ju judge jeanine: welcome to justice, i'm jeanine pirro. thanks for being with us on this somber night in america as we remember our 41st birthday. george herbert walker bush will lie in state in the united states capitol for a public viewing beginning monday 5:00 p.m. until wednesday morning when a funeral service will be held at the washington national cathedral. president and mrs. trump will be among the dignitaries in attendance. president bush will be moved

back to houston where he'll lie in state and he'll be laid to rest at his presidential library in dallas. i'll be joined by the threat president bush's late chief of staff, john sununu, the son of billy graham, franklin graham, and george strait who had his own personal relationship with president bush. joining me on the form, former advisor for the '92 campaign, charlie black. charlie -- >> it's my pleasure on this sad day.

judge jeanine: throughout the hour we'll talk about the president and his amazing accomplishments and his legacy. tell us something about him that no one knows. >> well, he was -- some people know this, but he was an incredible man. a man of personal courage and political courage. he believes in public service for the sake of service, not just for political ego gratification. but the thing i would say is he was uncommonly kind and courteous. i worked with him for about five years, you know, closely, almost daily. and of all the people i have worked with in politics. president bush thanked me more for helping him out than all the others put together. during this presidency -- during his presidency i did hundreds of

tv interviews on his behalf. i testified his tax pledge when he broke the pledge on television. he would call me and say you have taken many bullets for me and i have to thank you for it. i said it's an honor and privilege to work for you, mr. president, you don't have to thank me. judge jeanine: he clearly is a refined and elegant man. but you seemed to indicate that he was and the man who put his fingers to the wind and tested for the political calculus or decided things based upon polls. >> he had -- he was almost a political junky in terms of his interest in polls and politics. he had in his private office in the white house residence he had four televisions. he just had four networks and he

would watch all of them at once. he was interested in politics. he liked it. but he saw the job of being president as distinct from politics. you were supposed to do what you thought was right and work across party lines and be civil by the. two of his best friends in the world were democrats. two congressmen he served in the 60s, 20 years before he was president. he kept it that way. he had has been friend on the democrat side as republicans jean require was his friends on the democrat side who pushed him to go back on his promise. you were there during the calculation as it related to the read my lips, no new taxes. tell us what happened on the inside. >>ed the president was very concerned about the federal deficit. if you look at it today, it's 20

times as high. he felt the economy was in danger of slowing down because of the size of the deficit. the economy did slow down in 1991 and '92. but the congress was controlled by the democrats. so any budget arrangement had to be a compromise. it had to be a deal. they insisted on a tax increase. he eventually made a deal and governor sununu when he's on later can give you more details than i can. $3 in spending cuts for every dollar in tax increases. he thought this was the right thing to do for the country. he asked me about it once as a political advisor, and i said yes it will hurt you politically. and he said, there is any way i can win? i said if the economy gets really good, then people might be able to overlook it.

it will probably hurt your reelection. he did it any howe because he thought it was the right thing for the country. judge jeanine: he realized the the risk associated with going forward with a deal with the democrats and going back on his promise. he understood it? >> he understood it. he understood that it might well cost him his reelection. judge jeanine: let's talk about him and his interest in politics. his kids were underred in politics obviously. two of them running for governor in the same year. how did he and barbara handle the politics of their children as opposed to the politics of their own. >> they were always very proud of all their children. and especially those who ventured into politics. george w. and jeb when they both ran for governor in the same year, they were keeping up in

detail and talking to their sons on a regular basis. the interesting thing was as we approached election day in 1994, it looked like george, president bush 43, had a better chance to be elected governor of texas than jeb did to become governor of florida. he was behind in the polls. even though the bushes were in houston and prepared to be in austin with george w. bush on election night. they got on a private plane at the last minute and flying to florida to be with jeb. jeb lost and george won. that's how much they cared about their sons. judge jeanine: in the last few seconds. what do you think the president will be most of remembered for? >> he should be and i hope he's most of remembered for his masterful diplomacy and foreign

