ronald reagan's funeral. after closing for a full week so the public to pay respects and canceling all other scheduled tours and events for her ceremony the student leadership reunion happened to be the only event that was allowed to go that week roughly one year ago. if you ask me i think someone was looking out for us that day. in the effort to always challenge ourselves to find opportunities to support our program alumni along the leadership journey today's event is a little different than we've done in the past. for those of you or maybe all of us in this room that have ever wondered who was ronald reagan not once did he accomplish or how did he change the world but who was the man, the person away from the photographs, the statues covered the interviews and other dimensions the public sees. reading the book the president will see you now you can't help but feel that you are brought in closer to ronald reagan and the person he truly was. today we invite you to learn more about what it means to be a leader

but even so obama did pay homage to ronald reagan. and it was nice complement. bill clinton tried, and donald trump probably most recent presidents coming closest to be reagan and nothing antiestablishment he's not afraid to ask the status quo.but reagan exploded many many political dispute ported, kant, franklin, emerson. anti- washington but never said you know i want to be the next franklin roosevelt.i want to be connect dwight eisenhower. he either -- he was perfectly happy just being ronald reagan. there was never any doubt. he never had expressed a doubt about himself. that you know even nixon sometimes. reagan you know, there's one thing to say about reagan self-confidence. in 1980 he was giving an interview to a reporter with the new york times. this is in the process of getting the nomination. and he said something, i thought that maybe one that should be president. is that you have effective self-confidence that you should be president. breast all the -- [inaudible] >> thank you for today. there are couple of things that confused me. particularly in th

personal assistant, posts presidency, no one knows ronald reagan better than peggy grande and you have a new book. >> thanks for having me, call the president will see you, now, my stories and lessons of reagan's final years and covers 15 years after he left the white house where he left his final legacy and i feel i am the luckiest woman in the world, i sat outside his office door every day and served as executive president, there are all kinds of stories i learned and how he inspired and changed my life and how he still inspire and change lives and i'm attentive to details. i would be embarrassed if i had. >> let's kick it off with a broader question about how the gop, how you, the majority in control, trump can't seem to get things done unless by executive which building coalitions which not just republicans but building minority coalitions and more stakeholders to the table what is the secret to success? >> i finished a piece in the washington post and there will be a piece about donald trump's 100 days which have been more successful than i anticipated because of the nomination, c

and one of the most important biographers of ronald reagan the author of -- [inaudible conversations] reagan revolution, last ax, the time year emerging legacy of ronald reagan and "new york times" best seller december 1941 which is one of my personal favorites, craig. also visiting reagan scholar at eureka college and lectures at reagan library and reagan ranch and if you have not spent time at the reagan library or ranch i highly advise that you go because those places are incredibly beautiful and incredibly important to our history. he's also regular throughout the media and been seen on television and radio and gurud t the firm and not author of the brand new book a book that we're here to celebrate tonight called reagan gathering and 1976 and 1980. please give a warm welcome to my friend craig shier shirley. [applause] introduce right now. yeah, i beg your pardon. they don't let me out much. ronald reagan said middle age when your face was temptation it and get you home in beds by 9:30. i plan on being home in my hotel bed 9:0 tonight. i chose this film, this going by eight minut

that he wrote, he has so far there's been more than 10,000 letters, 10,000 letters collected that ronald reagan wrote. excuse me? >> handwritten. >> handwritten in deed, all handwritten. jefferson only wrote 18,000 letters, and in his day that's the only way you could communicate. reagan of course had many other ways to communicate. schultz wunts once said and i think very insightfully. he said a man who writes a lot thinks a lot. and someone who thinks a lot has probably read a lot. there were a number of occasions while reagan was in office where his press secretary asked him if he could release the books that he was reading. reagan refused to let him do that. said, no, it's not necessary. and he was reading substantive books. some of this has been put together by people over the years. so any way, i mentioned this because -- and emphasize it because for those of you that are looking at the archival records and so on, be aware or at least double check anytime you want to reach the conclusion that it wasn't really reagan who was doing this who had these ideas, it was really one of his staff pe

