back|newspaper=[[Ironton Tribune]]|publisher=[[Boone Newspapers]]|location=Ironton, Ohio|date=April 2, 2013|access-date=April 23, 2014}}</ref>

===Call for the execution of Mark Dice===
In June 2008, [[Mark Dice]] launched a campaign urging people to send letters and DVDs to US troops stationed in Iraq which support the theory that the [[September 11 attacks]] were an "[[9/11 Truth Movement|inside job]]". "Operation Inform the Soldiers", as Dice has called it, prompted Reagan to comment that Dice should be executed for [[treason]].<ref name=AlexJones061308>{{Cite episode|title=Alex Jones interviews Mark Dice over Mike Reagan death threat constroversy|url=https://archive.org/details/AlexJonesInterviewsMarkDice|access-date=August 30, 2014|series=[[The Alex Jones Show]]|date=June 13, 2008}}</ref> [[Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting]], a liberal/progressive media criticism organization, asked [[Radio America (United States)|Radio America]] at the time to explain whether it permits "its hosts to call for murder on the air".<ref name="FAIR062408">{{cite web|title=Talk Show Host Calls for Murder|url=http://fair.org/take-action/action-alerts/talk-show-host-calls-for-murder|publisher=[[Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting|FAIR]]|date=June 24, 2008|access-date=August 30, 2014}}</ref><ref> Note that : Legal Execution done by the US Government to Traitors (which is the simple implication of such verbiage)  is NOT legally "Murder", and so can be seen as an attempt by the commentator to inaccurately redefine the whole issue.</ref> 

===Support for profiling===
He spoke out in support of profiling in October 2014. In a piece called ''Profile or Die'', he wrote that it would be left to citizens to defend themselves if there were an attack against them by terrorists such as the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]].<ref name="TownHall10242014">{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Reagan|url=http://townhall.com/columnists/michaelreagan/2014/10/24/profile-or-die-n1909249/page/full|title=Profile, or Die|work=Townhall.com|date=October 24, 2014|access-date=January 18, 2015}}</ref>

===Donald Trump===
In [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]], Reagan said he would not vote for Trump and endorsed [[Ted Cruz]] in the primary. Later he said via [[Twitter|X]] (formerly Twitter) that he voted Trump in [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]] and [[2024 United States presidential election|2024]] election. In 2025, he defended the [[Tariffs in the second Trump administration|Trump tariffs]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 8, 2025 |title=Michael Reagan Makes Surprising U-Turn on Trump’s Tariff Policies |url=https://www.lawyer-monthly.com/2025/03/michael-reagan-makes-surprising-u-turn-on-trumps-tariff-policies/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 25, 2025 |website=Lawyer Monthly}}</ref>

==Legal problems==
In 1981, Reagan was accused of felony violations of California securities laws in court documents. The [[Los Angeles County District Attorney]] alleged that Reagan had baited investors into unlawful stock arrangements, and selling stocks despite the fact that he was not legally permitted to do so.<ref name=NYT01111981/> The D.A.'s office investigated allegations that Reagan improperly spent money invested by others in a company, Agricultural Energy Resources, he operated out of his house in a venture to develop the potential of gasohol, a combination of alcohol and gasoline. Investigators said they were also checking whether he had spent up to $17,500 of investors' money for his living expenses.<ref name=NYT01111981>{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Lindsey|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/11/world/reagan-s-elder-son-being-investigated.html|title=Reagan's Elder Son Being Investigated|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 11, 1981|access-date=November 10, 2014}}</ref> The district attorney's office cleared Reagan of both charges later that year.<ref name=NYT11212014>{{cite news|first=Robert|last=Lindsey|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/21/us/michael-reagan-cleared-of-stock-fraud-charge.html|title=Michael Reagan Cleared of Stock Fraud Charge|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|location=New York City|date=November 21, 1981|access-date=December 14, 2014}}</ref>

