and there were a lot of people believed ronald reagan ronald reagan would have become governor of california or president of the united states without nancy. i can't say yes or no on is that i can say that the portrait of nancy is accurate. she was a diva in the white house and she was overbearing and cruel but then she emerges in the end of the president's life as a true hero, somebody that is unbelievably sensitive to her husband's ailments protecting him making sure he has the best care and devoted her whole life to it for a decade it's an amazing story of love and we portray the story very vividly. >> host: you do in the end but every chance you take her and you put a very negative light on her. for the first 200 pages. >> guest: with the status for the c-span viewers watching this interview you are reading this book on an ideological level. i understand you are an ideologue. i am presenting these people the way they were. once again. whether it is controversial or who's headed. there is no tabloid stuff in the book. there are no irresponsible allegations. it all happened the way we wrot

ronald reagan didn't want to do the economy just for him. he was interested in the folks and he didn't like the fact that they were struggling to get jobs and had to wait for gas lines in office and he cleaned it up. >> and i think that he would say he didn't. he would say that he believed in the people and that it was up to the people that he inspired them to greatness. >> and he was an inspirational man but his policies allowed for people to prosper. the people to prosper. spec and that's what he said we will get off your back but you have to do the work. and that is what made him great. he was a good and decent man who had an honest humility, deeply religious, great courage of convictions and strong and he went forward and accomplished great things and i don't know that the case has been made but in any way the attempt on his life has caused a change in history that caused the eventual death of a president, for a president to fail. >> i disagree with you entirely. that's what's fun about reading killing reagan as you can have your view an

nancy was id lockstep with ronald reagan on policy. we didn't find any disagreements that they had politically. reagan was anti-communist so was nancy reagan was. marketplace smaller government so was nancy. we didn't see any tension there but what she did after the assassination attempt she took off the stuff he did not have to deal with and that was a lot. nobody got to see them without her saying yes. that is power where did the and rod old ma dash ronald reagan agreed on all policy she didn't pull him aside to say maybe we do this and that is incorrect they were pretty much of one mind. >> guest: . >> host: there is a mixed message on his religion or the depth of his police. that he did not go to church added his belief out of god. but at the same time there is a spirituality there a and it your words what message are you trying to relate to "the reader"? is the religious man in your opinion? gimmicky was spiritual and certainly he used his belief in god to define public policy i will give you an exclusive. are you ready? i have a

ronald reagan rebuilt the military. in turn, helps to stand up for our allies, stand up against our enemies, and without apology for strong american values . sometimes we forget about that but you want about one of the most peaceful times in modern american history. ronald reagan believed in peace through strength. i hope to follow his lead. probably most importantly. ronald reagan was not just a conservative or a republican. he was an eternal optimist and the american people. that optimism. because you see today, more than ever, we need a leader in this country that cares more about the next generation than just the next election. we need somebody who is willing to go "because you see it is not enough to -- to go victim go bold because as you see -- big bold because as you see it is not enough to elect a conservative, you need to elect a reformer. we celebrated our wedding anniversary on the hundred anniversary of ronald reagan's birth. i remember exactly where i was at. this inngerous to say illinois but i was at the

joining me now, michael reagan, ronald reagan's son. michael, very good to see you again. >> good to see you. >> your father's legacy is being invoked by all of the republicans. i want to ask you straight out. what does donald trump have in common with ronald reagan? >> not much. i mean, the fact that they are both running and they both ran for the candidacy for the republican party, that's what they have in common. but that's really where it stops. and i think all of them make a mistake by invoking ronald reagan. ronald reagan was not invoking thomas jefferson and abraham lincoln, he was invoking what he was going to do and how he was going to, in fact, run the presidency of the united states of america. and i think everybody makes a mistake by putting ronald reagan's hat on. they need to put their own hat on to let us know who they are and go forward and win the nomination. >> we have been following your tweets, you have been very active there saying you can't be a trump republican and a reagan republican. tell me why you think there

here at the ronald reagan presidential library here in simi valley, california and it 18:00 p.m. in jerusalem, and 1:00 a.m. in london, and thank you for watching wherever you are watching us from. and donald trump is leading, but dr. ben carson is gaining on him. and that is on the eve of the big republican debate hosted by cnn. while most of the candidates are preparing for the debate, trump is going to be holding a rally on national security. and last night in texas, he shrugged off the possibility that his rivals are going to attack him. >> and so, the debate. i hear they are all going to go after me. whatever. whatever. no, i hear it. >> and now to the correspondent athena jones, and she is live at the ronald reagan presidential library, and athena, start with "the new york times"/orc poll that shows that dr. ben carson is closing in on him? >> well, wolf, i doubt that donald trump himself would say that he is worried, but maybe he should be, if we look at the numbers there, because this poll shows donald trump up on the lead at 24%, but carson is close behind at 23%, and he

