in this particular case ronald reagan the assassination was an attempt. it didn't kill reagan. it's a bit different. >> we think the story involved with the assassination attempt was in context with our series so ronald reagan was shot and very shortly after it elected president he was at a certain age that when you get h., i got it affects you physically and mentally but certainly happened and it was almost a miracle that he pulled through so we wanted to toy story in the context of killing ronald reagan ended and the repercussions afterwards. >> fair enough. >> do you consider this attempt on the life of reagan changed the course of history? >> yes. there is no doubt that he was a different guy after he came out of the hospital. it's interesting because he was so robust and so vigorous that when he appeared with nancy reagan shortly after he was shot and people said, and i said this myself with a miraculous recovery. look at him. he's out there in his bathrobe with his wife and smiling and he's cracking jokes to the medical staff before he went into the observation. but what

. >> but jesus and patent and kennedy and lyndon kneepad was accidental but violent but with ronald reagan was an attempt. is a bit different. why reagan? >> we think the story evolves with the assassination attempt was it in context with this series. ronald reagan was shot very shortly after he was elected president at a certain age when you get a trauma like that it affects you physically and mentally and that certainly happened and it was the most of miracle that he pulled through so we wanted to tell the of story in the context to kill him and how that went down and the repercussions after words. >> very of. -- fair enough day you consider that attempt change the course of history? >> guest: yes. no doubt he was different after he came out of the hospital. because he was so robust and vigorous that when he appeared with nancy reagan shortly after he was shot and i said this myself what a miraculously recovery. looked at him in his bathrobe smiling with his wife and cracking jokes to the medical staff before the operation. but we didn't know that was never told that he had a lot of chan

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

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

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

that's how ronald reagan worked. he negotiated from areas of agreement, not from no agreement. >> nancy reagan formally invited everyone tonight. how is she doing? i know she's frail. >> people always say to me, she's only a size 2. i say, she's always been a size 2. she's always looked frail. but she's doing all right. she's 94 years old. and, you know, she's at home. most all the time unless she can get out for lunch. i hope she's there because there's a dinner after the event. she's 94 years old and she misses the hell out of her husband. we all miss the heck out of our dad and her husband. and we wish we had him back. but you know something, andrea, we were lucky enough, whether you're on the left or the right, we were lucky enough to have a ronald reagan be president of the united states for eight years. a likable, relatable man who cared about america and cared about each and every one of us. >> michael reagan, thank you so much. very good to see you again. >> good to see you. >>> and msnbc contributor steve sc

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

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

we are live here at the ronald reagan presidential library in simi county, california.brooke baldwin, thrilled to be here, hours away from the main event where history will be made this evening. ten men and one woman will take one another on in the cnn republican presidential debate. and some of them right now are arriving on the scene. they're walking around our staging area, seeing how close these podiums are to one another, seeing how incredibly intimate this sven eye is. you are just about ten feet away from those candidates in the front row. george pataki is touring the stage. they're getting their turns. he just talked to my colleague asena jones. here's what the governor just said. >> what id you do to prepare

ronald reagan was here when we received the piece. >> inside the museum an exact replica of reagan'somplete with a jar of jelly beans or jelly bellies he always kept on hand. it was a way -- >> he gave up smoking. >> gave up smoking. so whenever he had a fix -- >> he had jelly bellies everywhere. >> the plane, the oval, trappings of the very office. the candidates will be battling to reach wednesday night. i'm jake tapper for cnn in simi valley, california. >> and reminder the republican presidential debate is wednesday night. coverage starts at 6:00 p.m. eastern. the winner gets all the jelly beans. jake tapper will be moderating. that is all for "the lead" today. i turn you over to brianna keilar in for wolf blitzer in "the situation room." >>> happening now, thumping trump is the republican presidential candidates head into a make or break debate on cnn. new polls show donald trump soaring over all of his rivals. we're getting details about who is planning these strategies to take him down. and will it be enough? or is trump about to send more of his rivals to the sidelines? fast

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

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

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

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

and he liked me. >> i remember our wedding anniversary because it is ronald reagan's birthday. >> jebessed to show his reagan connection. >> reagan and bush. >> he was the great debater. >> i'm not going to exploit for political purposes my opponents youth and inexperience. >> but he skewered his opponents with a self-deprecating quip, not an attack said his son michael. >> he believed in the 11th commandment, thou shalt not talk ill of another republican. >> and donald trump is trying to make america great again. but reagan has the flip side of today's angry rhetoric. >> he said once, i hope history will say i tried to appeal to people's best instincts, not the worst fears. >> and reagan compromised on taxes and immigration. and while today they talk about building walls -- reagan enacted immigration reform. >> you solve a problem in the ronald reagan way with a wink and a nod and you get together and get things solved. >> reagan saw america as a shining sit on the hill. a country welcoming people in, not shutting them out. >> if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and th

