without that political commentary there would have been no actor ronald reagan or president ronald reagan. thank you to hollywood for what became the first successful chapter with the reagan revolution. our guest david mamet has had his own successful relationship with hollywood as well. he has written and produced or directed with this stage career came to life in the thick of the reagan presidency. glengarry glen ross. [applause] spent the later works of david during the reagan post presidency years my coffin and hannibal and wag the dog. [applause] but he deviated from typical groupthink and he also haski established himself with political and social commentary —- commentator in that same ten with the compelling dialogue has often been the employee to excoriate which he has turned the virus of conformity. tonight we welcome him to thece library stage to discuss his new book recessional. the death of free speech andco the cost of a free lunch.at so let's share a passage from an essay in the book out of many that struck me and with the current state of the american theater he writes th

v . , reagan. it's really quite extraordinary _ reagan. it's really quite extraordinary that - reagan. it's really quitei extraordinary that these leaders on the right in the west would find real rapport and mutual respect with the leader of the soviet union. but this happened very quickly in both cases, and it led to the kind of understanding that made possible dramatic decreases in nuclear arms on the western and soviet sides in that period. i think margaret thatcher was one of the people who convinced the reagan administration that they should take seriously the initiatives coming from gorbachev early on. she saw very quickly that he was a completely different type of soviet leader, a new, open—minded statesmen — although still committed to socialism and the soviet system. so it's that early relationship with thatcher and the bond he forged with reagan later on that were tremendously important to the history of the late 20th century. we important to the history of the late 20th century.— important to the history of the late 20th c

ronald reagan. so i think you of sorts is in order to hollywood for writing what became the first successful chapter in the reagan revolution. our guest this evening, david has had own remarkably successfulul relationship with hollywood as well. a number of the award-winning works he's written, produced or directed that define this stage in green career came to life in the thick of the reagan presidency. titles among them, when gary, glencross, the co- span. [applause] the verdict, later works of david's during the reagan post presidency your, my favorite, rag the dog. [applause] but david, like ronald reagan deviated from the standard hollywood political groups and in doing so, he's established himself as a freethinking political socialor commentator, unafraid. the same sharp pin that wrote compelling dialogues in the broadway stage has often been the ploy for what he has turned in this day and age the virus of conformity. tonight we welcome him to the reagan library stage for discussion on his new

and if he had not done that reagan would have died. he didn't have a lot of time for a surgeon to see him and to determine that he had a perforation in his lung. that it's potentially exploding bullet was lodged there and later, i was watching this as a reporter i was a little young for this moment but people watching this in real time, most of the people in the white house had no idea that the president had to have more than half of his blood blood replaced. that's how much he lost in theemergency room while they were trying to get the bullet and find it . so another way jerry parr saved democracy as well as the life of a politician. >> an incredible story of heroism of course and another tragic day for our country, september 11 secret service also showed incredible heroism but there were t no abilities lnincluding vice president cheney. >> i tried to write this book the way my agent proposed it to me. i wanted to write about the current secret service but he was like, this agency has such an arc from rebuilding itself in the wake of

ah, many soviet experts on the united states thought that reagan was a very conservative, very right wing president with whom you can really cannot do business and done. gotcha believed otherwise. and said otherwise, and they were able to establish a relationship with reagan that work quite well. but one of the very 1st meetings gorbachev held with the west was with the iron lady herself yuki premier, margaret thatcher. the 2 met in 1984 before gorbachev. even by in soviet leader, the talks were viewed as a 1st step to finally warming relations between the soviet union and the west. i like mister gorbachev, we can do business together. she said so to rather reagan in that sense, she was influential and she played an important role in establishing the right atmosphere. remember that before the trip came in, there hadn't been a us soviet some, it was 6 years. it's an absolutely incredible thing. if you look at it, it was a huge turnaround in the relationship and something that despite all the differences between gilbert job and subsequent leaders has not been undone, corbett chef was r