>> so help me, god. >> congratulations, sir. >> what's interesting about ronald reagan's inauguration had a mandate. people were calling it the reagan revolution. i mean, he had painted the entire country a republican red. >> in this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem. >> he was stating a very clear and different philosophy from the reigning philosophy. yet couching it in a way that made the people listening feel like he still had belief in the people of america that even though liberals were upset by what he said, he reached out to the middle class. he reached out to people who wanted to believe in that sunny morning in america kind of spirit. >> and we mapped out his plan for the first 100 days, and he blessed it during the transition. so he came shooting out of the box pretty fast. everybody knew that he stood for cutting taxes, cutting spending, cutting regulation, balancing the budget. what he didn't have was the full confidence of the people that he could get it done and he was going to be a strong president. >> we will again

i would like to comment on ronald reagan. as a person who has made a career as a scientist, i was disappointed with his decision to not go forward with the metric system. i think in part that has contributed to a lot of scientific illiteracy in the u.s.. i was disappointed with ronald reagan overall. thank you for taking my call. host: doug brinkley would july to take that? disappointed with reagan over the metric myself. ranked ase why reagan high as he is. he has become a leader of conservatives around the country . our national airport is named after him. the cold war was a defining part of american history, and reagan seems to have come out better than any other president, talking about the historic negotiations with mikael gorbachev, he is meetings in the. of the -- wreck of thatcher had family sleep said ronald reagan won the cold war without firing a single shot. there is hyperbole attached to that, there were crisis is with grenada and others. ronald reagan is seen as a great piece president -- peace president. roosev

>> ronald reagan was all about finding the things we agree upon. there has to be two or three and let's use it as a starting point to hopefully finding common ground. he also was obviously an excellent communicator and great between collecting the dots from policy and people. it is one thing to be legislating on the hill but can you connect the dots back down to people. can you connect them to everyday ordinary families and communities and homes and ronald reagan did that well. i think a lot of great things are happening in washington d.c. but can he connect them to homes, families, moms and kids and show them how the policies benefit. if you show the things you are doing in washington d.c. is beneficial to you as a family and individual you will be more supportive. >> as a republican party, we have an embarrassment of riches in termsofs of control but we a scondering inside in terms of the freedom caucus and other things. the democratic party seems fired up. we were just talking before this protest and panel began i live in downtown los angeles, t

a private citizen ronald reagan in 19ru7. cbs news the next day called him and says would you like a half hour of network time prime time to respond to president carter? and reagan of course jumps at the chance. but this would never happen today. but a private citizen is given a half hour of prime time to respond to the president of the united states. so reagan is the leader. he leads the truth squad around the country. and the panama canal treaties thereafter only passed the senate by one and two votes more than the two thirds necessary for a treaty. but the potency was there. carter gained no political currency out of the issue but reagan got a lot of currency. host: we are continuing our discussion with reagan biographer craig shirley. just a reminder the phone numbers are at the bottom of your screen. campaign.the 1980 let's take a look at president reagan making his announcement for president then. >> i believe this nation hungers for a spiritual revival. hungers to once again see honor placed above political expeedsy. to

the first since ronald reagan in 1981. ronald reagan had good reason, he had been shot. in this case the president has more important things to do like an audience in harrisburg, pennsylvania, a state where his victory turned the tide and produce one of the most shocking upset and political history. on the short list, declined the opportunity to be the president's labor secretary. very good to have you. >> good to be with you. neil: why did you declined that post? >> i can help the president a lot more where i am in congress. he needs some loyal soldiers who will fight for him and i don't think it was a bad decision. the most important thing as we get his agenda across the finish line and he needs loyal folks who are willing to get in the trenches and fight for him. neil: given the fact the replacement candidates holding on to republican seats and you were wise to do so but let me ask a little bit about what is at stake, the president addressing his harrisburg audience, many of his critics have said he is in constant campaign mode and got that base, he has got to reach o