msnbc's political correspondent reports. >> ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> i was a big fan, a very big fan of ronald reagan. >> reporter: today, republicans make the pilgrimage to debate at the reagan library in simi valley. in the state where reagan acted -- >> bedtime for bon zoe. starring ronald reagan. >> reporter: and then governored. he's become a republican legend. here in california his once grand old party is all but extinct. no republican carried the state since reagan's re-election and the last one to win statewide was another actor turned politician. >> i'll be back. >> reporter: but the gop hasn't been back since. democrats dominate sacramento. meg whitman lost her race for governor in 2010 and 2016 presidential candidate carly fiorina lost badly in her recent bid for senate. >> that's a generational issue, honestly. people are beginning to figure out that the progressive policies that democrats in that state have pursued over decades are literally destroying people's lives. >> reporter: republicans argue that a fiscally conservative but socially mode

reagan would call peace through strength, but i will recall here at the ronald reagan library, he, himself, was criticized not only as a candidate, but also through the strobe talbot who wrote this in 1984 said that he doesn't know what nuclear throw weight weights are, and doesn't know this or that, and et cetera, and things worked out differently. >> and reagan the had been a two-term governor and years of radio broadcasts to lay out the views -- and i can't believe i am saying this, but in a 1980 campaign of the radio broadcasts that laid out a detailed view of the domestic and international viewpoints which is a lot more to go through than what donald trump has said. >> and well, frankly, i think that ronald reagan would be rolling over, and trump reminded me of sarah palin in foreign policy. when you don't say anything, and how do you get up here on the debate stage and not say anything? it is like, you know, punching an airball or maybe punching the hairball, i don't know -- sorry, sorry. >> oh, oh. >> and by the way, i will remind everybody what they are seeing right now is scott wa

>> i'm a reagan conservative. >> ronald reagan said trust but verify. >> the day ronald reagan was sworn into office. >> reagan expanded medicaid three to four times. >> ronald reagan evolved on many issues. >> but do any of them have the same strange outcome to make reagan an icon three years ago. do they know what he stood for? i have the perfect guest here, michael reagan, the late president's oldest son, a political consultant, author, nationally syndicated columnist joining me from los angeles. michael, are any of them truly reagan-esque? >> they may have traits of ronald reagan in them because they are republicans and somewhat conservative, but are they reagan-esque? no, ronald reagan was likable and relatable. if you are not likable and relatable, you won't get the vote of the american public. i would imagine one of my good friends who just suspended his campaign in the last 24 hours was probably the most like ronald reagan because he was a cowboy. rick perry, great friend of mine, wears the same boot size as my father and the same hat size as my father when he went out to the ran

today. >> ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> i was a big fan, a very big fan of ronald reagan. >> reporter: today republicans make the pilgrimage to debate at the reagan library in simi valley in the state where reagan acted -- >> starring ronald reagan. >> reporter: and then governed. he's become a republican legend. but here in california his once grand old party is extinct. no republican has carried the state since reagan's re-election. and the other to win the state was an actor turned position. but the gop hasn't been back since. democrats dominate sacramento. meg whitman lost her race for governor in 2010. and 2016 presidential candidate carly fiorina lost badly in her recent bid for senate. >> that's a generational issue, honestly. people are figuring out the progressive policies that democrats in the state have pursued over decades are literally destroying people's lives. >> reporter: republicans argue that a socially moderate candidate could help the party come back to power in california. but even the state's top republican in washington has to admit it's an u

. >> ronald reagan said trust, but verify. >> the day ronald reagan was sworn into office. >> he expanded medicaid three or four times. >> ronald reagan evolved on many issues. >> do any of them have the strange alka my that made reagan an indelible icon three decades ago? do they know what he stood for. i have the perfect guest to answer that question. michael reagan, the president's son. joins me now from los angeles h wlaengs. michael are any of them truly reaganesque? >> they may have traits of ronald reagan in them, because they're republicans and somewhat conservative, are they reagan-esque? no. he was likeable and relatable. if you're not likeable and relatable, you're not going to get the vote of the american public. i would imagine one of my good friends who just suspended his campaign in the last 24 hours was probably the most like ronald reagan because he was a cowboy. rick perry, good friend of mine, wears the same boot size as my father, hat size as my father. great guy, couldn't get off the ground in texas. >> i'm setting you up now, who's the least reagan-esque on that stag

ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> president reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan believes in america. neil: i thought we edited that. that was actually a nonstop ride from these candidates. obviously everyone would dream to be like this generation's reagan. deputy secretary mark weinberg said at least these guys from what you've seen -- >> i'm impressed by their credentials, but not by their behavior. it is mean-spirited. it is personal. it is angry and it's ugly. neil: ronald reagan was facing 15 or 16 challenges. >> i don't think there would be 15 or 16 people who would've challenged ronald reagan. what he would do is what he always did be himself, tell me what he believes, why he believed it and look forward and optimistically towards the future and you wouldn't lay my downgrade other people. neil: things got nasty and 76 and who is challenging gerald ford, turner pulled it off. did he let his surrogates do the nasty stuff? i just never -- notice he never got his own. >> first of all in 1976, if you notice most of the attacks

but he also is a formidable challenger. >> ronald reagan was challenging a sitting president in his own party, relatively conservative president and basically calling him a liberal sellout. >> in the texas primary reagan wiped out the president in a stunning victory. >> in august of 1974, this country had some very difficult, formidable obstacles ahead of us. >> and you blew it! >> we blew it in the right direction, young man. and those of you -- [ indiscernible ] >> period of time in the wake of watergate. jimmy carter could run as someone who called himself an outsider, a guy who wasn't tainted by washington, d.c. and its corruption and its culture. >> i remember when i announced for president there was a major headline on the editorial page of the "atlanta constitution," jimmy carter is running for what? i'm running for president. >> jimmy carter. >> jimmy who? >> i don't know who he is. >> i picture him like one of us. >> jimmy carter grew up in a very small town in the south. plains, georgia. he had grown into a family of farmers. became a peanut farmer himself. from georgia he bas

it is the air force one that president ronald reagan flew on. cnn has built this entire platform, this entire stage. it's three stories high. crews have spent weeks doing steve overmyer they can showcase that plane. that plane will be behind the candidates providing the background during the debate. if you sweep over here you can see that it's a pretty intimate setup here. fewer than 500 people are going to be in this audience. you can see people are still working. i like to say the t in television newsstands for team. we have teams working here. they've been practicing all day. but 500 people in this audience is very, very different from the first debate where there were thousands of people. this is much more intimate. and so that could certainly shape how the candidates interact with each other, how much they're willing to really go at each other. i should tell you the audience will be made up of guests of the ronald reagan library invitees of the library. and also there are republican national committee. and a few of the folks in the audience

reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> one wonders how this will manifest itself wednesday at the debate here at the reagan library. see you then. ♪ >>> thank you for spending your sunday morning with us. you can catch me here every sunday and weekdays on "the lead," and you can watch me moderating the debate right here on cnn starting at 6:00 p.m. this wednesday. tweet your questions for the candidates at @questions cnn debate. "fareed zakaria gps" starts right now. >>> this is "gps," the global public square, welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. i am fareed zakaria, coming to you today from london. we have a very special guest from here who will help us understand the top threats to the united states and its allies. >>> is it isis, al qaeda, iron, russia, cyber terror? i'll talk to the real life counter part of m, james bond's fictional boss. john sawers,

all of this talk about party unity is great but george bush attacked ronald reagan and ronald reagan attacked george bush. very, very tough competitor. host: let us get to our phone calls. gary from new york outside of buffalo, good morning. caller: good morning. mr. stone, i am a democrat that happens to support donald trump. here is the way i see mr. trump's problem. his most difficult achievement will be to get the gop nomination. hehe a, which is that -- if accomplishes that, i see a tremendous amount of support for trump on a national ticket with democrats like me. what is your assessment? host: before we get roger stone's response, can i ask you questions? did you support barack obama in 2008 and 2012? caller: yes i did. host: what changed your thinking about the democratic party and moved into donald trump's camp. caller: one of the most important was the fact that like a lot of people, we are waking up to the fact that candidates are bought and sold through this campaign finance system. donald trump is a billionaire. he is financing his own campaign . as far as i know, nobody

ronald reagan rebuilt the military. in turn, helps to stand up for our allies, stand up against our enemies, and without apology for strong american values . sometimes we forget about that but you want about one of the most peaceful times in modern american history. ronald reagan believed in peace through strength. i hope to follow his lead. probably most importantly. ronald reagan was not just a conservative or a republican. he was an eternal optimist and the american people. i show that optimism. because you see today, more than ever, we need a leader in this country that cares more about the next generation than just the next election. we need somebody who is willing to go "because you see it is not enough to -- to go victim go bold because as you see -- big and go bold because as you see it is not enough to elect a conservative, you need to elect a reformer. we celebrated our wedding anniversary on the hundred anniversary of ronald reagan's birth. i remember exactly where i was at. it is dangerous to say this in ill