that far but that is what he does and he almost according to present reagan in his. description of the later, you must breaks reagan's resumes as rib is broken because that is how hard he shoved him into that will help essential hippies in between the two nothing we well, not really getting cars either. [laughter]th is a hub, the transmission and reagan's chest was down on that and he's convinced his river ribs are broken. another amazing agent emmy, betty considers the sort of bulk football player basically like a real youngster, he is the shot also does not look left does not look right, he knows with gunfire is coming from, he points towards his chest towards this and holds out his hands as fast as he can't is and why does he can become a and then ultimately, those two d men savd allocable it and does get through and ricochets two news this morning i know i all know this. [laughter] sometimes a really figure you guys know all of this you talk about the cars in the guns later. [laughter] and so, by the way most of this i learned with the same chill by reading the f

that is not the ronald reagan i negotiated with. yes, i will considerate because serious people have raised it, but, i do not think that is a priority. he looked around at the two of us that were there and if either of you think otherwise, let me know. we went on about our business. a year later, jane mayer, wrote landslide. they had access to that transcription report and we had a three or four-day firestorm. we were hiding important information from the american people, and or that we were spying on the president. two decades later bill o'reilly and kylian reagan rights the same story, same document, and again when way spent, howard i, spent more time. we spent days refuting that there was a coup, or a cover-up, or anything else, than the ten minutes we spent being briefed about the potential 25th amendment issues. so, the point i'm trying to make is the president is the third of the white house staff. it is the third rail, and that is, that probably frustrates a considered organized center of thoughtful process in some respects.

reagan could have done it. but he did notal have the political clout to do all three of those things. when trump comes in again he's going to have to come in with a flamethrower. a flamethrower. with an exterminator right behind him, determine next right behind him. you're only going to get one more shot at this.ti if we do it wrong next time we probably are not going to get another shot at any of our lifetimes. yes, sir. >> thank you for tracking through 200 years of history how about present day how would you describe the power structure in washington? vewho is running the place? >> i do not believe biden isn running anything. by the way of my twitter up all these nicknames invited is the rutabaga the pervert. nancy pelosi is both toxic. [laughter] mitch mcconnell is curable. anyway, i do not think biden is running anything. i don't think obama is running anything because he is too lazy. i don't think he has the energy, or the time. he wants to play video games and swim. i think it is a cabal. they had a one

that's not the ronald reagan. i negotiated with i i yes will consider it because serious people have raised it, but i don't think that is a priority and if and he looked around at the two of us that were there and if either of you say think otherwise, let me know. we went on a matter of business a year later jane mayor donald mcmanus wrote landslide. they had access to that transition report and we had a three or four day firestone. of we had were hiding important information for the from the american people and and/or that we were spying on the president two decades later bill o'reilly. and killing reagan writes the same story. the same document and and again we i when we spent howard and spent more time. we spent days refuting that there was a coup or a cover-up or anything else than then the 10 minutes. we spent being briefed about potential 25th amendment issue. so it's a third the point i'm trying to make is the president's health is the third rail for white house staff. it is the third rail and that is and t

she said so to rather reagan in that sense, she wasn't quite sure. and she played an important role in establishing the right atmosphere. remember that before go mature, came in, there hadn't been a us soviet some, it was 6 years. it's an absolutely incredible thing. if you look at it, it was a huge turnaround in the relationship and something that, despite all the differences between gilbert trove and subsequent leaders has not been undone. because garbage was responsible for a major nuclear disarmament breakthrough. following nearly 2 years of wrangling with n u. s. president ronald reagan over the issue, he made a surprise announcement and said the soviet union was ready to sign the treaty without delay. in december of 987, the u. s. s. are in the u. s, signed the deal to eliminate intermediate range nuclear forces. you see the iconic picture of garbage having reagan when they agreed to destroy their missiles, stop producing them and pledged not to carry out flight tests of intermediate range missiles, professor of politics and author of the rise