policy expertise. after the cold war cleaning up and leaving a unified europe took a lot of work. president bush 41 had all the relationships around the world to make that work. and freeing kuwait. that's what he should most of be remembered for. his expertise in world affairs. judge jeanine: joining me now, former new hampshire governor john sununu who served as chief of staff for the late president bush. i know you are personally very, very ohful tonight. i want -- very sorrowful tonight. we know he was a man who

excelled at everything. he excelled in sports and education he excelled at yale. he signed up to go into the navy. and he had 58 combat missions. one his plane is hit and he end up being picked up in the pacific by a submarine. this guy is a hero that we don't often hear about. >> he was a great man, an easy person to be a friend with, and he was always a lot of fun. even in the toughest times we had, we always found a few moments to have a good laugh. judge jeanine: in addition to having a sense of humor. he was a man liked by everyone. and was have much a diplomat. tell us about the man you call the quiet man. >> he had a style which was not

pushy. a style which was -- had a great component of listening to it. he developed relationships over the years. but he had a great capacity to put himself in the shoes of the person he was trying to deal with. he put himself in gorbachev's shoes when he was trying to work out the collapse of the soviet union and he nursed it along magnificently. he put himself in the shoes of his opponents when he was trying to do the budget deal. and he certainly was a man who understood there was a lot of value in getting agreements that were win-win. judge jeanine: the fact he very often had an opposing party in the legislative branch with 260 democrats, 275 republicans in the house. >> not often, always. judge jeanine: he was able to

get incredible legislation that will be part of his legacy, including the american with disabilities act. >> i said it earlier today. he passed more domestic legislation of import of any president except lyndon johnson or franklin roosevelt. it was the only budget that produced surpluses in five decade. the americans with disabilities act, the civil rights bill, civil rights legislation. the energy policy that opened up the energy independence and the crime bill and i can go on and on and on. judge jeanine: you realize this is a man with military accomplishments and he apparently likened the diplomacy to a mission. he said i'm a man who sees life

in terms of missions. missions defined, and missions completed. i guess that philosophy carried him through the war and his political life as well. >> it is. and he had the capacity to understand just how much had to be done and what kind of a pace to put on it. it was reflected in his campaign. it was reflected in his dealing with congress on these various issues. it was a one-term presidency. you add up all the things he did in foreign policy and domestic policy and recognize these were all going on simultaneously. we were doing all of this every day. this president was smart enough to be able to handle those details to be able to work with folks on a one-on-one basis when it was required. and as i said earlier, mart enough to take time out through the whole process and join us in

a few laughs. judge jeanine: there is also' talk about the fact he loved sports, he loved football. we have people he plays golf with, the country music he loved. he was a man who was able to do it all and also have a fabulous family he spent time with and reared in a very, you know, not just religious, but in a very elegant and sophisticated and patriot you can way. >> you talk about his love of sports. he was captain of the yale baseball team. there is an iconic photo out there. people can find it online of george h.w. bush in his baseball uniform as captain of the team with babe ruth about six months before babe ruth died, accepting from babe ruth his memoirs for the yale library.

it's an amazing photo of these two iconic figures. one from baseball and one from eventually american politics. to get the two of them talking to each other has always brand-new one of my great historical coincidences. judge jeanine: governor john sununu, thanks for sharing your thoughts on the president. we know your heart is filled with sorrow. ref van franklin graham and george strait will be with us. john solomon spent some time with mr. bush and shares this amazing story with you next. stay with us. you will like this. >> we are americans. part of something larger than

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judge jeanine: tonight we remember president george h.w. bush. my next guest has quite the story to tell about the president's incredible bravery. john solomon joins me now. you spent a day with the president, several days as i understand it, and were able to discuss a situation that was classified for decades. it was 1983. president bush was president reagan's vice president when reagan was fighting communism in el salvador. reagan needed someone to go into the jungled of el salvador to warn the military to end their death squads which sometimes included catholic nuns. >> no one in american knew it

happened. they set up and cover trip where the vice president would go to argentina and he would disappear on a blackhawk helicopter, a very small team. oliver north, his bodyman and advance man, and a couple secret service agents. they fly in on a blackhawk helicopter it, george bush's mission to tell those commanders, you are going to stop killing civilians, you will allow a democratic election or president bush reagan is going to cut you off. and he delivered. it's about a 12-hour drama. if you wrote it for a script for a movie within it would probably be a box office hit. judge jeanine: there was some kind of a showdown between the el salvadorans and the secret