. >> like ronald reagan taking down jimmy carter in 1980. >> there you go again. >> and lloyd benson dismissing dan quayle in '88. >> senator, you're no jack kennedy. >> and this is expected to be a combative debate. and the stage and the podiums will be about 20 inches apart, half of the distance in the first debate and so if you want to make a point, you may whack the candidate standing next to you. and they are standing for nearly three hours and one bathroom break and that is enough time to tire you out, laster, and could cause interesting moments tonight. >> let's bring in moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd, for some of the stanley cup it could be make or break. who can't afford to have a bad or mediocre showing. >> i think it starts with ben carson. this is the first time he is center stage. he is a cofront-runner with donald trump. how will he handle the bright lights. and so here he is. people are assessing him. is he the alternative to donald trump. >>> he melted the first half of the last debate. he a good moment at the end. he admitted he had stage fright. and then

reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan. >> one wonders how it will manifest at the reagan library. see you then. >> thank you for spending your sunday morning with us. you can catch me here every sunday and weekdays on the lead. you can watch me moderating the debate starting at 6:00 p.m. this wednesday. tweet your questions for the candidates@cnn debate. in simi valley, gps starts right now. >> this is gps, the global public square. welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. coming to you today from london. we have a very special guest from here who will help us understand the top threads to the united states and allies. is it isis, al qaeda, iran, russia, china? >> i will talk to the real life counterpart of james bond's fictional boss. >> he was the chief of britain's secret

i'm wolf blitzer live from inside the ronald reagan presidential library. and you're in "the situation room." >>> just an hour away an extraordinary republican showdown begins right here on cnn. we're coming to you live from inside the debate hall at the reagan library in simi valley, california, where 15 candidates are gathering for the gop presidential debate. for some it's a battle for political survival. for others a chance to thump donald trump. the billionaire leads the latest national polls just barely over fellow outder dr. ben carson. and polls show carson is now gaining ground significantly in new hampshire. carly fiorina she's also moved into third place in the latest new hampshire poll. all the others including the earliest establishment favorite jeb bush they're back in the pack stuck in double digits. it will be a make or break moment, right here a chance to stand out from the crowd and prove they have what it takes to become the commander in chief. the candidates have been arriving all day here where the spirit of ronald reagan looms very, ve

so this is no ronald reagan. and even more than that, ronald reagan was able to communicate a character and a vision of america that included everyone and was hopeful and moved us forward into the future. that's not what we're hearing from donald trump. >> russell moore, i appreciate you being on the program. jeffrey lord as well. donald trump has just finished talking. not offering the specifics on national security that we'd been led to expect. perhaps no surprise. we'll talk about that ahead and bring you a live update on the protesters nearby. we'll be right back. bring us your aching... and sleep deprived. bring us those who want to feel well rested and ready to enjoy the morning ahead aleve pm. the first to combine a safe sleep aid... plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. for pain relief that can last until the am. so you... you... and you, can be a morning person again. aleve pm for a better am. now available with an easy open cap. can a a subconscious. mind? a knack for predicting the future.

the candidates racing to compare themselves to ronald reagan. >> he is somebody that i knew and liked and he liked me. >> i remember our wedding anniversary because it is ronald reagan's birthday. >> jeb bush undressed to show his reagan connection. >> reagan and bush. >> he was the great debater. >> i'm not going to exploit for political purposes my opponents youth and inexperience. >> but he skewered his opponents with a self-deprecating quip, not an attack said his son michael. >> he believed in the 11th commandment, thou shalt not talk ill of another republican. >> and donald trump is taking reagan's slogan to make american great again. but reagan has the flip side of today's angry rhetoric. >> he said once, i hope history will say i tried to appeal to people's best instincts, not the worst fears. >> and reagan compromised on taxes and immigration. and while today they talk about building walls -- >> they're bringing crime. they're rapist. >> i led the fight in the senate to defeat amnesty where the democrats tried to pass it. >> reporter: reagan enacted immigration reform. >> you

ronald reagan most often? but you got to understand, you know, trump may be no ronald reagan but he's no dan quayle either. he is not just going to sit back and take these attacks. >> no, sir. >> he has a kevlar vests. none of the attacks have hit him. >> another theory going back to histo history, the idea of not being about washington runs back a long ways. the outsider angle. here's george w. bush who, of course, came from a legacy just like jeb bush, and yet, his big pitch was that he wasn't washington. >> i want to thank my friends here in iowa. i'm honored to have your support. i appreciate all the work you're doing on my behalf. i come to your state not from washington from outside. a state called texas. >> ev got a record not of rhetoric but a record of results. >> how important is that tonight for these candidate who is say they're not washington as usual? >> yeah. everyone is sort of come peetding with everybody else to run as far from the capital as possible. and historically that goes back to the 1