and they were able to establish a relationship with reagan that worked quite well. but one of the very 1st meetings gorbachev held with the west was with the iron lady herself, yuki premier, margaret thatcher. the 2 met in 1984 before gorbachev. even so the leader, the talks were viewed as a 1st step to finally warning relations between the soviet union and the west. i like mister gorbachev, we can do business together. she said so to ronald reagan, in that sense, she was influential and she played an important role in establishing the bright atmosphere. remember that before i go mature of came in, there hadn't been a us soviet some, it was 6 years. it's an absolutely incredible financial look. it was a huge turnaround in the relationship and something that despite all the differences between gorbachev and subsequent leaders has not been undone. i'll go to watch off was responsible for a major nuclear disarmament breakthrough a following nearly 2 years of wrangling with n u. s. president reagan over the issue, he suddenly made a surprise announcement sat, the soviet

without the political commentary there would've been no ronald reagan and no president ronald reagan. , thank you of sorts in order to hollywood in writing what became the first successful chapter in the reagan revolution our guest this evening david has had remarkably successful relationship with hollywood as well. of the award-winning works, he has written and produced his oppressive stage and screen career that came to life in the reagan presidency. later works during the reagan post-presidency years. david like ronald reagan deviated from the standard hollywood political group and in doing so he has also established himself as a freethinking political and social commentator unafraid the compelling dialogue for the broadway stage has often been the pledge to excrete whether he has turned in this day and age the virus of conformity. tonight we welcome him to the reagan library stage for a discussion on his new book, recessional, the best f free speech and the cost of a freehe lunch. were going to dive into a conversation about the book in a moment. first, i wanted to share a passage

and certainly no president ronald reagan. so thank you of sorts is in order to hollywood. for writing what became the first successful chapter in the reagan revolution our guests this evening. david manet has had his own remarkably successful relationship with hollywood as well. a number of the award-winning works. he has written produced or directed. that define his impressive stage and screen career. came to life in the thick of the reagan presidency. titles among them glengarry glen ross the postman always postman always brings twice the verdict or later works of david's during the reagan post presidency years. like hoffa hannibal in my favorite wag the dog. but david. like ronald reagan deviated from the standard hollywood political group think and in doing so he has also established himself as a free thinking political and social commentator. unafraid of ruffling feathers that same sharp incisive pen. that wrote compelling dialogue for the broadway stage. has often been deployed to excoriate what he has aptly termed in t

he had a partner with ronald reagan. i was covering the reagan white house. we shouldn't forget how much resistance there was within reagan's own ranks to engaging with this soviet leader. there was a lot of suspicion whether to trust mikhail gorbachev. and as andrea mitchell mentioned in her piece, nancy reagan played a big roll in countering some of the most trusted hawkish advisers. i think her role should not be overlooked here. and just one more thing, george h.w. bush managed to land a plane with the dissolution of the soviet union, with the end of the cold war. that was a treacherous period and he handled it with enormous deftness. i'd be curious, in fact, to hear what my friend david ignatius has to say about this, with a series of partners saying gorbachev that was so important that has enabled him to do the legacy that he's left. david? >> so, if i can respond to that, susan, i do think that george h.w. bush was a master at playing out the end game with the soviet union was crumbling. all of the weakness that gorbachev had seen coming down around hi

ronald reagan of courseruns on a three-way pledge. wanted to defeat the soviet union , to develop that the american, economy and three to reduce the power and size of government but unfortunately for reagan ease the government, needs a business in order to accomplish the other two. so almost like kennedy he finds that he needs the agency he wants to get rid of too much to get rid of them. and i'll just share one anecdote in my book reaganand the american president . stockman was a true believer in reducing the size of government. they were sending out memos to all of the departments. how are you coming on reducing the size of your department, how are you coming on reducing your budget and he gets one letter and one memo back i found in the archives, the guy said well, and this is god reagan pointed believed in reagan's agenda the guy said he already has spent all this year's budget and we spent part of next year's budget to . so i don't think we're going to get around to cutting anything anytime soon. it was really an amazing admissio