On September 20, 2012, Reagan, Tim Kelly and Jay Hoffman were sued by a fellow partner, for allegedly withholding the partner's interest in an e-mail business built around the Reagan.com [[domain name]].<ref name=CNS09202012>{{cite news|first=Matt|last=Reynolds|url=https://www.courthousenews.com/ousted-by-reagans-son-entrepreneur-says/ |title=Ousted by Reagan's Son, Entrepreneur Says|work=[[Courthouse News Service]]|date=September 20, 2012|access-date=January 15, 2013}}</ref><ref name="MNLA11052014">{{cite news|first=John|last=Schreiber|url=http://mynewsla.com/crime/2014/11/05/lawsuit-alleges-ronald-reagans-adopted-son-cheated-businessman-4-million|title=Lawsuit alleges Ronald Reagan's adopted son cheated businessman out of $4&nbsp;million|work=MyNewsLA|date=November 5, 2014|access-date=November 30, 2014}}</ref><ref name="MNLA01152015">{{cite news|first=John|last=Schreiber|url=http://mynewsla.com/crime/2015/01/13/ronald-reagans-son-allegedly-cheated-businessman-4-million|title=Ronald Reagan's son allegedly cheated businessman out of $4&nbsp;million|work=MyNewsLA|date=January 15, 2015|access-date=February 29, 2016}}</ref> In 2015, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury found Reagan liable for [[Conversion (law)|conversion]] and [[breach of fiduciary duty]]. Reagan and his business partners were ordered to pay $662,500 each in damages.<ref name="MNLA012815">{{cite news|first=John|last=Schreiber|url=https://mynewsla.com/business/2015/01/28/ronald-reagans-son-partners-pay-600k-settle-business-dispute/|title=Ronald Reagan's son, partners to pay $600K to settle business dispute|work=MyNewsLA|date=January 28, 2015|access-date=September 14, 2017}}</ref>

==Personal life==
In June 1971, Reagan married Pamela Gail Putnam (born 1952), daughter of [[Duane Putnam]], former [[Atlanta Falcons]] football line coach.<ref name=PamelaPutnamMarriage2>{{cite news|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1970/09/22/78168334.pdf|title=Michael Reagan, Governor's Son, to Marry Miss Pamela Putnam|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 22, 1970|access-date=August 24, 2014}}</ref> The couple divorced in 1972.

He married Colleen Sterns, an interior decorator, in 1975 at [[The Church on the Way]].<ref name=Barrett>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922301-2,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114104425/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922301-2,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 14, 2009|magazine=Time|title=Four Reagans Used to Going Their Own Ways|date=January 5, 1981|access-date=May 12, 2010|first1=Laurence I.|last1=Barrett|first2=Claudia|last2=Wallis}}</ref> They have two children, Cameron and Ashley. Reagan and his wife live in the [[Toluca Lake, Los Angeles|Toluca Lake]] area of Los Angeles.<ref name="premierspeakers">{{cite web|title=Motivational Speakers/Michael Reagan|url=http://premierespeakers.com/michael_reagan/bio|publisher=Premier Speakers Bureau|year=2010|access-date=February 20, 2011}}</ref>
[[File:President Ronald Reagan, Cameron Reagan, Michael Reagan, Colleen Reagan and Ashley Reagan building snowmen in Rose Garden.jpg|thumb|225x225px|The Reagans building snowmen in [[White House|the White House]] in 1985]]
In January 2011, he called his adoptive brother [[Ron Reagan]], the biological son of Ronald Reagan and his second wife, [[Nancy Reagan]],  "an embarrassment" for speculating in a memoir that their father suffered from [[Alzheimer's disease]] while president.<ref name=Politico011511>{{cite news|first=James|last=Hohmann|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2011/01/reagan-calls-brother-embarrassment-047655|title=Mike Reagan calls brother, Ron Reagan, an 'embarrassment'|work=[[Politico]]|date=January 15, 2011|access-date=October 15, 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{C-SPAN|35991}}
* {{IMDb name|nm0713976|Michael Reagan}}

{{Ronald Reagan}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reagan, Michael}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American adoptees]]
[[Category:American autobiographers]]
[[Category:American conservative talk radio hosts]]
[[Category:American game show hosts]]
[[Category:American male journalists]]
[[Category:American people of German descent]]
[[Category:American political commentators]]
[[Category:American talk radio hosts]]
[[Category:California Republicans]]
[[Category:Children of Ronald Reagan|Michael]]
[[Category:Journalists from California]]
[[Category:Radio programs on XM Satellite Radio]]
[[Category:Reagan family|Michael]]
[[Category:Writers from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
[[Category:Newsmax TV people]]