The difference is Reagan believed In what he was saying and you can feel it. When the asshat talks you know he doesn’t believe a word he is spewing, and that anything he says, he believes the opposite - unless of course he is off prompter. Just look at his you didn’t build that comment, he really does believe that and it shows in his demeanor and tone.
He and his wife are just grifters trying every angle to get rich. Nothing more than that.
Reagan wasn't just a "great communicator" -- he also communicated great things. You could have amazing gifts of rhetoric, but that gets wasted when you focus on the petty and trite.