the guy says well, and this is a guy reagan appointed who believed in reagan's agenda and the guy said well, we already have spent all this year's budget and we spent part of next year's but too so i really don't think we're gonna get around to cutting anything anytime soon. i mean, it was really an amazing admission once you're in the swamp. it's darn your possible to roll back the swamp right? so by 1984 reagan had pretty much given up on the third plank of his platform promises, which was to reduce the size of government and he succeeded in the other two, but he pretty much had to give up on the third one of reducing the bureaucracy. one very important thing happened between kennedy and reagan. congress had been appointing and creating these committees these bureaus these administrative agencies and empowering them, but once they got in place congress just let him go and basically it's chewed any oversight over any of these bureaucracies or administrative what steve bannon calls the administrative state at all. just let him go. so it then fell to the courts to try to handle these bu

one very important thing happened between kennedy and reagan. congress had been appointing and creating these committees, these bureaus, these administrative agencies and empowering them but once they got in place, congress just let them go and basically any oversight over any of these bureaucracies or administrative states just let them go so it then fell to the courts to try to handle these but unfortunately was started to happen is the court said congress is set up this agency and gave these powers. who are we to say that congress is wrong. missions and even set up their own private police forces as some you know, epa and some of the other organizations have so that was a major change in the bureaucracy between kennedy and reagan finally we get to trump and trump came in and he basically gets all for the other swamps, you know, he gets spoil swamp. he gets the the media swamp. he gets a cia swamp fbi swamp the deep state swamp and trump's appointees. don't help him out a whole lot jeff sessions, especially who's probably the worst single appo

that's the iconic picture of gorbachev and reagan signing the documents. so also when they agreed to destroy that missiles stop production in place, not to carry out flight tests of intermediate range missiles. one of the biggest marks that the last soviet leader made was the that of the fall of the berlin wall . taking you back to november, the 9th, 1989. now that led to the reification of germany after being divided for almost half a century. and this is how the historic event unfolded. have a look at this ah, 1989. the year when the berlin wall fell together with the political, ideological, and territorial division of germany. the last 28 long years. or the people of germany awoke in 1961 to the bitter reality. from this moment on they would be divided by barbed wire, concrete, and stones from their friends and relatives. throughout the walls existence more than 10000 people tried to make it across. hundreds were killed. and mikhail gorbachev played a crucial role making a peaceful re unification possible. ah, come here to this gate. mister gorbachev. o

this image on the right of reagan chopping wood. he got this other piece with what we talked about earlier in the twentieth century with teddy roosevelt getting out in the great outdoors celebrating your manly sports like chopping wood, when here he talks about horseback riding too. that was something to enjoy their but these two things here or 3 that really highlight that this is a different era. one is there is a joke in the caption where reagan says pumping fire what is what the president calls this activity of splitting walls, pumping fire was a joke about pumping iron. the 1970s bodybuilding for the cause starring arnold schwarzenegger, the first day of class, brought this weird subculture of muscle head bodybuilding to the center of american popular culture such that even the socially conservative president is making jokes about it. shutdown for moral charges in the 1950s, not a world that ronald reagan came from. he was around in california in those days. he was a democrat back then but that is a story for another day. the ot

>> ronald reagan had been president for all of about i want to say six weeks. jerry wasr the leader of the presidential detail but happened really spent any time with reagan shoulder to shoulder. they say you're on the right-hand shouldered of the president when you are the detailed leader but he hadn't been doing that. he had been assigned the deputy leader and decided on this one particular morning in march he needed to spend some time with the boss and get to know him and not just do the paperwork in the office and get out on the road with him. itit wasn't considered a very hh profile event. the president was speaking to a labor union at a local hotel that was less than a mile from the white house and one that i pass all the time on my way to work. presidents had been going there many times in each of their ten years. it was a standard routine visit. it was raining, foggy and jerry parr decided not to ask reagan to where his bulletproof vest which they often made the president, not made but asked him to where especially on foreign trips and sometimes out of