-page history books but you have some pretty funny material about ronald reagan. heard say i have never the line you recounted that his advisers thought of putting a sign up in the cabinet and saying "reagan slept here." [laughter] william: yes. harold: you remind a seattle of the conviction of a patent medicine salesman but was and is in many quarters beloved. airports are named for him. buildings are named for him. is it the dawn of, as kennedy was in a way, a different kind of residency. a television presidency. a movie star presidency which may read -- read to a reality presidency -- reality show presidency. what may happen? ronald reagan was first thought of as a candidate for public office, for governor of california, jack warner of bober bros. said, now cummings for governor. ronald reagan for his best friend. [laughter] william: someone else who had known ronald reagan said, you can wade in his deepest thoughts and not get your ankles wet. laughter] harold: but as president bush would say, he was underestimated. [chuckling] yes. ronald reagan i found it har

he is trying to convince ronald reagan fair. he is pushing hard to make him realize this is a historic opportunity. we will never have a soviet leader who comes after gorbachev to strike a deal. david: i wonder whether reagan did at that time realize this was a major knife at the throat of the soviet union and gorbachev, and that in fact this was a central core of issues to and communism in the soviet union. guillaume: i agree with that, but it is easy to face afterwards, after the ussr disappeared in 1991. there was agenda in the reagan administration as we were saying to try to beat them with expenses. have to remember that the soviet union at the time was extremely -- david: competent. guillaume: they had the double conventional armaments than the americans. they had almost double the nuclear weapons. even though it does not make a real difference. david: you could destroy the world six times over instead of four times over. guillaume: absolutely. i think there was a sense of trying to overspend, and it worked. gorbachev under

ronald reagan did so in 1983.ting, we just noted, it was a couple years after he was shot by the deranged gunman john hinckley junior who was trying to impress the actress jodie foster. that is when reagan spoke. donald trump will be speaking shortly, and when he does so, we will take you there live. >> jenna: after years of decline, the u.s. steel industry is surging and jobs seem to be coming back, many in the industry credit the president's america first strategy for this. mike tobin is live in indiana with more. >> hey, businessman and trade groups in asia are now using the word protectionist referring to president trump's backing of the american steel industry. people here working in the steel industry believe they now have a business friendly president in the white house who had their back. business is booming in the steel industry as soon as the business-family president was elected, companies like this saw their stock price jumped and the company is melting, rolling and moving more steel out the door. >> i

loud when you are reading a 900 page history book, but you have some pretty funny material about ronald reagan. i must say i have never heard the line you recounted that his advisers thought of putting a sign up in the cabinet and saying "reagan slept here." [laughter] prof. leuchtenburg: yes. us hereer: you remind at the conviction of a patent medicine salesman, but in many quarters, he is beloved. airports are named for him. buildings are named for him. is it the dawn of, as kennedy was in a way, a different kind of presidency, a television presidency, a movie star presidency, which may lead to a reality show presidency? how did this happen? prof. leuchtenburg: along the lines of where you begin, harold , when reagan was first thought of as a candidate for public office, for governor of california, jack warner of warner bros. said, now bob cummings for governor. ronald reagan for his best friend. [laughter] prof. leuchtenburg: someone else who had known ronald reagan said, you can wade in his deepest thoughts and not get your ankles wet. [laughter] mr. holzer: as president bush would say, he

charles: a lot of people who voted for donald trump felt this was the second coming of ronald reagan, ronald reagan's success around the belief or the myth of where you come from that supply-side propels this economy for many years after his presidency. >> i know this will go directly to charlie's head but he makes an excellent point about their not being -- supy-ders in the white house, nor in the house with the exception of speaker ryan and what the president is facing and the reason he is doing it, what charlie is advocating, the same revolt on his hands with the deficit hawks and the health care bill that failed. >> that is why you do healthcare first. charles: to your point remember this week when all the ceos met with infrastructure, they came out with a sobering tiffany to your point, to bring back healthcare first. >> this is an important first step not because just because of the money but people who voted for the president that i understand what is going on, making good. >> it would be nice if republicans did this. they were worrying about the cbo. how time was he handling -