service. >> i think everybody going into the trip knew this would be a high-risk trip. the night before the team that was going couldn't sleep. so vice president bush started an impromptu game of poke tore keep everybody's nerves calm. it kept everybody in a great spirit. they come in the next morning. they are going to a presidential villa that just two weeks earlier had been the site of a slaughter. president reagan and vice president bush picked this location specifically to send a message we are come together place where you committed the crimes. they get to the villa and did a quick paint job to get the blood and bullet holes out of there. in walk a bunch of these soldiers with their ak-47s and

semi-automatic weapons and the secret service is concerned. there are five soldiers for every secret service. vice president bush comes out and says, guys, can you keep it down? everybody who witnessed it said it was extraordinary. he gets the military leaders assembled. he said my message is simple. i slammed his hand on the table. you are stop this activity. you are going to allow an election. if you don't, president reagan will cut you off and you know what that will mean for this war. out the door he walked and on to the blackhawk helicopter. judge jeanine: here is this yale graduate who is a combination of brilliance -- he graduated from yale in 2 1/2 years wail he was on the baseball team.

and then he's telling these people in the jungle, you do it my way or it's not going to work out for you. he was an incredible man. but he didn't have all that bravado about him. >> not at all. first i'll tell you how risky this mission was. the helicopter pilot that brought him in that day two weeks later was shot and killed on a secret mission in sell salvador. that's how dangerous the skies were at that time. when i went to see him in 2010, he's a funny, self-deprecating man. but i didn't want to talk about himself. he said he was worried about the state of politics. he said when i was in politics you could be opponents during the day and friend at night. but today opponents means enemies and i worry about that

in america. and he was concerned about the general vitriol in the country. people think about themselves and not america. the third thing he said to me that it got a chuckle about. in this world we live in, there is no bush doctrine. we just worry about the next 10 minutes of life. judge jeanine: thank you so much for being with us. we know what he was like in the white house and we know about his character but what was president bush like on the golf course. the man who lit the links with the commander-in-chief hundreds of times shares his stories. reverend billly graham had a special rip with many presidents, but what was special about his whip with

operations. i'm robert gray. now back to the judge. judge jeanine: welcome back to our continued special coverage on justice remembering president george h.w. bush. spiritual guidance and faith are key to presidents. ref van billy graham had a special relationship with president george h.w. bush. his son franklin graham joins us. thank you for being with us this evening. reverend, can you explain how it was that bushes got to know the grahams? where did it start? >> my father first met mr. bush, this would be the father george h. bush in washington at a couple meetings where he shook hand and didn't know him. he was playing golf in florida

and mrs. bush, dorothy walker bush heard my father was there and asked if he could come by the cottage, she wanted to meet him. she was a devout woman. she loved god. she knew the scriptures. she invited him back and he got to know george h. and the rest of the family. judge jeanine: so bush 41's mother reached out to your father, is that correct? >> that's correct, that's how it all started. judge jeanine: after that a relationship developed. and i understand that they spent a great deal of time together, your father and president bush. >> they did. my father liked the former president have much. they became close friends.

they except time together when he was in china as the ambassador. he knew him as the cia director. they spent a lot of time together during those years. but the president was a very devout believer. he was he episcopalian, he was quiet about it. he didn't wear it on his sleeve. he and my father spent many hours not only discussing theological issues, doctrine, but also having prayer together. they became close friend, and that friendship stayed right up to where my father passed away earlier this year. judge jeanine: how did the president's faith or religion direct his politics? >> that's an easy question to answer. first of all, he had christ-like

character. he was humble, he was faithful, he was a man who was gentle, he was a man of compassion. all of these are christ thriek characteristics. that was his faith. he lived out his faith. an carried that not only through his presidency but after he left the presidency. he used his voice as a former president, teamed up with bill clinton who had taken the last four years away from him, and they became friend. they went out to help people, especially in haiti where i had done a lot of work. they went there to draw attention and raise money. then same thing when the hurricane came into south texas. president clinton came down and spent time with president bush and they toured the devastated areas. raising money and trying to get awareness.

