>> and the country would succeed. >> thank you for your recollects. watching be in news coverage of nancy reagan. # nbc news coverage of the death of former first lady nancy reagan. some of our stations may now go back to regular programming. for others, our coverage continues. nancy reagan, the widow of president ronald reagan has died. she was 94 years old. her death was announced in a statement from her spokesperson, and lester holt looks at the life of the former first lady. >> nancy davis was an actress herself when she met ronald reagan on the mgm lot in 1949. he was already a star. but though she had her own hollywood dreams, she later said she found her greatest role as his wife. >> i think i was born to be married. i was the happiest girl in the world when i became we. >> they married in 1952.

a simple ceremony and even appeared together in "hellcats of the navy" the last of her 11 films. >> i began to think maybe you were playing the south seas circuit. >> you knew better. >> how could i know. did you give me a post dated check. >> from then on, by her own description, her life was devoted to her husband, as mother to their two children, patty and ron, and as stepmother to his two children by former wife jane wyman, and then came politics and her long career as a first lady. first in california to governor ronald reagan in 1966. >> what's ronnie's greatest asset for the women voters. >> just being ronnie, i guess. >> then to president reagan in 1980. after the president was shot by a would-be assassin just two months into his first term, his wife was forever shaken. >> every time he went out and

talked to thousands of people, my heart stopped. >> but she carried on. steadfast in her chosen roles as the president's protector, best friend, and partner in efforts like the anti-drug campaign for which she was forever linked. >> when it comes to drugs and alcohol, just say no. >> she was criticized for consulting an astrologer about the president's schedule, dubbed queen nancy for her expensive tastes in fashion and white house decor. and accused of managing her husband. >> doing everything we can. >> but the fact is, she never wavered as a loving wife in all of the ways she knew. and when in the mid-'90s the then former president revealed he had been diagnosed with alzheimers disease, the partner who would rarely leave his side visited the republican national convention to share her family's pain and a new cause. >> we learned as too many other families have learned of the terrible pain and loneliness

that must be endured as each day brings another reminder of this very long good-bye. >> so nancy, let me say thank you for all you do. thank you for your love. and thank you for just being you. >> she stayed close to her ronnie even in her last years. she made it a point to be there when the reagan library hosted election-year debates, and to visit her husband's resting place. a love story to the very end. lester holt, nbc news. >> mrs. reagan will be buried at the ronald reagan presidential library in simi valley, california, next to her husband. prior to the funeral service, there will be an opportunity for members of the public to pay their respects at the library. i'm joined once again by nbc's chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell. you have chronicled the incredible influence the former

first lady had on international politics, but i'm curious your take on what she would think of the presidential campaigns under way today. >> well, it would be hard -- i wouldn't want to presume to say what she would think about it. but from just all of her history, we know that she did not believe in extremes. that she believed in compromise. that she believed as did her husband in walking -- working across party lines. we once heard him say when he compromised on taxes that that sound you heard was the concrete breaking around my feet. so i would think that she would be pretty concerned about the state of the republican party. i did not speak to her in, you know, the last year or two about what was happened in the republican party, but it would be hard for her to imagine the kind of republican debates that we saw in the last couple of

times. and the language that was used because if nothing else, she was a classy lady. and as ken was saying, you know, this is the woman whose husband never took off his jacket because he didn't want to diminish the sanctity of the oval office. he did not dress casually. when we covered the washington white house, there was an informal dress code. we did not wear pants. we came out of covering the carter white house where blue jeans were de rigueur with jimmy carter. just a different style. all of a suddener we didn't wear slacks unless it was a snow day. a very old fashioned dress code on air force one. i dressed in suits. very consciously, because that was the style that was set by the first lady. so i think that she would not approve of the language, if nothing else, that is being used in this campaign. and as much as she disliked some

of the more, you know, outrageous aspects of contemporary politics, she was a modern person. she adjusted. she understood. we had our own debates in the reagan library, and she -- until recently, attended those debates and functions. she kept up with everything. she loved gossip. she would be$x on the phone wi you asking you what was going on or with her friend george will and other from her circle back here in washington and talked to our own wonderful tom brokaw as recently as their shared ronald reagan/tom brokaw birthday on february 6th. i don't think she could have been happy or would be happy about the tone taken in these debates. and in this campaign. >> yeah, certainly, her intrin intrinsic style reflected a different era. i would also like to ask you, as tom shared the last conversation on february 6th of this year,

can you share with us anything from your last communication with mrs. reagan sn. >> well, my last communication was a public one because i called her when maggie thatcher died. they shared such a love and respect for each other. and they really shared ronnie reagan. maggie thatcher was the first foreign leader who took reagan seriously and took his ideas seriously. and she was his partner throughout those very tumultuous years when he was isolated from the other foreign leaders by their different perspective towards east/west relations. primarily and also towards economics. so maggie thatcher was very important to her. she was kind enough to come on our show on msnbc and share her reflections. i did thank her afterwards, and you know, i used to send her flowers and commemorate anniversaries and birthdays. because she was always so kind.

