nixon, if you were on his side, nixon was not as ugly. he reserved the real ugliness for the openers and the editors -- the owners and the editors of "the new york times" or the federal judges in new york who were jewish who ruled against him in the pentagon papers. but that, definitely, that ugliness was in there, and to his great dismay as somebody said the other day, he's looking up at us -- [laughter] the tapes are going to forever cloud history's verdict. what was the second part of the question? >> well, in the middle east -- >> yeah, the middle east. part of that was that this was great power politics. the russians were trying to use the israeli-egyptian war to increase their influence in the middle east. and is so he was alerted to this because he was a cold warrior, and this was all about the soviet union throughout his entire presidency. but on the other hand, he thought the israelis -- he liked them. he thought they were spupg key. the -- spupg key. the israelis sort of fit his image of upside dogs, you know? and -- underdogs,

nixon. not like. not admire. i do like him and admire him, but love him. so did my mother and father. in our household nixon was god. in my heart richard nixon started when i was 7 years old, and he was running for vice president with dwight eisenhower. i read a child's biography of richard nixon, and it said he was always being picked on and teased in the school yard when he was a child, and i identified with, that may be every child. >> there were lots of old comys that loathed him. even at that age i plait made a vital. they liked to pick on him because he was sensitive. he was a vulnerable human being. he wasn't tough like ike. he wasn't tough like mr. trump. he was a typical -- he was not a typical politician with the thick skin. he was a poet. a sort of artist. intellectual. at every stable of his life, he was a sensitive boy on a school yard, and i identified. there was something about richard nixon that i -- for whatever reason, richard nixon was a born peacemaker. it started in a bi

i know the nixon one was. the alger hiss one is fantastic because it is a very contentious debate over whether he was a spy and what nixon's motives were, and what happened in the progression. here you have nixon and whitaker chambers, the person who accused alger hiss, and hiss saying exactly what they did over the previous six months. it was to me, contemporary testimony given under oath, about the best you are going to get as a historian. far better than memoirs are reminiscences 20 years later. >> what are your conclusions about alger hiss? >> i think absolutely he was asked by. >> were you a doubter? >> i try to keep an open mind. i have a neighbor in kensington who wrote some of the books about the secret american eavesdropping case where they broke the russian code and found traces that showed that -- --was it out on feinstein was it allen weinstein? >> we can look it up. brian: another thing on the list, hr holman's -- hr haldeman's transcripts of henry kissinger's white house telephone conversations,

nixon. the subject is the final come back, nixon in the post-presidency. and they will be discussing its earliest stage during the years they spent with nixon from 1974 to 1980. of course this begins as a very sad story with the president's brush with mortality it almost became a tragic story. but before long, it becomes a true and truly inspiring nixon narrative of resolve, resilience, and trurn. our moderator is hugh hewitt. a student at ray price while he was still an undergraduate at harvard he began work agency as resether for rn. they chose hugh to be the first director of this library, congratulations on the launch. and from the earliest planning stangz through the opening in 1990 if the from that beginning, he as forthed a brilliant career as an attorney, teacher, thinker, sinned indicated radio talk show host, match thor podcaster, best selling author and most recently pun dant of national prominence had the his latest book is "the fourth way" published three weeks ago, it's already

nixon does have these two sites. he has us incredibly dark, ugly side in two places are ugly as anti-semitism and yet, henry kissinger, arthur burns appointed federal was jewish and alan greenspan was jewish. if you were on his side, nixon was not as ugly. he reserved the real ugliness for the owners and editors of the new york times, the federal judges in new york were jewish and ruled against him and the pentagon papers. that ugliness was in there and to his great dismay -- as someone said his other day, he's looking up at us. [laughter] the tapes are going to forever cloud histories version of him. what was the second present? the middle east. >> yet, part of that was the great power politics. the russians were trying to use the israeli, egyptian war to increase their influence in the middle east and so, he was alerted to this because he was a cold warrior. this was all about the soviet union throughout his entire presidency. on the other hand, he brought the thought the razors were. he thought they were spunky an

richard nixon deserves it. more important -- [ applause ] >> more important, if he were here today, he would say it's important that people understand the obligation that we all have to do the kinds of things that will produce a better tomorrow. he was a conservative reformer. and an active one with incredible energy and an indomitable spirit. you've heard that he has said i am not a quitter. he proved it time and again. when under stress, lesser men would have simply capitulated. not he. he was part of the greatest generation. born in 1913, he survived the bitter depression that engulfed america in the '30s. he worked tirelessly while going to school and worked as a student. a diligent student who earned honors as an undergraduate at whittier and at duke university law school. the most important thing to remember is that he did feel duty, duty he was part of the greatest generation that served as the veterans of world war ii for five years in the south pacific. he was a united states naval officer. then he ser