i love ronald reagan. >> oh, i love ronald reagan. yeah, i love him more than you do. lisa: will is probably -- >> i met him. >> i've got my lufa. >> oh, god. no comment again. my personal life is mine. lisa: as you knodid you know the white house has a turkish prison? >> who doesn't know that at this point? >> so in dc, washington, fun fact. lisa: yeah. >> this is how you know if somebody actually lives in washington because if they live there, they call it national. lisa: uh-huh. >> and if they're a tourist, they call it reagan, so i'm against renaming for that reason. so we can tell who all the cool kids are in washington d.c. >> i'm sorry who are the cool kids? >> me. i'm, like, symbolic. i'm indicative of -- >> yeah. >> i rest my case. >> what do the fat people call it. >> oh, i don't know. we don't have them in washington. [laughter] . lisa: are you loser shaming right now? >> sure. or just tourist shaming. lisa: uh-huh. >> that's another group of people who should feel a lot more shame with the fanny packs and the subway traffic. lisa: we go hand and hand and gr

because the public perception -- >> interestingly, though, ronald reagan wasn't ronald reagan until he actually got out of office. he became who he was while he was there. so we always have to think about that. >> i disagree, though -- >> used to be -- >> mark first. >> first, when you look at ronald reagan, part of his success was a response to a carter administration which was so fragmented that the democratic party itself was looking for an alternative. although he wasn't the elder statesman of americans, he certainly was seen as an authoritative political figure. look what he did in california with regard to free speech, all across the board, he was part of the early culture wars and political wars. ronald reagan was much better politically positioned than donald trump is right now. >> jeffrey, last word. you say that ronald reagan was who he was when he got elected. >> exactly. back in the 1960s, i'm old enough to remember as a kid, one of the prominent comedy shows of the day was "laugh in." they used to mock the idea of a reagan library. in another couple weeks, cnn is going to

everyone will try to channel their best ronald reagan at the ronald reagan library. ben carson has been reaganesque, he has been forward thinking, leading in the us to that better hill where that shining city is. i think most of the 10 will try to stay away from trump. martha: somebody on the other side of the political fence joe biden is saying what some of the other republican candidates will be trying to articulate. here he is saying this. >> this will pass. the trump and the stiff you are hearing on the other team. this isn't about democrat-republican. it's about a sick message. this message has been tried on america many times before. we always, always, always, always, always overcome it. martha: he's talking about immigration. >> the great thing about joe biden is, he's authentic. i think he would resonate very well. he doesn't read off cue cards. he says what he thinks. i think it would can a great embraiption of overbiden if he were part of this debate. -- a great embracing of joe biden if he were part of this debate. martha: joe biden picked up 4 points in t

i think about ronald reagan and how in my time, not much difference than the age of students here, ronald reagan during his presidency lowered taxes and got the federal government out of people's lives. in doing so, it brought -- the poilings brought about one of the longest sustained periods of growth in american history. that's why i push to get the federal government out of our lives and to reduce the size and scope. ronald reagan many years ago at the beginning of his presidency, he rebuilt the military. he helped us stand up for our allies and stand up against our enemies. sometimes we forget about this. that brought about one of the most peaceful times in modern american history. mr. reagan believed in peace through strength. i do, too. i hope to follow his lead going forward. that's really about true safety. but probably most importantly, ronald reagan wasn't just a conservative or a republican, he was an eternal optimist in the american people. i share that optimism. i share that optimism. because you see, today now more than ever, we need a leader in this country who cares more a

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on the american side, ronald reagan and george schultz. on the soviet side, mikhail gorbachev and his foreign minister eduard. and one of the questions that one has to ask about the process of ending the cold war is what was it that made the u.s. as our job. why did they resist western pressure, particularly the american pressure? for so many years in the 14th -- '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s, and yet they started to make massive the concessions in the second half of the 1980s. what i found was that contrary to what mikhail gorbachev likes to suggest, the change of attitude to the problems of the soviet internal crisis did not occur only when he came to power in 1985. the materials show that the politburo repeatedly looked at the fundamental economic, social, religious, and, indeed, imperial problems with relation to eastern europe that it confronted. problems that it couldn't afford to solve in the old way because the soviet economy was going through a pluggable. it was draining away resources, particularly occupation of afghanistan at the end o

these candidates, all of them praising ronald reagan. every time they get a chance, they seem to want to be the next reagan, right? even down to jeb bush. take a look at that. who has tried to down play his family connections at times revealing that old reagan bush t-shirt from 1984. but is donald trump the candidate making the most obvious effort to align himself with reagan jumping from hollywood really if you will and to politics trying to reach the highest office in the land when critics, even carly fiorina calling him an entertainer. is that a fair comparison? >> i think it's a somewhat flawed comparison. reagan was a stalwart of the conservative movement really going back to 1964 when he burst onto the scene. >> right. >> he was someone who was very aligned i'd logically for a long time. yes, he was an entertainer. but he had decades of being in republican politics. what makes trump so unusual, he has no history really with the conservative movement. >> used to be -- >> used to be a democrat. up until very recently he had a lot of