so then ronald reagan you said something else. a lot of other democrats saw that but at the time you were not registered to vote . >> i miss voting for ronald reagan by 2 and a half months ig . >> because you were going 'january 20. >> on inauguration day. i i was 17 for his reelection. the first words in my entire book, here's the deal now that you know her by any imaginable metric i should y have been a democrat and a liberal and probably a man hater too. my uncles, my cousins and extended family members all these great male role models in my life who stepped in and stepped up for me, they pretty much were all members of the private trade. carpenters and welders and iron workers and who would graduate high school but there they went to work right away and have had those jobs for decades, being able to support themselves and their families and these wonderful people so they tend towards the democratic party. i was an italian catholic at thattime, not to overgeneralize they had an affinity to the democratic party . obviously john

reagan said he no longer believed the soviet union was an evil empire. gorbachev was widely credited with ending the cold war and overseeing the end of the soviet union. perhaps gorbachev's greatest moment was letting the berlin wall come down in 1989 without sending in soviet for which he was awarded the nobel peace prize, but his economic reforms at home were wildly unpopular. shortly after an attempted coup gorbachev resigned, he said to avoid a bloody civil war. years later i asked him about reagan. >> what did you think when you first met him? how did he strike you? >> translator: i liked him. toward the end of the first day i knew that we would reach an agreement on some common statement. >> president biden released a statement overnight saying in part mikhail gorbachev was a man of remarkable vision, going on to say, he was a rare leader, one with the imagination to see that a different future was possible and the courage to risk his entire career to achieve it. joining me now is former u.s. ambassador to russia michael mcfaul. michael, i want to

this image on the right, with reagan chopping wood. that is actually i think totally of a peace with what we saw earlier in the 20th century, with teddy roosevelt, getting out in the great outdoors, celebrating the strenuous life. doing manly sports, like chopping wood. he re-talks about horseback riding, too. there's a continuity there. but at least two things in here, possibly three, really highlight that this is a different era. one, there's a joke in the caption, where reagan says pumping firewood is what the president calls this activity of him spirit splitting lots. pumping firewood, that's a joke about pumping iron. remember the 1970s big bodybuilding flick starring arnold schwarzenegger from the first day of class. that kind of brought this really weird subculture of muscle head bodybuilders to the center of american popular culture. such that even the social -- socially conservative president is making jokes about it. remember when muscle beach was shut down for morals charges in the late 1950s? that's the world that actually

reagan joined in that. i think he felt that star wars would be the strategic defense initiative would be -- would shape his presidency and shape the end of the cold war. and it did. it made a big difference. >> certainly and awarded the nobel peace prize. >> the nobel peace prize in '90, yep. >> david gergen, thank you for being with us tonight. >> thank you. good to talk to you. >>> outfront next, melania trump's response to the search at mar-a-lago. cnn learning that she was annoyed at the search, but not because of what fbi agents might find. we'll explain next. >>> an update tonight on the 12-year-old little leaguer who was critically injured after falling from a bunk bed. >> hi, everyone. this is easton. thank you for all of your prayers. s ago i realized that jade was overweight. i wish i would have introduced the fresh food a lot sooner. after farmer's dog she's a much healthier weight. she's a lot more active. and she's able to join us on our advdventures. get started at longlivedogs.com my active p

reagan: mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. amna: in 1989, the berlin wall again to crumble, the death throes of more than 40 years of communist domination that would end with gorbachev leaving office that cold christmas night. he died today in moscow. he was 91 years old. for more on mikhail gorbachev's legacy, we turn to andrew weiss. he served in the george h.w. bush and clinton administrations at the pentagon, national security council staff, and the state department. he is now vice president for studies at carnegie endowment for international peace, a think tank. welcome back to the newshour. thanks for being with us. it has been said that very few leaders in modern history have had the kind of impact mikael gorbachev did. do you agree with that? is it a fair assessment? andrew: it is a very fair assessment. when gorbachev came into power in 1985, the soviet union was a formidable, multinational empire and had an enormous external empire in eastern europe, and by the time he left office, the soviet union was no more and th