presidents i was thinking of last night when we were going all through this and watching this, one was ronald reagan. in 1986, there was a terrorist attack against the lab bell disco tech in berlin. killed two american service men and 79 were injured. reagan responded with air strikes that were in retaliation. he talked about this, and people were not surprised by it because reagan was very tough on terrorism. and he was trying to respond to each incident that occurred like this so that it wundt happen again. at the other end of the scale, fall of 1980, jimmy carter was running for re-election, as you well remember, and there were 50 american hostages that had been taken in tehran. a lot of people said why don't you do air strikes against tehran to intimidate the iranians to buckle and let the hostages out. carter didn't do it. since then he said he feels if he would have done those air strikes he might have gotten reelected but hostages might have been killed. when carter did that that was so much in line with what carter had been saying and doing, that people weren't surprised. i think the thing t

that's that something ronald reagan or the people who knew ronald reagan appreciate when people try to co-joine code joiy with the president reagan. >> i think that is the tillerson and the national security -- what? >> go on. i'm curious. exxon mobil is coming. >> national security will provide foreign security advice. i think he has decided going to position -- [talking over each other] >> of the vice president and secretary defense. he said -- [talking over each other] >> that's not what happened. when he actually said what, you know, what john mccain was saying, and you undercut them, the president of united states. [talking over each other] spirit explain, not everyone to follow this. explain what you saw what happened there. >> there was a a nash is pretty conference in munich was originally nato allies and now it is grown, russians come and get rains come in the chinese, and it's kind of ridiculous, but you've all the security leaders of different countries that come and speak. it's a chance for us to meet with our allies. it's a chance for us to interface with people who are ne

. >> ronald reagan. >> he opposed ronald reagan, actually. >> he said many things that were offensive to latino voters, you know, it's amazing that we are offensive to women that were caught on tape about sexual assaulting women, what he said about women and charges afterwards, he went after -- [inaudible] >> basically everything that reince priebus said don't do and he threatened the needle. i would like to think of it, when you watch football and they do the kick-off the ball bounces and tends to bounce in different direction but every once in a while you do the kickoff and the ball bounces straight. seemed to be waiting. >> as a woman latino this is going to be great. [inaudible] and his whole ride to conservative leader was based on the racist, birther conspiracy theory and he didn't make really efforts to reach out elsewhere. can the republican party win with that strategy moving ahead? >> these are such deep questions, david, and everything is so complicated. when you look at florida, for example, i remember in the election they had -- 500,000 new hispanic voters who had signed

host: george, as you look at our 40th president, ronald reagan, your thoughts? guest: he was a natural at the dinner. he enjoyed it. the only one he didn't enjoy was -- there was a year, 1982, when he had to go to andrews air force base. he was so upset he told the president of the association he just can't be funny. i'm not in the mood. he did not do his usual. host: this is the final dinner with president bill clinton. host: the use of video. has been it effective? guest: the white house usually doesn't tell us they have video until the day of. or the day before. >> do i it because of our shared love for this country. host: george, what's the story? guest: what happened was the kohl member, the head of the marine band, was in the oval office getting his commission. being congratulated on being named a full colonel. the president mentioned off hand, you know, i admire you. i always wanted to direct it. the colonel is no dummy. he said, well, we'll make that happen. the president initially wanted to do the gridiron and the colonel thought it would be more effect

host: the origins of the dinner and ronald reagan was at most of the dinner except 1981. and did he enjoy going to these events? >> he did. some people have said no president enjoys it. a number of presidents enjoy it. president obama did. president bush did but hated how long they went and cut it into things like baseball games and wished it was shorter. president clinton hated his first few but enjoyed the last couple. host: tell the story about monica lewinsky, the awards and was going to come later but showed up earlier. >> 19991, one of the awards was to michael isikoff who was at "newsweek" on a very controversial article regarding president clinton and they knew how the program was going to go. so the white house told us the president would be arrive late that night. but didn't come out and say when michael gets the award, but everybody knew that's what it was. they were not at the head table when dinner was starting to be served. i moved people over so they weren't on an island eating alone and the secret service said we have a departure, and i said from where? he