i think everybody makes a mistake by putting ronald reagan's hat on. they need to let us know who they are so they can go forward and win. >> republican candidates for president will take the stage a short time from now. we will be watching. thanks for watching this hour. harl ball starts now and you can catch a special post debate two hour edition here on msnbc. >>> round two. let's play "hardball"." >>> good evening. out at the reagan presidential library in simi valley, california. the first republican presidential debate was i think trump versus kelly as in megyn kelly with the front runner

let's watch them all try to be ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan was a democrat and he was sort of liberal. and i knew him. i didn't know him then, quite. but i knew him and i knew him well. he liked me and i liked him. he was this great guy. >> with respect, my views are very much the views of ronald reagan, which i would suggest is a third point on the triangle. >> i can think of no three better words to describe my political philosophy, i'm a reagan constitutional conservative. i will remain a reagan constitutional conservative. >> i often joke that i -- i know ronald reagan's birthday because it's my wedding anniversary. but truth be told, i know our wedding anniversary, because it's ronald reagan's birth date. >> ron, do you know what a hermit crab is? that's a being that doesn't have an identity, so it hides in a shell and pretends it's something. these guys are all pretending they are your dad. >> and they've been doing that -- you've been having this conversation with me since i think at least the year 2000 election cycle. >> and i'll keep it up. >> every time these guys want to be

said before is that ronald reagan wasn't ronald reagan before ronald reagan was ronald reagan. >> ronald reagan wasn't -- craig i know you remember this, election night 1980, ronald reagan was being mocked by frank reynolds and other people on television asking what the hell was going on out there. nobody believed that ronald reagan was going to be president until he went over 270. nobody in the establishment saw it coming. nobody. >> the establishment elite couldn't get over in 1975 gerald ford gave a speech at the gridiron dinner and mocked ronald reagan. he said he's not turning prematurely gray he's just turning prematurely orange, mocking his hair. the elites also derided ronald reagan before he was president, during his presidency and after his presidency. only in the last ten years since the old-timers in his passing we've seen elites take a second look at ronald reagan. >> everybody trying to wrap the mantle of reagan around their campaign. anybody in this race that has any characteristics or any sparks that remind you of reagan in '76? >> sure. everybody is running or most of ru

the ronald reagan presidential library. so peaceful, yet there will be fireworks here just two days from now. i'm john berman live at the reagan library in simi valley, california. we're counting down to the republican presidential debate, just two days away. you'll hear it all right here on cnn. a brand new poll shows donald trump and ben carson have separated themselves from the rest of the pack as we head into round two, the second debate. the poll also goes into greater detail about what vote rz think about the candidates and issues, and which voters think about what candidates and the issues. i want to talk more about this with senior political analyst ron brown, anna nor vavarro, a friend to marco rubio. ron, they call you the dean of demographic analyst. you dig into these numbers. when it comes for support for donald trump, this guy is a billionaire, has a lot of money, yet it's not the money'd folks who love donald trump. >> no, that's right. thank you for that, john. his constituency is very striking. he's competi

so this is no ronald reagan. even more than that, ronald reagan was able to communicate a character and a vision of america that included everyone. it was hopeful and moved us into the future. that's not what we are hearing from donald trump. >> russell moore, i appreciate you being on the program. donald trump has finished talking, not offering specifics on national security that we have been led to expect. perhaps no surprise. we will talk about that ahead and bring you a live update on the protesters. we'll be right back. that reminds me... anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea... ...gas, bloating? yes! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against occasional digestive issues. with three types of good bacteria. live the regular life. phillips'. which means you can watch movies while you're on the move. sitcoms, while you sit on those. and even fargo, in fargo! binge, while you lose weight! and enjoy a good cliffhanger while you hang from a... why am i yelling? the revolution wi

if ronald reagan were here and dising donald trump, donald trump would be attacking ronald reagan. that's not the case, but i'm sure he would. >> let's talk about the one person that i think everyone thinks it's going to be her moment that may hit back the hardest and that's carly fiorina. first time on the main stage after her breakout performance in cleveland and her first time facing trump since his face comments to rolling stones. so what does she have to do to keep the momentum going? >> well, i think she has to have a great debate. she lad one the last time. i think it shows that you can emerge from a debate and that a debate can make a difference. she's john from the jv. she was the only non-seasoned politician in a smaller debate full of governors and senators. you know, carley i think is going to stand out because she is the only william, because she has had this week that back and forth with donald trump. but i will tell you something, everybody else on that stage, we were talking earlier between policy and theatrics, everybody else on that stage is held to the same rules