nixon had a stroke. and i called my old office in the white house. -- said call camp pendleton and tell them to send a cardiologist right away. they censure to i went down to the house and mrs. nixon is german irish and a bit stubborn. nothing wrong. nothing wrong with me. he was trying to talk to her into going to the hospital. finally they told me there is an ambulance here. a doctor from camp pendleton. she said no. if we go anywhere we're going to long beach hospital. she said i don't need to. she had a stroke. her arm wasn't working. i whispered you are either going or i am carrying you. she got in the ambulance and president nixon got on the back of the ambulance. he rode with her to long beach hospital. hugh: get is from there, to the various crises to sitting down with mao in 1976. it was remarkable you go from that situation. how does that trip come about? what does president ford think about it? let's start with you, frank. how does this evolve? the first china trip after the resignation? frank

, and a close friend of nixon. did you play any role and nixon's resignation quest mark -- resignation? he said, oh yeah. i told nixon he would be pardoned. everyone has said they were -- there was no deal were nixon would be pardoned. here he was in his mid-90's telling me this. i asked him to tell me again. finally i said, you are telling me something that is going to be very controversial because there has always been both presidents insisting that there was no deal, and you are saying that you did convey word that he would get a pardon if he resigned. he said, i predicted. i wasn't conveying word. this was my conclusion that i predicted. so what do you do with that? do you put that in the book and make it a selling point, that you've got proof of a deal? or do you realize that at 95, he's an old man doing his best are member the things. having written a memoir which doesn't say this at all may have been mistaken. brian: let me begin with another source note on another page. pardoned by ford on the same advised

>> no, or because of nixon. i have sort of stayed where i was which today puts me well left of center. i am called a social liberal on many definition, and conservative, and i was recently the goldwater chair of institutions at arizona state, and i held that chair for a full term over there and taught a course. they did not give me the chair because of the liberal beliefs, but goldwater to dday is way le of center, too [ laughter ] >> point well taken. john dean's latest book in paperback now called "the nixon's defense, what he knew, and when he knew it. the paralli parallels between r n nixon and donald j. trump are astounding, and we will see if what ultimately gets president trump are the lies. thank you for watching, and as always, keep the faith. >>> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. >> hi, i'm tavis smiley and join me next time as we take a deep dive of what is happening around te country. that is next time. we will see you then. >>> and by contributions to your pbs stat

he is not nixon's first choice, but he is a solid choice for richard nixon. ford, however, because of his coalition building, because of work, because of his reputation on capitol hill, is an easy selection. carl albert, the speaker of the house, tells richard nixon, i can get you gerry ford if you want gerry ford. nixon makes that choice. ford goes through an extended investigation -- background investigation. because even as he is selected, there is this whirlwind of controversy surrounding richard nixon over the matter of watergate. nefarious activities that have taken place during the 1972 election and before involving secret tapes. bugging of opposition offices and a number of other issues that many people believed the president himself had been involved in. what nixon was involved in was obstructing the investigation into it. so even as ford is being investigated for the vice presidency, there are a number on capitol hill who believe that they are choosing not the next vice president, necessarily, but quite likely the next president of the united states

he is not nixon's first choice, but he is a solid choice for richard nixon. gerald ford, because of his coalition and reputation on capitol hill is an easy selection. carl albert tells richard nixon, i can get you jerry ford. nixon makes that choice and ford goes through an extended investigation -- background information. even as he is selected, there is this whirlwind of controversy surrounding richard nixon and over the matter of watergate. nefarious activities that have taken place during the 1972 election and before involving secret tapes, bucking opposition offices, and a number of other issues that many people believed the president himself have been involved in. what nixon was involved in was obstructing the investigation into it. even for is being investigated. there are a number who believe they are not choosing the next vice resident but the next president of the united states. president next and nominates gerald ford to full the vacancy for vice residency. over 400 fbi agents spread out to investigate congressman ford. he passes the investigation,

there was almost no reaction in the nixon white house. the only person who reacted was pat buchanan who was a good catholic. if you watch what comes out of it, the way it spreads out and gives birth to the religious right and also to the no compromise because these were not religious issues and they couldn't be compromised. this was the work of the devil if you are on the wrong side and it grows from there. >> in terms of that when you talk about the hardheaded this which is absolutely right, why did they look at trump and say him and not her? >> the supreme court. >> there is also the fact that during the obama presidency, there was the administrative state, regulations written to compel people of traditionalist religious belief to conform with modern morality, the case of the little sisters of the poor and hobby lobby. if you don't know the details we are almost done. this was where people said they are going to tell me i have to believe what they believe and i don't want to do that. just like roe versus wade created a subculture that m