and i did receive a beautiful letter from her when i had my cancer experience almost five years ago. and she had been one of the first ladies, you know, not as muchf of a breakthrough as betty ford, so memorably and courageously back in the day, with breast cancer, but nancy reagan had her own experience. and then we also of course shared that moment when ronald reagan had his cancer surgery, and the doctors at nih, we were all out there for a live news conference, and the doctor the head of nih and the cancer institute at nih says the president has cancer. that almost got him fired because nancy reagan and ronald reagan insisted the president no longer had cancer because they had surgery removed the tumors. so there was that side of her, who, you know, she protected the image and the vigor of the

president. we never really knew until years later how close he came to dying after the assassination attempt. but imagine what that was like to go through seeing your husband, the president of the united states, cut down by an attempted assassination. seeing him struggling for his life. and for all of the lines they put out of him joking to the surgeon and the e.r. and all, i hope you're not a democrat, et cetera. she almost lost her husband to an assassin's bullet. i can tell you the way he rebuilt himself, the strength that he showed throw physical therapy, the upper body strength to recover from the attack, really, that came so close to his heart and into his lung. just think of what that entailed. that led to what we later call the overprotectiveness. i can understand it completely from what she went through. i admire her greatly, not only for her public policy role and her private political advice to

him, but also for the devotion, which was so clear, as i say, in the letters that he wrote to her and in his diary. >> a strong and steadfast woman in her own right. loyal to her husband and her causes. andrea mitchell helping us with this special coverage. thank you so much, andrea. >> thank you very much. knl i'm joined right now by the cohost of "morning joe" here on msnbc, joe scar broe. a very sad day for people across the country. i would like to know what you thought when you heard about the news of the passing of nabsy reagan this morning. >> very sad news. but what

even nancy reagan one time said that there were parts of him that she never got close to. but she was ronald reagan's conduit to the outside world. she was the singular person that could reach in to reagan. and turn reagan from the b-list actor on the skids after a divorce that he was. when i say on the skids, i'm talking professionally, as on

the skids professionally, into a man that worked again in television. a man who worked again in movies. and then in probably in 1966, took on one of the most popular progressive governors of the 20th century in pat brown and absolutely whipped him after he underestimated as a bumbling fool with a third-rate intellect, and then continued that improbable rise all the way to the white house in 1980. and you know, helped be at his side and helped him maneuver over the next eight years to be what at least republicans consider to be one of the greatest presidents of all time, and who most historians would claim to be one of the two most successful of the 20th century. and you just, i heard michael earlier. as we move further and further away from this sad date, where we're remembering nancy reagan, more and more historians will

come to that understanding and that realization and understand that she was the indispensable part ner in ronald reagan's lif and in his really extraordinary political rise. >> and joe, it's interesting that since leaving the white house officially january of 1989, she became the person in the latter years given her husband's battles with alzheimer's, she became the person who republican candidates would go to as if the kiss the ring. they wanted to get her blessing, get her endorsement. talk about the power of that in these years since leaving the white house. the kind of power she wielded through her influence in the republican party. >> well, the reagan library was mecca for republican candidates. who wanted to be president of the united states. they did. they did, in the past at least, want, need nancy reagan's

blessing, and certainly wanted to be associated with the reagan library in any way they could. it was an extraordinary library. it is an extraordinary library for republicans to go visit. that's why it plays such a pivotal role every four years when you look at when you look at the presidential debates and look at all of the functions that continually go out there, have been out there several times. once with her hosting. but she was always -- she was, as andrea mitchell said, she remained not a politician's wife, but a politician to the end because she was always working the phones. she was always keeping up with what was going on in washington. she was always taking lunch meetings, and one of the things i -- when i had lunch with her in belaire several years ago, what struck me was the same thing that has always struck me in any private times that i had with the bush family, especially

the bushes in kennebunkport, that you see them as these political figures and these historic figures. but then you get close to them and spend time with them, and you realize that they are husbands and wives first. that they are mothers and fathers first. and i know when i was speaking with nancy reagan, she was talking with affection about her two children and talking about how proud she was of both of them, which you know, from a distance -- that was a surprise because i had heard just like everybody else about the distance that she had from time to time with her daughter, but she spoke in such positive, loving terms of boat of her children that that took up most of our time together at lunch. she was a proud mother. she was a loving mother. she was a loving -- a loving