president at the time, ronald reagan? what did that mean for arms control and the end othe cold war? >> it meant everything for the end of the cold war. gorbachev reached out to ronald reagan ando margaret thatcher, and two other western leaders, and established a dialogue and not a confrontation. prior to mr. gorbach coming to power, the soviet union was ruled by people who really couldn't deal with the problems of the soviet union. mr. gorbachev tried to deal with them. he tried to deal with them in the best way that he knew, taking into account the history at he had learned. but unfortunately for mr. gorbachev, the rest of the country and the rest of the party was not willing to go along with it. laura: do you know anything at all about mikael gorbachev's attitude towards vladimir putin's invasion of ukraine? >> he hasn't been very outspoken or talked about it. it will be very interesting to see how vladimir putin remembers mikal gorbachev. obviously, in the present campaign against ukraine, he's going against what gor

nancy reagan asked john travolta to ask her to dance. she was very much trying to make her husband and his family proud, but if these moments when her star shown so bright it just overshadowed everything that he was doing and he could not hide his disgust. >> charles had been to the united states a number of times and everywhere he went he was the center of attention, of adulation. when he was in los angeles meeting a group of women. they squeezed his hands so hard, the diamond rings he was wearing cut into his hands. >> i shook his hand. that's enough for me. i mean, it's just unbelievable. >> that was the backdrop against which his visits to the united states with diana have to be seen. the more she took the spotlight from him the more inadequate he felt. >> charles felt outshone and diana felt her efforts to enhance the couple's reputation were completely unappreciated. increasingly her public success was making their private relationship a lot more difficult. they only cover select cities with 5g. and with coverage of over 96% of int

every president has done it differently, president reagan, nancy reagan loved going there, but he did all of his radio addresses on saturdays from the rural cabin and elsewhere. they all view it differently. the meeting comes from, -- and it has this theme of a camp david place. the spirit of camp david. it was about a place where you could come together with trust in nature, no press unless you wanted it there. the ability to sit down as people, break bread, share a story, got to know each other. to me that is the true meaning of camp david. a place for our presidents to get away and relax, a place to entertain family and guests, and probably one of the most unique places in the world, all within regional distance of the white house. >> we have some really great questions from our live audience. nancy from facebook asks, i know that president reagan and nancy reagan rode horses when they were at camp david. is there a stable layer and what other activities are available besides swimming? [inaudible] the only time we had a stable there, a coral, the pony macaroni was kept there for th

i was not registered to vote i missed voting for ronald reagan by two and a half months. that's right because you're born in january 20th, and that's right being able to vote for him. i was still 17 for his re-election. you're absolutely right the first words in my entire book. here's the deal donna, you know, by every imaginable metric. i should have been a democrat and liberal and a feminist and probably a man hater too. my father left the men in my life my uncles my cousins. they expanded family members all these great male role models in my life who stepped in and and stepped up for me. they pretty much were all members of the private trades carpenters and welders and iron workers plumbers and who you know graduated high school with their skill certificate and their high school diploma went to work right away and have had those jobs for decades being able to support themselves and their families the most wonderful people so, you know, they tend toward the democratic party irish and italian catholics at that time. i think, you know not to over generalize. they absolute

but i remember gorbachev visiting washington to, to have a summit meeting with president reagan. and at one point, his motorcade, one of those fantastic old jill limousines, the soviet, built a cars, massive tank like structures, stopped in the middle of the street. is motorcade stop. he got out. corbett job plunged into the crowd, shaking hands with astonished arm workers. he was saying through an interpreter, i want to say hello to you. i mean, it was just, he had that kind of star stature in the united states. and then subsequent events, of course, so hell made him a pariah reviled person in the soviet union. when the soviet union collapsed, the soviet empire fell apart. it wasn't entirely his fault. it certainly wasn't his intention. but if you look even beyond the west, beyond what we call the united states nato, at that time to the, the new countries that were fried a poland check republic hungry, east germany. these were allowed to go their own way under gorbachev to dissolve that decades long soviet had germany without firing a shot. there was no violence with the notable