[laughing] >> go back to nixon. if you read kissinger is white house years, january 20, they get into the white house, there's a war between china and the soviet union. stuff is going on in india. they hit the ground running. this was all nixon cared about was foreign-policy, and they were -- >> his line to his domestic policy people were don't get me in trouble and do what you want to do. >> because he wanted to be president. he had a sense that he could manage the world spirit he wanted to be the peacemaker. >> eddie didn't like campaigning. he wanted to be president. it's exactly the opposite of trump. as president he continued to campaign and his favorite subject is i won, i've won, i won. >> or comes the hook. [applause] >> let's start a war with australia. >> that was absolutely fantastic. but, unfortunately, it has to stop. it could go on and on i think in terms of the depth of things. we are going to break now for half an hour. the

nixon, i wish we had that one. nixon's plan now would look like bernie sanders. >> may i ask you a question. >> of course. >> you came in with an administration that really wasn't a washington-based group. >> rick worked for the carter administration as a speech writer. i worked for the reagan administration. so you have the -- you run the gamut here from 1969 to 1988. >> i'm curious when you came in as a non-washington group did you have the kind of organizational breakdown that we're seeing with this administration? i don't recall that as part of the carter startup. >> no. it sort of felt that way. >> inside it felt that way? >> inside it felt that way. basically the machine was still working well. it's true that the white house staff was probably the most inexperienced ever until now. and we were damaged by our ignorance of the way this machine worked and we had -- so we had bad -- >> what was the learning curve? how long did it take to begin to understand how that machine does work? >> about 3 1/2 years i guess

wade came down during the nixon presidency of january of '73. there was almost no reaction in the brick in son white house to that decision. the only person who reacted was pat buchanan who was a good catholic who saw it from that view, not necessarily from his right view. but if you watch what comes out of "roe" the way it spreads out and gives birth to the religious right and the no compromise because these were now religious issues and they couldn't be compromised. that was the work of the devil if it were on the wrong side. >> but in terms of that when you talk about the hard headedness which i think is right. what was it? why did they look at trump and say him and not her? well, you know -- >> one reason. >> what? >> the supreme court. >> well, i think the supreme court and there's also the fact that during the obama presidency there was in the administrative state that steve bannon hates so much, there were regulations written to compel people of traditionalist religious belief to congress form with modern morality. this case about the lit

in nixon, there was restricted nixon but they really didn't like nixon it was cultural warfare. it was dominated by one set of people in one set of values and one culture in connection had a completely different culture. and so there was always you know, there was never ever, they wouldn't give him a break. >> reagan went out of his way to not report the media but contain them. -- one-on-one. he was very good as far as with the media. they still made fun of him and you know even at the funeral the "washington post" was merciless. in accusing him. the weekend of his funeral they wrote that reagan, that he may have ask another woman's hand in marriage before nancy. and they said now she has to read that? even questioned his football career. that's how petty the "washington post" was. for reagan on the week of his funeral. it was atrocious. you know day after day after day. the, this -- the new york's -- [inaudible] the nearest city government the new york city government did not close the funeral of ronald reagan. thank you very much. [applause] my wonderful guest tonight, craig s

they always respected nixon, but they really didn't like nixon. this cultural warfare. dominated by one set of people, one set of values than one culture and nixon represented a completely different culture. they would never ever give him an honest break. reagan went out of his way to the gain them myself deprecating humor, with access to interview him, with one-on-one. he was very good as far as being acceptable to the media, which placated them to a certain extent. even the week of his funeral, the "washington post" wrote the wake of his funeral they wrote their reagan, not that he did, that he may have asked another's women and the nurse before he asked nancy. they even question his football career. that's how petty the "washington post" was towards break-in the week of his funeral. it was atrocious. day after day after day. this crystalline phase of the elites regarded ronald reagan. the new york city government closed to the funeral of franklin roosevelt, closed for the fear of john f. kennedy. closer to funeral fund and john. closer the funeral for a productivity