wife. and as tom brokaw said, she did it during the most difficult of times, in the most difficult of circumstances. being the wife to the man that ran the counterrevolution in 1966 through 1988, to all of the things that her children probably held dear. and that was the liberalization of eisenhower's america, and yet she stood firmly by her husband's side and remained very proud of those children to the end. >> msnbc's joe scarborough, host of mj mj. i know you'll have a lot more on this tomorrow morning starting at 6:00 p.m. eastern. thank you for calling in. appreciate your time. look forward to seeing you in the morning. let's go now to kelly o'donnell who is at the white house. kelly, i know you covered the reagan years and all sorts of facets relative to ronald and nancy reagan. your thoughts when you heard the news about nancy reagan's

passing this morning? >> well, alex, let me first begin at the white house to say at this point, we understand the president is out of the white house. he is on a golf trip. we have not heard from him yet on the passing of mrs. reagan. and the vice president traveled last night to the middle east to the united arab emirates. we have not yet heard from the obama administration specifically on the passing of mrs. reagan. there are other leaders from the political world and capitol hill who are coming up with statements and sharing their remembrances. also, the former first lady laura bush has put a statement out that says, nancy reagan was totally devoted to president reagan and we take comfort that they will be reunited once more. george and i, meaning former president george w. bush, send our prayers and condolences to her family. then we also hear from one of the top democrats on capitol hill. chuck schumer of new york, who says you didn't have to be a reagan republican to admire and respect nancy reagan.

s she was a tower of strength alongside her husband, had strong beliefs and was not afraid to chart her own course politically. we have also heard from ted kruz who so frequently on the campaign trail talked about ronald reagan. he said nancy reagan will be remembered for her deep passion for this nation and love for her husband, ronald. the reagan family is in or prayers. and the last one i'll share at this time, from donald trump. nancy reagan, the wife of a truly great president, was an amazing woman. she will be missed. personal remembrances, the scene where she's with john mccain. i was with senator mccain that day covering his campaign. that was add the time he had become the republican nominee. and it was very much a sort of a necessity of the rite of passage in the republican party to pay your respects to mrs. reagan, to have that photo opportunity moment with her. for john mccain, it ran much deeper than that because he came to washington after being a prisoner of war, beginning his

elected office during the reagan administration, and had been close to president and mrs. reagan for all the years since. so there was a real personal connection there as well. i was most recently out at the reagan library last fall for a program that miss reagan cared very much about. it's called the peace through strength forum. it's the reagan national defense forum where they bring together a lot of the minds on national security issues and talk about many of the issues that were relevant in president reagan's day and remain relevant now. it was a forum that she cared very much about. i received a lovely hand-written note from her thanking me for my participation. she took that kind of detail in trying to stay focused on the mission of her late husband's legacy. and what it means to the republican party. and what it means to people who come to the library, which is an extraordinary piece of property that they selected, so that

president reagan when he was laid to rest would be able to enjoy his california mountain view. i was also at the place that had been known as the western white house during the reagan administration. rancho deciello, and i did a story for nbc news when mrs. reagan sold the property to the young americas foundation, which is a group of republican sort of organization for younger republicans. and what was particularly striking is the home had been sold. it was a very rustic sort of spartan, small ranch on a spectacular piece of property. and she went back and provided some of her own personal effects that she and president reagan had used during the time they were in the white house. everything from his cowboy hat to cowboy boots, saddles, of course, that's where you see all of the scenes where he was riding horses back in the day. she made that personal gift, and one final note, i was with her in the u.s. capital when she came in 2009 for the statue of

president reagan, which sits in the rotunda at the capitol. it was one of the last times she has come to washington, and she talked about it being such a happy occasion, because the last time prior to that that she had been in the rotunda was when the former president was lying in state after his passing. so it was very -- there are these personal moments that you can reflect on about her, her style, her commitment to her husband's legacy, and how involved she remained for as long as she could. >> kelly o'donnell at the white house, thank you very much for those memories and sharing them with us. i'm joined by maria shriver, who joins us from california. i understand you're a bit under the weather, so we will excuse that if that comes through over this phone conversation. but love to talk with you about your thoughts on the passing of nancy reagan and also point out to our viewers who don't know that you shared something in common, both being former first ladies of california. >> yes, we did, actually. we were both first ladies of

california, and both very active in alzheimer's. my dad had alzheimer's and obviously president reagan had alzheimer's. we saw each other a lot on both of those fronts. in fact, when i became first lady, one of the first calls i made was to mrs. reagan to ask for her advice, and i met with her quite frequently during my time as first lady just to get a sense from her about how i should handle it, what i should do. i met with everybody who served in that role before. one of the things i said i wanted to do is put her picture up in the capitol and say she had served too because there were no pictures of first ladies. just governors. she said, of course, i served, too. you should do that right away. i remember talking to her about, you know, not being sure like what i should focus on or how i should manage that role, and she said, look at the best advice i would have for you is do whatever you want because people are going to criticize you anyway.