cpac, they talk about ronald reagan, they talk about trump. has trump pushed, pulled, nudged the republican party and conservative movement into a much different place than where reagan had it? >> we have to separate what donald trump stands for and how he conducts himself from the rest of the party. he's in the party because he is the president of the united states right now, but his conduct so far on foreign policy has been erratic and dangerous. ronald reagan was able and the es who succeeded him -- they were firm. not only did our our auto what we were doing, our opponents did. on domestic policy, the same thing. we have a president who is a blank slate and trips around or he is erratic based on his mood swings and what he saw on tucker or fox and friends. that's not how we can conduct national security policy because real lives are at stake and there are going to be people who will no longer be a live or no longer be free a year from now because of the actions of this .resident that is not something that we should take lightly. that's not

live pictures from the uss ronald reagan.rom the uss ronald reagan. more to come from mike pencejust a little later. and the main news again from the uk. the british prime minister has called the us president and european leaders to explain her surprise move to seek an election in six weeks' time. and you can get in touch with me and most of the team on twitter, hello. spring, thus far, has been marked by pretty settled fare. and i suspect that is going to be the overriding theme of the next few days, with a quiet spell of weather set to continue. not just for the next few days, but right on into the forthcoming weekend. but gardeners and growers take note: night—time frost will still be a consideration. not so much for the first part of wednesday, across the northern parts of scotland, you've got a weather front there spreading a veil of cloud. that will keep the temperatures up. but further south, not so much in the major conurbations, but in the suburbs, and in the countryside, the early part of wednesday could see frost.

will not be attending this year's dinner, making him the first president to skip the event since ronald reagan in 1981, who was recovering from being shot. speaking with the president of the white house correspondents association about the dinner and the significant of the president's decision not to attend. here is more. host: the president of the white house correspondents association. end of oneen the administration and the start of a new administration. from your standpoint, what have been the biggest challenges? >> they are the biggest , and we started with the new trump administration. think the biggest has been this adjustment. a new president comes into the white house with new priorities, and less experience, in this case, in dealing with the press, and new ideas. we have had significant tensions. that is not a surprise. we also developed a good working relationship with president trump's press team, on behalf of the press corps. there were certainly some battles that i did not expect to find, like the press moved out of the press room that was floated at the beginning, but we had a d

think the first time since ronald reagan did this since 1983.a group endorsed him earlier than you had previous s.candidates. what made you so certain? check this off, trump made another promise one of the things take really defines his first hundred days is keeping his word on so many issues. big issues. uhm, why were you so confident early on that we would keep his promise when others were do you get doubting? >> we're a grassroots organization, and i kept out there all over the country i kept going what do you think? and people kept going i've never been worried about this country bountil now. and i would saynt what do you think? and they go trump, and i always thought this election was about hopefully, and about someone that had had the change the status quo and here was somebody willing to put everything aside and go out there and take tremendous encourage and go out and fight to save this country. hillary clinton would have been catastrophic to the second amendment. there's the supremee court as an individual right with her appointment wou

no, ronald reagan responded. america is walking tall once again and looking to the '80s with courage, confidence and hope. and i think that quote really encapsulates a lot about the differences. let me talk for 30 seconds about the first part, which is the perception and framing of the soviet threat. we know it's very clear in reagan's diaries when he enters office what he thought was the problem. high spot, a national security council meeting, he wrote on february 11, '81. we have proof of delivering arms in el salvador, and the campaign which succeeds in raising rates through europe. the biggest short-term possibility of catastrophe which was the potential soviet invasion of poland, the chief long-term threat was the continuation of the negative stra teenl i can balance between the united states and soviet union that had really commenced in the aftermath. we'll hear more tomorrow on the panel of nuclear weapons. i would say just quickly is -- did not abate over time, particularly even in the second administrati

host: back to 1988, ronald reagan's final white house correspondent dinner president reagan: george bush is doing well. he's been a wonderful vice president but nobody's perfect. i put him in charge of anti-terrorism and the mclaughlin group is still on the air. but with so much focus on the presidential leaks, i have been feeling a little lonely these days. i'm so desperate for attention i almost considered holding a news conference. >> looking at the u.s. house legislative work gets under way later today. later the afternoon work on eight bills under suspension of the rules. among them a bill concerning the famine in south sudan and a pair of bills dealing with the use of the capitol grounds for special events. more live house coverage when members gavel back in here on -span. >> in case you missed it on c-span, carol harper royal georgetown university's slave sale dedication. >> naming these buildings for isaac hawkins and ann marine b. craft is the beginning of our journey together towards the reeling from the jess wits of georgetown's legacy of slavery. >> pennsylvania congressman m