t show for the kennedy library, or nixon? is any opportunity afforded in these libraries, not only to the u.s. citizens but people from the outside. countries on which the united states had impact to talk about the experiences concerning presidents from an american standpoint. ms. kanter: remind me of the first question. >> the change of the nixon library. -- ihis a consequence of saw that in talking about the oppressed. the notion of the library radicalizing change in society. that can be problematic. the issue is problematic in a library,t if it is my i wanted to show me in a good light. that is the balance that you have. think that those things play out, and which library have you gone to do you -- maybe thelosest obama president? those are three questions. love to sayi would that the change in the nixon library came about through grassroots revolution. in fact, that is not what happened. stake inhat was at that protracted reallyation/argument was nixon's place in history. the strong sense that some of had that, if he was

rumored.always nixon d knighted at the time to lyndon johnston, -- nixon d knighted at first to lyndon johnson. aboutcer: on a book richard nixon into his tenure and downfall as president. >> the way the team was assembled was clumsy. they were cynical, burnt out fbi agents who work supervised by president nixon's staff who just wanted to be -- as they said "the cap that brought the dead mouse to the ." sident's door announcer: sunday night on q&a. >> all month, we are featuring our studentcam winners in c-span's video documentary competition for middle and high school students. this year, students told us the most urgent issue for the president and congress. our second prize high school winner is from silver spring, maryland. abigail is a student at montgomery high school. her documentary on islamaphobia is entitled "the crisis and the fear." >> the syrian refugee crisis has been in the news for a really long time. and my cousins are refugees from iraq. and i have heard their stories. i know that if they had their wish, they would be at home. not in this country is a refugee. with the

wade came down during the nixon presidency. reaction inmost no the nixon white house to that decision. that reacted was pat buchanan, who was a good catholic. he saw from that view, not necessarily from his right view. givesy it spreads out and birth to the religious right and gives birth to the no compromise. these were now religious issues and they could not he compromised. ifs is the work of the devil you are on the wrong side. it grows from there. , why didms of that they look at trump and say him and not her? >> the supreme court. then there is also the fact that during the obama president see, there was in the administrative state that steve bannon hates so much, there were regulations written to compel people of traditionalist religious belief to conform with modern morality in a way like hobby lobby. said theyhere people are going to tell me that i have to believe what they believe and i do not want to do that. just like roe v. wade created a subculture that mainstream people did not owe existed. they did not know it ha

. ♪ >> nixon hated a lot of things. one thing he really hated was the white house correspondents dinner. he would have to sit -- a lot of journalists were given big prizes for stories that were really tough on nixon. nixon was go back to the white house and dictate a memo, i am never going to this dinner ever again. but he did. >> in october 1973, richard nixon had a showdown with the press in the white house. a cbs correspondent said-- >> what is it about the television coverage of you in these past weeks and months that has so aroused your anger? >> don't get the impression that you arouse my anger. >> [laughter] >> i have the impression. >> one can only be angry with those he respects. >> that was the relationship between the president and the press. >> this tension is vital in healthy to democracy. >> we make no secret about our freedom. it is something of a national pastime. 1000 local television stations, 8500 radio station and 1700 daily newspapers, each one an independent enterprise fiercely independent of the g

three had been appointed by nixon himself. it actually gives me faith and hope that next an -- nixon asll viewed the judiciary independent. he had to follow the supreme court's ruling. we know that a contingent of republican leaders said to him that there is no more support for you. will not onlyou have been impeached but you will be convicted and removed from office. if you are of a certain age, you energyemember the 70's. of the laste parents and with my my dad would take gas up the car , we are running out of gas. i would go pay my $.30 per gallon. carter would go on television and say we are in a difficult time, we must be careful, turn down your thermostats. i am wearing a cardigan here in the white house. -- carter would sit in front of a fireplace to try to the create the -- re-create fireside chats. this did not work for carter. very conversely, we know that was the master of the media and was the great communicator. is michael story beaver. that he would like a picture with the president. he said i need to know what t