just do whatever you want. i think people often talk a lot obviously about her love for her husband. she had two children, as you know, then there are stepchildren. her daughter patty is a pretty good friend of mine and wrote recently about their father. and i think that she was also very later in life active with stem cell research, the proposition out here in california. which was kind of people were surprised she got involved in that because she was a republican, and also in trying to focus people's attention on alzheimer's. i think she was often controversial, but she was quite steely. her advice to me was the same she gave to herself. do what you do. don't worry about the critself because they're going to criticize you anyway. do what you think is best for you and your husband and family. i think that's the way she lived her life. i think somebody else mentioned that she sits at the bel-air hotel, or she used to, and she had people come in to talk to

her, she was very up on the news. she was very up in what was going on in the republican party up until recently. so she, i think, enjoyed her status as, quote, first lady of the republican party. she liked talking to people, and she liked having her opinion felt. i think she felt she deserved that. and people sought it from her as well. so i think she served well here in california. and i just also reach out to her children today who are mourning the loss of their mom, who they shared really with the world. i think that's never totally easy for children. >> oh, you can imagine. maria, i'm curious. her legacy, how much do you think her actions were influenced with the knowledge that everything she did would be scrutinized and she needed to leave the proper legacy? >> i think she was very conscious of that. she was very conscious of that from her days as an actress. very conscious of that when she became first lady of california

and then went on obviously to be first lady of the united states. but the reagans had a very tight-knit group of people who supported them, fninanced them, you know, were around them, often referred to as their kitchen cabinet. i think she really enjoyed her life. deeply devoted to her husband, but i think she also wanted to be seen as somebody who was smart, who was not to be messed with. who had served herself. as i said, i come back to that little comment i made to her and said i noticed your picture wasn't in the capitol. i wanted to put up a picture of you because your served too. she didn't say damn right, but she said yes, i did. so i should be on the wall. i think she liked to think she was a partner in every way. she wasn't some woman standing behind without an opinion. i think if you have read mike deavers' book or others, people did not cross nancy reagan. and i think that she enjoyed

that reputation. it was well earned. and i think they were very much of a team. she enjoyed being that team. and i think she felt that she wanted to support whatever he did, but she was also, i think, proud of her just say no to drugs campaign. and i think she was always proud of her work on stem cell and alzheimer's. as i said, we spoke a lot about that since we were both very committed to it. and i think that will be one part of her legacy. >> absolutely. our friend here at nbc news, maria shriver. thank you for calling in despite being under the weather. do get better soon. thank you, maria. once again, joined by the moderator of nbc's "meet the press," chuck todd. you talked about there will be some sort of a remembrance of her life. do you know how large that could get? given the largesse she leaves behind, influencing the

republican party and politics in general. the end of an era truly. >> it really is an end of an era when is sort of the part two of the powerful couple. i was thinking, this is the most influential republican first lady in american history. i mean, i don't think there's eely a close second on that score. and i think that because of the importance of the reagan legacy, to the republican party in general, her legacy on washington, her legacy on the presidency, there's going to be -- i think there's going to be a pause in the campaign, quite frankly. in some form or another. perhaps maybe it's a pause in the rhetoric or a pause in the style and the tone. but also a little bit of focus on the reagan legacy and candidates probably almost going out of their way to talk about the reagan legacy, not to say they wouldn't before, but right

now, because of, their way of paying tribute to nancy reagan. >> in the brief time we have left, this is certainly a story that will make headlines around the world. any idea how she'll be remembered? >> i think she's going to be remembered as better today than perhaps when she left the white house. more respect for the idea that she did play a role, almost a positive respect for it rather, there was always this begrudging, whatever iyou want o call it, part of it may have been the era or partisanship but i think with time and space, there's going to be a much more appropriate frankly, i think, and a much more positive review of just how influential she was as a first lady. again, there's three or four -- eleanor roosevelt, nancy reagan, hillary clinton, and i think right there. >> all right, chuck todd, thank you so much for your insights. for all of you, you're watching

nbc news special coverage of the death of former first lady nancy reagan. our continue coverage n agage c now on nbc, and there will be a full report on nbc sports, home of the 2016 winter olympics, nhl, premier league and primetime's number one show, friday night football, only on nbc. welcome to the honda nbc sports desk. >> hi everyone. coming up in just a moment, the usa rugby sevens las vegas, part of the road to rio. but we start with the news that peyton manning is calling it a career. the legendary quarterback has told the denver broncos that he's retiring with the official announcement expected tomorrow.