kennedy, she wasn't old enough just as i missed voting for ronald reagan. and they were all taken by the handsome young camelot, and taken too young. and my friend was visiting and it wasn't that i said a few bad words, i vite violated one of the ten commandments, took god's name and she came around with a gold cross, what did i say. >> don't you ever take god's name in vain. and out of her mouth, f-bombs and don't take god's name in vain. and i think how progressive the women who raised me from ironically, they talked about abortion, adultery, they talked about inflation, they talked about everything you can imagine except politics and because the matriarch of our extended family, grandmother antoinette, that screen door had a flotilla of people who knew if they had a problem or one meal or an open ear, they could come there and do that. i grew up. and georgia often told me the world is my focus group and i think it started around that wooden table in akron, new jersey and i would sit around and listen to adult conversation, to my professional life for dec

s. president reagan signed the 1st of many disarmament treaties in 1987. it was the beginning of the end of the cold war in october 1989 when he visited east berlin for the g d r's, 40th anniversary celebrations. gorbachev urged eric hanukkah to implement reforms. he warned the eastern leader saying, life punishes those who come to late a month after his visit. the berlin wall fell and with it, the iron curtain that had divided europe for decades. it was gorbachev's, reformist, policies that helped unleash a peaceful revolution across eastern europe. in 1990 gorbachev was awarded the nobel peace prize for his key role in bringing about a new peaceful world order. internationally, he was highly regarded but at home he was increasingly under pressure. the economic situation was dire. the soviet union on the verge of falling apart, communist hardliner stage, a coup against gorbachev in august 1991. at the end of that year, mikhail gorbachev announced his resignation and the soviet union was dissolved with many russians holding him responsible for its demise.

this relationship between gorbachev and ronald reagan at the time, of course, reagan, what was no, no, i mean, obviously not just being an actor from hollywood, but he was, he was a great diplomat, a politician. he was a real meter in greta and both reagan and, and gorbachev certainly when they would get together, they seemed to attain this celebrity status. why do you think that became the case? will lead to very good, very good question. good insight. i'm not quite sure why they got along. maybe it was most destiny. gorbachev knew he had to change russia and reagan. he had to help russia. otherwise we might all die. so for whatever reason, i think it was, they wouldn't mutually needed each other. and they knew it and they weren't or same door. are you shipping? cause? i mean, you say they were a mutual need of each other. why is it, jim? maybe this is a bit of a tough question. but what, why is it that gorbachev was so roundly embraced by western professional partners? but today, the russian president, well, there's that doesn't seem to be much love less left to him. well, you got a

then ronald reagan you saw something else. a lot of democrats saw that at the time you are registered to vote. >> guest: i missed voting by 2.5 months. i was 17 for his re-election. when i wrote my book "here's the deal," my uncle's extended family members in all these great male role models in my life who stepped in and stepped up for me, they pretty much were all members ofer the private. welders ironworkers who graduated high school with their skill certificate and a high school diploma went to work right away and have those jobs for decades being able to support themselves and their families. they tend towards a democratic party. not to over generalize but they had an affinity to the democratic party. it was the height of feminism roe vs. wade and i talk about that. ronald reagan inspired me with an optimistic message. he was very inclusive in his words. i grew up in the house for my aunt got rests her soul my mother's oldest sister never went to college died suddenly and it was a huge loss for family but she packed in so

but in ronald reagan you sell something else. a lot of other democrats solid but at the time you were not registered to vote. >> i wasn't. i missed voting for ronald reagan by two and a half months. >> because you were born in january. >> i was still 17.' the first words of my entire book, here's the deal, i should have been a democratat an liberal. those that stepped in and stepped up for me pretty much were all members of the private trade. to graduate high school with a certificate and a diploma and went to work right away and have those jobsbs for decades. they tend toward the democratic party. irish italian catholics absolutely had an affinity to the democratic party. honestly it was no fault. i talk about that and ronald reagan like other people in my generation inspired me with a very optimistic message he was inclusive in his words and i grew up where people came through that back door the only one to ever go to college and a big mentor in my life suddenly at the age of 66, 20 years ago but she packed so much life here's