. ♪ >> nixon hated a lot of things. one thing he really hated was the white house correspondents dinner. he would have to sit -- a lot of journalists were given big prizes for stories that were really tough on nixon. nixon was go back to the white house and dictate a memo, "i am never going to this dinner ever again." but he did. >> in october 1973, richard nixon had a showdown with the press in the white house. a cbs correspondent said-- >> what is it about the television coverage of you in these past weeks and months that has so aroused your anger? >> don't get the impression that you arouse my anger. [laughter] >> i have that impression. >> one can only be angry with those he respects. >> that was the relationship between the president and the press. >> tension between the president and the press is normal. tension is vital in healthy to democracy. >> we make no secret about our freedom. it is something of a national pastime. we have 1000 local television stations, 8500 radio station and 1700 daily newspapers, each o

nixon knew everything that happened before. nixon was knowledgeable. anyway, i want to go to cynthia on this. what would you recommend mr. trump to do right now, come clean on all his relations with russia or fight it out? >> oh, he won't do that. he's going to fight it out and stonewall. that's exactly what's going to happen. the interesting thing is -- >> but it's not all necessarily criminal if you look at it from a certain perspective. you could argue he's just trying to save the country by bringing peace to the middle east through russia's hands and joining us in helping us end the fight in syria. i mean he can argue that. >> it will be interesting to see how the prosecution team eventually actually deals with flynn. i don't really agree with you that he's worried about his exposure in terms of jail time. >> flynn? >> flynn. i think he's motivated by revenge. you know, he treated the obama people that way when they fired him, and now he's been hung out to dry by the trump people. i think as a prosecutor, i would be appealing to that desire of his

president nixon after that happened, he eventually released five years of his tax returns. he released those tax returns to congress. he then promptly got socked with the bill for $470,000 in unpaid back taxes because it turns out he was not actually paying all of his taxes. and even though president nixon's financial situation, his tax situation was now dire straights for all the world to see, some americans to supported him decided they actually felt quite charitable toward him on that whole issue. >> it's tax day for most people today, but because of his tax problems, president nixon has been given an extra 60 days to file his return. the white house said today that about 5,000 people have sent the president over $40,000 to help pay his huge bill for back taxes, but that although the gesture is appreciated, the money will be returned. >> people sent nixon tax to help pay back taxes. really appreciate the gesture but we can't accept. the president will send your money back and is paying his back taxes himself. that was an exciting tax day in 1974 after that leak in the fa

president nixon was by far the most well—versed and strategic in international relations. he was extraordinary. whatever his flaws, one has to grant him that. as a person, he was quite shy. he was always somewhat ill—at—ease and engaging in banter, or small talk. both sides had clear reasons for trying to reopen communications after 22 years of mutual enmity and indeed fighting each other in korea. when you meet someone of historic significance you have to figure out whether you are impressed with the personality because you know he is important, or whether you would be impressed if you did not know who he was. kissinger and i agreed that even if we went to a cocktail party and chairman mao was there and we did not know who he was, he would have exceeded some power and attraction. this is not to glorify him. he was a monster in many ways. the meeting itself, at first, puzzled us. it was only about an hour with translation. but it was declared a success from the very beginning. at the conclusion of the meeting, the chinese came in with photographs of all of us at the me

that is certainly one thing nixon said that carl and i agree with. whatever the climate, whether the media's revered or revile we should and must persist. and i believe we will. we also need to face the reality that polling numbers show that most american disprove of distrust the media. this is no time for self satisfaction or smugness. but as ben bradlee said in 1997, 20 years ago, quote the more aggressive our search for truth, the more some people are offended by the press. so be it. ben continued. [ applause ] ben continued. i take great strength knowing that in my experience, the truth does emerge. it takes forever sometimes. but it does emerge. and that any relaxation by the press will be extremely costly to democracy. carl and i are grandfathered, perhaps great grandfathers i american journalism. but we can see that the three journalists that we are recognizing tonight are some of the finest examples of that craft of persistence. thank you. [ applause ] so we're going to give out these awards and they're cash awards but i understand that the c

in that sense is more like nixon. i like to think about is the best qualities of both. >> host: if you were to make a call on his performance right what would you recommend to him in terms of if you are on staff the changes you make what you would like to see him do differently. >> stick to the agenda which he is already doing. hire more trump bites. investor confidence in people who share your vision. don't hire people who have a great resume and have never stood up for trump is a and work for you in the general election. that's generally good advice. ignore the washington press corps. they will never get with the program. there in shock about losing the election. don't forget the alternative media. if you want to reach millions of people on filter, interview breitbart and with the "daily caller" and in four wars. the region millions of people and you're not going to get the twist you'll get from cnn. >> to try to reach out to the people who voted for hillary clinton because she won the popular vote. >> the best way