gretchen carlson. >> reporter: i love that analogy to ronald reagan. overwhelming and nostalgia for me because i had the opportunity to meet president reagan in lenovo office when i was miss america, probably the promised day of my year as miss america. i will never forget what he said to me. in new i was a student at stanford. he said that place has really gotten liberal. i was able to say to him when i came to stanford from a small town in minnesota i had just turned 18 and it was the first time he was running for president and i got to vote in the presidential election for ronald reagan. [applause] >> people may know me from television but here are a couple things they may not know. i am 100% swedish. i was a high school valedictorian. i grew up in the halloween capital of the world in minnesota. i am not the shortest miss america ever. i hate putting on makeup when i'm not at work, i don't know how to type, i don't know how to parallel park. i can't whistle. i grew up the chubby teen which i will get to. when i was a little girl before i had braces

bush campaign logo. >> a lot of talk about ronald reagan this week. no question. over the weekend, trump announced his tax plan. he promised to cut taxes on corporations so they would bring foreign profit back to the u.s. >> i want to bring the money back into this country. we have $2.5 trillion, john, out of this country. the corporations rightfully don't bring it back because of of the massive tax to pay. we have to make it so they can bring it back. i'll bring it back. we will have a lot of money pouring into the united states if i get elected. >> their chief executives, he is not kind about their compensation. he says ceo compensation is a total and complete joke. made possible by putting friends on their boards. a look at trump's companies, three of his children are his executive vice presidents. overall, the plan will reduce taxes. >>> ben carson is walking back his criticism of donald trump's faith. saying this remarks last week of humility and fear of the lord was inappropriate. >> it wasn't meant as an attack. it was spun that way by the medi

quite frankly, i love the fact that tomorrow night's debate is at the reagan library because ronald reagan was a democrat, was a union member and moved to being a republican. and what a vision he created for our nation. what a great speech. he would go out for years and give and talk about opportunity and the american dream. remember now, still the first time i saw him in the early '70s and how compelling his speech was. remember the mrashgs date and the people that i was with. >> congresswoman, let me ask you this. when i was reading this morning in the "times," it reminded me that back in '08, just as recently as 2008, joe biden in preparing for his vice presidential debate against sarah palin, he was given clear advice from his advisers in terms of debating a woman. don't correct her, don't belittle her, don't mock her, don't diminish her. those are the rules on how you have to prepare differently, if you will, on debating a woman. do you think those rules apply today? >> i think much of that does apply. i think just be respectful. >> of anybody, regardless of their sex. >> that's right

embraced by ronald reagan. here at ronald reagan presidential library, do these candidates tomorrow night need to respect their? do they need to play nice? >> you know, that commandment's more talked about than honored over the years, right, wolf? reagan coined that back into the '60s when he was the sort of conservative firebrand and liberal republicans attacking him and he used that as a defensive mechanism. so the liberals in his party wouldn't go after him. you know, look, donald trump certainly has not abided by the 11th commandment, if anything, he's come up with the 12th commandment, maybe the trump's only commandment, attack everyone of your opponents repeatedly and i think over the last week what's happened, his front-runner status solidified, one of first republicans left the race, rick perry. what did rick perry do? he attacked trump forcefully than ever. i do not think that commandment will be respected tomorrow night, at least by trump. >> chris, some other republican candidates who need a boost, i

donald trump walking into the ronald reagan presidential library. he didn't actually do the walk through earlier like so many of the other presidential candidates but then again, he doesn't do a lot of the stuff other normal presidential candidates, republican presidential candidates or democratic presidential candidates do. he's walking in right now. we'll watch what is going on. in the meantime, anderson, you and i will be back after this first debate. we'll be here throughout the night. special coverage begins right now. >>> it's debate night for the republicans. candidates here, pressure on and stakes are higher than ever. >> in the california hills, an epic remartch is about to begin against the backdrop of history and ronald reagan's legacy. when it's over, the fight for the nation's highest office won't be the same. >> how stupid are our leaders? how stupid are they? >> tonight a debate doubleheader, a chance to compare the candidates side by side. >> i will be the greatest jobs president that god created. >> you notice jeb never uses his las