you detail between biden and unlikely, ronald reagan. >> axios "we are reagan." that's what a biden confidant told me. had a series of breaks after not being able to catch a break. with baby formula winding up on his desk. the biden view is that he is, this is a payoff of vindication, for playing the long game. so when that confidant said "we are reagan," their extension of that was, we had a big plan, and it's getting in place. and what they say is that president biden, sticking to his bottom up, middle out strategy for the economy, rather than top down, has paid off. that they've stuck to that across all of their big issues. and jonathan, they point us to a poll, in the washington post, august 1982, 40 years ago this month, for the seasoned viewers out there, barry sussman biline, one of the classics. and that was a poll with 58% of people in august 1982, saying that first-term president ronald reagan shouldn't run again. and of course, as resonance to this, we've had a parade of polls, people saying president biden shouldn't run again. most notably, there's a

to reagan. even gorbachev was almost obsessed with the idea that his country was on the brink of collapse. he couldn't go on like that . it would have led to disaster. and he said fully also. busy all of you, i think we should know that a general i one idea in coming from friendship be totally i to be like virgin is merely rising royce guys with ah, yes, you just looked at a year leukemia of from the situation in the us. i saw had become critical watching lazoodo something had to be damaged, bridge the technology gap between the soviet union and developed country legit, worthily. we had to raise our standard of living ridge, the leash fee for his gypsy when we were a huge country to proceed on. with many resources, lucia lua, brochure brochures, alicia beach, and a well educated population floyd who g of rollers are long, so they're only mutual for me. in at the same time, we were facing serious problems in trade or she was real problem with larry q e. she said, you know, with the fact it found,

carter, same time. 44 for reagan. 46 for clinton. 47 for obama. reagan and obama got re-elected. this ain't no obama and this ain't no reagan. for him to have these numbers have pointing towards a bad mid-term for the democrats. an implausible re-election bid at the age of 82 for joe biden. >> martha: that may be. what strikes me is that as far as i'm concerned, if you support him and you're asked the question, you ought to come out enthusiastically. people are just tortured, looking for a way to be enthusiastic. here's joe manchin talking to bret on "fox news sunday." >> you think president biden deserves a second term? >> jake, i'm not getting involved in any election right now. i'm not speculating on it. president biden is my president right now. i'm going to work with him and hi administration to the best of my ability to help me people in west virginia and this country. >> martha: i'm curious what you think about joe manchin. he's been such an interesting person to watch in all of this. the focus is the mid-terms, which are 100 days away. biden's numbers reflect on those rac

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finally he ends up voting for and working for reagan. that's his journey back. we tell that story and its located story involved in the book and in the film. but then once he becomes a public conservative black man he is attacked by the media and he falls out of favor with the left and it's a very contentious confirmation hearing and thenon to today on the court . we tell that story in the film in the book but i should say we let clarence thomas tell that story. >> you refer to that in the book as a radical years but you also bring up that the more he brings up the theme of circumstances controlling you rather than you controllingthe circumstances ? >> well, i think that he would say that he was blessed by having a poor upbringing by his grandfather. he would not have been who he is without them and he's constantly referencing how important they are to him. throughout the film, talking with his grandfather, with the pictures of the two of them i think he feels that he was blessed in his circumstances. other people might see it differently. >> .. >> she really he

but this is clearly evident in the reagan election. populism being one of the driving forces of reagan's rise. reagan able to synthesize vitalism with the supply-side agenda, with the interest of the religious right, with the tax cutting, defense buildup, all the various factions of the american right as well. with his departure from the scene, this argument begins a new. and i always thought it was interesting, 1988 gop primary was in many ways a missed opportunity. because you had a moment where the republican party could've been forced to choose between jack kemp, your old boss, and buchanan. pat doesn't run for president in 1988. he waits until 1992 because he recognizes, smartly, that reagan's successor is probably going to be george h.w. bush, who is not a a reaganite. who is an establishment republican. so then we get the fight between establishment republicanism representative by bush and buchanan in 1992, representing the populist wing, representing the resurgence of the old right and its attitudes towards war and its attitude