I am in the same boat.
Ronny was a God to me. Although, at the time he was first elected President, I was only in 8th grade and by November of '84 I was not yet able to vote. I was young impressionable and manipulated by my parents.
But more than that, at the time, we had just gotten out of 'nam ('75), had been through 2 gas shortages, 20% interest rates, hostages in Iran, and Manhattan was burning nightly. Carter was a good guy and a smart guy but seemed powerless in light of the conditions.
Reagan came along with his slick speech, down home letters, and his balanced California budget, and it seemed like the second coming of FDR except as a Republican.
Really, without saying it, his slogan was MAGA. Except that he was actually somewhat competent, although lazy, and despite his other flaws, was a leader. His administrations still reverberate today for better or worse.
So aside from the "deplorables" , there is still a sizable number of people my age and mostly older, that cannot shake this influence. It is like a religion they were taught as children that still holds sway over them. Despite having the entirety of world history at their fingertips and more than enough time to explore they chose to be lazy and have their thoughts dictated to them.