neil: it began with ronald reagan. >> right. neil: began with his vision. he things reagan said going into office. i want to make the defense stronger, our government smaller. it was almost simplistic in its approach and walter cronkite and john chancellor, made a big deal. that was basic treatise. government had gotten too big. our defense was too old and antiquated that made as you laughingstock. so should the president be more actively engaged to the point of bringing in the other side, as i think charlie mentioned earlier in the last hour. ronald reagan did with tip o'neill and the democrats? >> i think maybe one thing we'll remember from the transition to now, that it surprised some people. this does fall on the president, is is the relationship, to some extent, at l.e.t. beginning of it, relationship between president trump and minority leader chuck schumer, all stories were written how the two new yorkers work together on certain things and infrastructure all the rest. first words out of the president's mouth right in the time of the inauguration or j

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it is not something ronald reagan were people who knew ronald reagan appreciate when people try to join this guy with president reagan. tillerson and the national security -- foreign-policy advice to him. we just had a security conference in munich where the vice president, secretary of defense, -- mercedes: john mccain -- john: that is not what happened. saying, thecain was president of the united states -- [indiscernible] explain how you saw what happened there. john: a security conference in nato allies, now it has grown, the russians come, kind of ridiculous, you have all of the security leaders of different countries coming to speak and it is a chance for us with potential and real adversaries. mccain for 30 years, has led that conference and led to that conference this year. governor kasich when as a delicate -- delegate. a lot of europeans there were distressed. they are not hearing anything out of mr. tillerson, they are distressed about the president. you can send mike pence they're all you want in general mattis there, but our allies need to hear from you. it is not a criticis

first 100 days with a speech at the nra convention, the first sitting president to do so since ronald reagan in 1983 and all of this comes at a critical time in the state of georgia. >> georgia is in the middle of two hot debates, one over who will represent the sixth congressional district and the other on whether the governor should sign house bill 280. a more restrictive version of legislation he vetoed last year that would allow registered gunowners to carry firearms on public college campuses. >> as far as guns on campus i'm opposed to it. the only guns on campus should be law enforcement. >> we are not talking about students. person who is 21 years of age can get a license but we are talking faculty and staff carrying on campus. >> we assemble the cross-section of voters to discuss begin issues. larry rosenblum is a democrat but likes strong support for the second amendment. policymakers on both sides need to seek common grounds. >> the nra has always had a policy that if you give an inch they will take a mile. i don't think there has to be a slippery slope where one compromise leads t

host: back to 1988, ronald reagan's final white house correspondence dinner. president reagan: george bush is doing well. he's been a wonderful vice president but nobody's perfect. i put him in charge of anti-terrorism and the mclaughlin group is still on the air. ut with so much focus on the presidential election, i've been feeling a little lonely these days. i'm so desperate for attention i almost considered holding a news conference. [laughter] host: george, as you look at our 40th president, ronald reagan, your thoughts? guest: he was a natural at the dinner. he enjoyed it. the only one he didn't enjoy was -- there was a year, 1982, when he had to go to andrews air orce base. before the dinner and watch coffins come back from beirut. he was so upset he told the president of the association he just can't be funny. i'm not in the mood. he did not do his usual. he was distracted the entire dinner. host: this is the final dinner with president bill clinton. >> i wish i could be here more. he has everything under control. host: the use of video. has been it eff

it came up off hand at a press conference, he ended up losing three months to that policy. >> ronald reagans another good example. we associate him with a major moment in american history because he resided over the beginnings of the end of the cold war. [applause] >> mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. >> reagan was elected to increase defense spending, but he was elected principally on an argument that government should be shrunk and welfare should be transformed. the budget should be balanced. he was going to be a conservative in the white house. that was his ticket to victory. he wanted to focus on domestic affairs as well. of course, the contrast with the carter years was dramatic. well, he set out a goal at the beginning to end the cold war, tilde defense spending -- build up defense spending, and he did those things, and those defined his presidency. >> i will promise you as your president, i will raise the bar. i will insist on accountability systems that refuse to leave children behind. we will put in place programs that will say we will give our children the building blocks to lea