dad's service with ronald reagan. he can talk about his brother's service to the country as president, and this could be one of the opportunities where his heritage could be an asset. the 11th commandment by ronald reagan was thou shalt not speak ill of another republican. we're given to believe there will be a lot of ill speaken. ronald reagan wouldn't go into the oval office without a jack and tie. there was a rev rebs and if the name calling gets to abrasive ths possible one of them will stand up and say you are not legging le living up to the legacy of ronald reagan. >> now to eric. >> carl, want to play a little game with me here? >> reporter: i can try. >> three questions, your choices are over or under. love the numbers. so 30 is my number for the amount of times -- number of times that ronald reagan or the gipper's name is invoked. over or under? >> reporter: under and the college kids and the drinking games are going to be dangerous places. >> 15 million, the amount of people who watch tonight? >> reporter: u

ronald reagan said if we forget what we did we won't know who we are. we were very much inspired by that and by the idea that our kids have to have a place they can go to understand the reality of what america has accomplished. one of the great blessings for me was being able to work on this book with my dad. he along with my mom gave mary and me a tremendous blessing as kids of learning to love history and learning to love this great nation. somebody who obviously has been involved as a participant in many events in the book, not as far back as 1939, but close. [laughter] so i would like to start tonight by getting your impression. when people talk about president obama for example, one of the things that we did was go back and look at the context of this president and talk about the does does he fall on the spectrum of democratic and how does he fit in what's come before on the democratic side of the isle. >> that's a good question. i've racked my brain trying to understand why pres. reagan operates the way he does excuse me, president obama. why he o

reagan as we head to the ronald reagan library tomorrow? >> well, here is the debate story of ronald reagan, and in 1994, and he had two debates with walter mondale, and the first one, he prepped like crazy, and they had all of the statistics like, your debate did this, that, and this and that, and so terrible that people asked if he was too old to be president. and roger ails advised him, and mrs. reagan was furious, and just go be yourself and stick to the principles and the messages, and so that is what he did, and so reagan came up with the line when he was asked about the age, and he said, well, i won't make my opponent's inexperience and youth an issue in the campaign. >> and it is magical moment in history. yes. and we saw sarah palin drilled blue card after blue card in preparation of the debate, because there was a thought that she needed more boning up on the foreign policy, and with that, mitch, you went back to the obama days, and the guy was brought in the saerngts and did you have to do any debate prep where him, and thinking

ronald reagan helped shape my view of the world. >> ronald reagan, the reagan revolution with american people at his back, stood up to the washington cartel. >> i've evolved on many issues over the years and you know who else has? ronald reagan. >> that's the party i believe in. reagan and bush. >> welcome back to "the lead." i'm john berman, live from the ronald reagan library here in scenic simi valley, california. just 25 hours ago. until the cnn republican debate, the stakes could not be higher, make or break for a few of the candidates. here to talk about what we can expect republican strategist and commentator s.c. cup, michael smerconish, dan pfeiffer, former senior adviser to president obama. we just talked to senator rand paul from kentucky. i think he gave us a healthy dose of what we can expect. i asked him, he went after donald trump, fell in the polls, will they change tactics, he said, no, i'm going to 0 go after him harder. >> i don't think it benefits him. what if he's successful in landing a blow against donald trump? is rand paul going to be the beneficiary? i think c

martha: ronald reagan often invoked at his presidential library. many compared themselves to the conservative hero but did anyone cubbing seed in convincing that connection with voters. >> i don't want to argue how low things will be. i want to talk about lift everyone up in america. that is what reagan talked about hii'm here to tell homeowners that are sixty-two and older about a great way to live a better retirement... it's called a reverse mortgage. call right now to receive your free dvd and booklet with no obligation. it answers questions like... how a reverse mortgage works, how much you qualify for, the ways to receive your money... and more. plus, when you call now, you'll get this magnifier with led light absolutely free! when you call the experts at one reverse mortgage today, you'll learn the benefits of a government-insured reverse mortgage. it will eliminate your monthly mortgage payments and give you tax-free cash from the equity in your home and here's the best part... you still own your home. take control of your retirement today!

ronald reagan. >> i think i actually flew on this plane with ronald reagan when i was a congressman. >> think reagan said during the cold car. >> i'm on the reagan side of this. listen up team, i brought in some protein to help rearrange the fridge and get us energized! i'm new ensure active high protein. i help you recharge with nutritious energy and strength to keep you active. come on pear, it's only a half gallon. i'll take that. yeeeeeah! new ensure active high protein. 16 grams of protein and 23 vitamins and minerals. all in 160 calories. ensure. take life in. thankshow may i help you?s list. i heard i could call angie's list if i needed work done around my house at a fair price. you heard right, just tell us what you need done and we'll find a top rated provider to take care of it. so i could get a faulty light switch fixed? yup! or have a guy refinish my floors? absolutely! or send someone out to groom my pookie? pookie's what you call your? my dog. yes, we can do that. real help from real people. come see what the new angie's list can do for you. can a a subconscious. mind?