Ronald Reagan Foundation Asks RNC to Stop Using Reagan's Likeness for a Trump Fundraiser

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute asked the Republican National Committee (RNC) to cease fundraising for Trump’s reelection campaign with a commemorative coin printed with the likeness of the former President paired with images of President Donald Trump.

Melissa Giller, the foundation’s chief marketing officer, told TIME that the RNC had printed the coin without receiving permission to use the 40th President’s likeness.

“The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute owns the name, image and likeness of President Reagan and [the RNC] used his image for the coin without our consent,” Giller said. “We called the RNC and asked them to cease and desist the use of President Reagan on the coin and they agreed.”

The Washington Post, which originally reported on the incident, reported that the pair of gold-colored coins, one printed with President Trump and the other with Reagan, were mounted beneath an image of then-President Reagan shaking hands with Trump in the 1980s. Funds raised with the coin were directed to the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, which benefits the Trump’s reelection campaign and the RNC, the Post reported.