'Killing Reagan' star Tim Matheson calls Donald Trump a 'travesty'

We will never know what Ronald Reagan would truly think of Donald Trump as the Republican candidate for president, but the actor playing Reagan in an upcoming TV movie sure has some opinions.

Tim Matheson plays the Gipper in National Geographic's adaptation of Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard's best-seller Killing Reagan (airing Oct. 16 at 8 ET/PT) opposite Cynthia Nixon as Nancy. And he is confident in his belief that the revered 40th president and conservative icon, to whom Trump has compared himself, would not be a fan of The Donald.

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"(Reagan) would be pretty much like the mainstream GOP and the Bush family," says the actor, who played Vice President John Hoynes on NBC's The West Wing. "They don’t really appreciate the fact, that (Trump) is not a real person. He’s a greedy, venal businessman who has never done anything for anyone."

Matheson, who has made clear on Twitter he supports Democrat Hillary Clinton, says Trump is far from Reagan as both a politician and a human.

"The basis of Ronald Reagan was his humanity," says Matheson. "I might not have agreed with his politics, but my research — all I read about him, and by him — was that he was revered because he had a big heart. He was very religious and sincere. He believed that one spoke truths because otherwise, people would know you were lying. None of that even applies to Trump. I don’t know if the man knows the difference between the truth or any of his voluminous lies. He’s a travesty."

Among the many things Matheson has a problem with is Trump's lack of true experience in office.

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"Ronald Reagan was the Governor of California. He had earned the right to be considered for President of the United States. You learn a lot about a person by the way they have served. None of this applies to Trump. There’s no disclosure with him," says Matheson.

"I just think the man is a very troubled, emotional mess," he adds. "I don’t think Ronald Reagan would have had any trouble dismissing him as a terrible candidate."

If you can't wait to see Matheson onscreen, the 1978 classic Animal House, featuring his turn as college ladies' man Eric "Otter Stratton,' is being  re-released in theaters Aug. 14 and 17 by Fathom Events and TCM.