he had great compassion for people but he was a humble man. judge jeanine: the last question, they also spent time together in kennebunkport. quickly before we go, how would you describe president h.w. bush as it related to his ability to do a lot of sports things. >> he was on steroid. he got up early in the morning and he would want to take a swim. then he would want to play tennis. then we want to play golf, then he would want to go fish. my father said you needed a vacation after a vacation with george h. bush. here now to talk more about president h.w. bush's legacy and personal memories of this great man. former deputy assistant to president george h.w. bush, brad

blakeman. good evening. it's good to have you here. the president wrote your letter of recommendation for law school. let's talk about the president on the world stage. give us a sense of what it was like working with him. he did his homework. he was focused. he was principled. there was a method to everything he did. he inspired people. i remember going to communist one thinks with him as vice president. instituting the reagan doctrine. getting the wall to come down in 1989. then seeing what was left with reagan with the warm coming down was not the finish of the job. now he had to create these three states. he didn't turn his back on eastern europe. he helped them and worked with them, now we have free countries like poland and the czech republic who are great friend of the united states. this man was a statesman beyond. he saw the world as it was, not

the world he wished it to be. judge jeanine: he was a congressman, an ambassador, the head of the cia, the very much, and a military hero. there were so many parts to this man. but let's talk about his writing you a letter of recommendation to law school. how old were you when you met him? >> when i first started working for ambassador bush who was running for president and became ronald reagan's vice presidential nominee. i was 21 years old. i was out of college and volunteered on the campaign. during the course of him being vice president we traveled all over the world. we are in a fundraiser in florida. all the fundraising people had left. he remained for dinner. he said everybody, you are eating with us. i sat down to the vice president. he went around the table and questioned each member of the staff.

what's in your future and what do you want to do for yourself. i said i intend to go to law school. he said when you do, i'll write you a letter of recommendation. then attached to the letter of recommendation is a note that said, i hope this doesn't hurt your chances. that's the kind of guy he was. he followed through and did what he said he was going to do, and i got in. judge jeanine: then you ended up working with him even more. then the son. i worked for the son, w. 37 days on the recount and three years on his senior staff. judge jeanine: your final thoughts? >> he was the real deal. what you saw hund the camera was what you saw when nobody was looking. this guy was compassionate, he was real, he cared about people. judge jeanine: similar to the reverend franklin graham.

thanks so many for being with us this evening. president trump the country music fan. i'm joined live by the legendary george strait with a personal recollection about the man he knew well next. today is the day you're going to get motivated... get stronger... get closer. start listening today to the world's largest

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[♪] president george h.w. bush was a country music fan. he called our next guest a friend. legendary country artist george strait joins us to share his memories of the late president.

welcome to "justice." we are thrilled. i in particular as a country music fan are thrilled to have you on this evening. thanks for being with us. when you first met president george hurter walker bush -- >> i met him at the white house in 1989. he invited me up there to give me the american success award which i had no idea what it was. i never heard of it before. but i got to go to the white house. it was exciting. judge jeanine: but apparently you truck up a friendship with the president, he took a liking to you. and you two ended up spending time together. how did that happen and where did you two connect? >> after that time in 1989, he picked me out at the end of the ceremony, there were several of us, and he had somebody get my

wife and i and my son and took us into the oval office. first he candidate my son, he said don't you need an excuse for being out of school and wrote him one. then he showed me a magazine, a country music magazine my picture was on and told me he was a big country music fan. judge jeanine: in deed he was. in 2002 in march the last live concert at the houston astrodome. you sang there before they closed it. and you again received an award from president bush. i have it on my album, i listen to it all the time. he talks about you being a great american. >> well, you know what? he was the great american. and it's such an honor for me for him to be there that night. you know, he came out and brought me on stage, and talked

to the folks, and actually came on the bus before the show. and it was just an amazing night all together. judge jeanine: apparently after that the two of you continued to spend time together. and i believe it was at camp david. his last weekend at camp david in january of 1993 that you went to spend the weekend with him. tell us what that was like. >> he called me one morning, early in the morning. i had just met him. i didn't give him my phone number. but of course he's president, he calls me and wakes me up. and invites us to camp david. my wife and i and my son went and i took three band members and we did a little show for