in 1984 the olympics were being celebrated in los angeles, and the then—president ronald reagan wantedo try to clean the streets so to say, and there we re very the streets so to say, and there were very big crackdowns on the gangs. to what degree did the american authorities and el salvador authorities worked together on this? what we saw afterwards, after the

steve: and as you said earlier, he will be the first president since ronald reagan to address the nra. here's a snippet of mr. reagan back in 1983. >> it does my spirit good to be with people who never lose faith in america, who never stop believing in our future, and who never back down one inch from defending the constitutional freedoms that are every american's birthright. steve: you know, historically republicans are conservative candidates are supporters of the nra. but when donald trump was

he is not ronald reagan. his more like richard nixon. >> host: what was trump's response? was he surprised or hurt? >> guest: i think he was unhappy but later on i think he was generous towards the senator and he accepted his endorsement with grace. >> the two had gone back and forth and traded insults. trumps declaration that ted cruz's father had been in conversations with the kennedy assassin. you read about that in your book. what you make of that? can you talk about that a little? >> guest: i believe senator cruz's father knew lee harvey oswald, an associate of oswald in her book. the photograph you see comes from the commission, not from the national enquirer. i think donald trump threw it out there to get under the skin. >> guest: does that question his patriotism? >> guest: it questions his temperament. the question is obvious. why do people take an instantaneous dislike to ted cruz? they're merely saving time. >> host: but you feel trumps tactics of getting an emotional rise out of people in twitter, should he do that in the white house or should he back off? >> g

very reminiscent of ronald reagan.years. peggy, thank you very much for getting up so early out there in l.a. today. >> thank you for having me. steve: should it be okay for elected officials to skip votes in washington? coming up, a lawmaker who says it's not okay. and we should arrest them. huh? you will find out. and alec baldwin loves to pick on president trump. is this more evidence that hollywood is out of touch with the american people? wait until you hear what his brother had to say? carley shimkus here with that coming up next live from new york city. ♪ everybody wants to rule the world ♪ ♪ what's the story behind green mountain coffee and fair trade? let's take a flight to colombia. this is boris calvo. boris grows mind-blowing coffee. and because we pay him a fair price, he improves his farm and invest in his community to make even better coffee. all for a smoother tasting cup. green mountain coffee. when it comes to heartburn... trust the brand doctors trust. nexium 24hr is the #1 choice of doctors and phar

bigger, the president said, than anything we've seen prior, even bigger than ronald reagan. former reagan economic adviser, art lapper on that. i did catch what he mentioned about the mix class tax cut. not so much that this would be across the board. i can glean way too much. what if it is not across the board? big for the middle class, big for others. the corporate part is real and big. but not quite like ronald reagan in the respect that everyone saw substantial cuts. >> what you have to remember in the first tax cut in 1981, neil, while the unearned income tax rate was 70% to 50%, ronald reagan did not cut the marginal rate on the highest earners. the first year, you can do all sorts of stuff. if he gets the corporate rate down and gets some average rates down, marginal rates -- they have to be marginal rates, not deductions. if he does, it will have a positive impact. once the economy starts going, do the huge tax reform like we did in 1986. which was best of all. >> neil: with us a big percentage drop that you started with and followed suit closing a lot of loop holes.

my former boss ronald reagan did. the great communicator. the staff has to be, again, focused on message that connects with the american people. and one that they'll stick with and drive hard. there have been a lot of different places so far. it will be much more effective if there's focus and discipline. >> when would it, then, be time to make the shift? >> the shift has to occur now. they have the opportunity now, erin. with the move towards tax reform. again, for ronald reagan, took a long time to accomplish. it's something people can easily understand. they need to talk about economic growth and how the policies that they're going to change with taxes are going to lead to economic growth for everybody and more prosperity for all americans and how it will affect each of us where we live and work. how it will benefit our families. if they can do that, they can get a win. >> talk about working so closely with family members. his son-in-law, his daughter, we haven't seen that in recent years. >> we haven't. and, there's both good and bad to