them one night. and so we are going to leave the next morning, that's our plan. he asked me, are you going to church with us sunday morning which was -- this was saturday night. i said we kind of want to get back early so we can watch the cowboys and the 49ers play for the nfc championship game. he said why don't you stay here and watch it with us. i said okay. so we stayed, went to church, had lunch and watched the football game. let me back up a second. the cowboys won that game. and he says, well, let's call jimmiy john sound. okay. so, you know, he picks up that read phone and gets jimmie johnson on the phone and in less than two minutes jimmie johnson called back.

and he said congratulations. and he said i have another george that wants to talk to you. the next day, judge, he gave a speech to the troops. that was his last weekend at camp david, and he gave a speech to the troops there in a bing hangar, and the troops loved him than was not a dry eye in that house with it was over. it was an amazing time. judge jeanine: thank you, george strait, and thank you for providing the music he loved. president bush on the links. his long-time golfing buddy shares some great stories in just a (vo) gopi's found a way to keep her receipts tidy,

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judge jeanine: president george h.w. bush had a lot of passions in life and one of them was golf. my next guest played hundreds of rounds of golf with him. and formed quite the friendship. ken raider joins plea now by phone. good evening, ken. it's great to have you on.

to have the ability to play hundreds of rounds of golf with the president of the united states, i have got to ask you a few questions. did he ever take a mulligan? >> only off the first tee. and the no last rule. if you hit a bad shot the first try. he just loved being out there with his fellow players and members and the camaraderie on the golf course. judge jeanine: there is a full screen up of you, the president and jack nicklaus. the three of you. what was it like? you are a golf pro, right, ken? >> arnold palmer and phil nicholson, david love and we are blessed he loved the game as

much as he did and we got to enjoy it together. judge jeanine: did he ever throw a club and get upset with the game? >> golf is a game of love and hate relationship. we love our good shots and hate our bad shots. he did a lot of chipping and putting. but he loved being out there with his family and friends. judge jeanine: fishing. i understand you used to fish with him as well. >> people on the golf course at ken bunk poasht where i was a golf professional. we used to spend time there. it was his getaway from getting away from the pressures of the office. on the golf course and on the river, we used to spend time there. then we we go to ne

newfoundland-labrador. judge jeanine: we just had franklin graham on who said the president would start the day by swimming then tennis and fishing. he apparently had a lot of energy. >> don't forget the power walking on the beach in the winter when he couldn't golf or go fishing. judge jeanine: i understand when he became president, he appointed you to a special position with a special title. do you want to share that with my viewers? >> well, a lot of people in the secret service used to wonder whether i would be appointed to any office in the cabinet. judge jeanine: you got a title of? the secretary of swing? >> secretary of swing. which just goes to show what a

good humor he had. we had lots of jokes. judge jeanine: thank you, ken raynor, the secretary of swing. a tribute from president bush from his most of these folks, they don't have time to go to the post office they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the amazing services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again!

>> i've been feeling good about the republican party. been consulting with -- thank

you. i'm in enemy territory here. they consult me with will begin posters, it looks good. judge jeanine: finally, tonight as we begin a week of mourning for our 41st president, a moving tribute to george hw bush from the man who became famous making fun of him. media dana carty whose impression of bush was one of saturday night live's most famous is reacting to his death night. years ago president bush actually invited him to the white house to do his famous impression and the two stayed in touch over the years. tonight of the man carty is best known for impersonating he says quote -- we all will. thank you for watching.

i'm jeanine pirro advocating for truth, justice and the american way. see you next saturday. >> i think historians will say we did pretty well. twitter @ m canc kelly, thank you for joining us. i'm megyn kelly. this is "the kelly file." >> we met at a dance, he was the first person who ever kissed me. i almost fainted from excitement. >> he packed up mother and me and moved out to odessa, texas. and i always have admired him for his pioneering spirit. >> our dad is probably the sweetest person you would meet. he is very kind and goo