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

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

tried to pass it. >> reporter: reagan enacted immigration reform. >> you solve a problem in the ronald reagan way with a wink and a nod and you get together and get things solved. >> reagan saw america as a shining city on the hill. a country welcoming people in, not shutting them out. >> if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. >> in reagan's words, a shining city teaming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. >>> that will do it for us on this wednesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. right now at 6. some relief for firefighters... rain hitting the firelines. but it's leaving evacuees >>> right now at 6:00, some relief for firefighters. rein hitting the fire lines, but it's leaving evacuees soaked. a steady rain poured for hours now. and tonight there is worry that the fire may have claimed even more lives. our team coverage of the valley fire begins now. good evening, everyone, i'm jessica aguirr

ronald reagan most often?nd, you know, trump may be no ronald reagan but he's no dan quayle either. he is not just going to sit back and take these attacks. >> no, sir. >> he has a kevlar vests. none of the attacks have hit him. >> another theory going back to histo history, the idea of not being about washington runs back a long ways. the outsider angle. here's george w. bush who, of course, came from a legacy just like jeb bush, and yet, his big pitch was that he wasn't washington. >> i want to thank my friends here in iowa. i'm honored to have your support. i appreciate all the work you're doing on my behalf. i come to your state not from washington from outside. a state called texas. >> ev got a record not of rhetoric but a record of results. >> how important is that tonight for these candidate who is say they're not washington as usual? >> yeah. everyone is sort of come peetding with everybody else to run as far from the capital as possible. and historically that goes back to the 1820s. who was the first

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

i told the story to my cabinet about how ronald reagan took on some remarkable tasks and that shaped ency going forward. specifically i told the story about how early on about this time in 1991, president reagan had fired the traffic controllers. a lot of people forget about this. but the union that represented them had actually endorsed the president, then-candidate reagan. so it wasn't about the politics. it was clearly about principle. you see, he had forpe warned them that if they walk off the job, it was a violation of the law. he said you can't violate the law. he gave them fore warning and after 48 hours when they didn't come back to work, he terminated them. over 11,000. that was a bold move. it was pretty much politically risky at the time. who knew what was going to happen there? he did it because that was the right thing to do. from that point forward across this country and around the world, people knew that president ronald reagan was serious. that opened the door to tremendous reforms, positive reforms for many threers there after. he went big and he went bold and it wor

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

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

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

bush campaign logo. >> a lot of talk about ronald reagan this week.trump announced his tax plan. he promised to cut taxes on corporations so they would bring foreign profit back to the u.s. >> i want to bring the money back into this country. we have $2.5 trillion, john, out of this country. the corporations rightfully don't bring it back because of of the massive tax to pay. we have to make it so they can bring it back. i'll bring it back. we will have a lot of money pouring into the united states if i get elected. >> their chief executives, he is not kind about their compensation. he says ceo compensation is a total and complete joke. made possible by putting friends on their boards. a look at trump's companies, three of his children are his executive vice presidents. overall, the plan will reduce taxes. >>> ben carson is walking back his criticism of donald trump's faith. saying this remarks last week of humility and fear of the lord was inappropriate. >> it wasn't meant as an attack. it was spun that way by the media because they enjoy creating a

the battle between ronald reagan and george h.w. bush, was the ticket. you wonder if what we're seeing here is the formative stage, trump/carson or whatever ticket here. >> kevin, i was struck you won't see the jeb people go to john kasich or go to marco rubio. seems like everyone's flowing to carson or trump. >> inside many of these polls what we're seeing is that there's a very low sense of trust that voters have for what they call typical politicians. as a result of that, you're seeing a premium shift where voters are putting a premium on somebody with an outsider status, someone that doesn't have a resume as a career politician or what they seem to want right now is somebody who's going to be confrontational with the status quo. someone who's going to be seen as a fighter. and dramatic departure from the last eight years of what we've seen with the obama presidency. and with donald trump, carly fiorina and ben carson, that's what they're finding. >> one of the big questions has been, what does everyone do about this, because they're a rank and file e

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

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

that's ronald reagan. how do you think he will factor? is everyone going to invoke reagan somehow?> without a doubt, they will. first of all, let's start with the backdrop the majestic presidential plane, ronald reagan's air force one. you don't see sort of the symbol of america as acutely as do you with that plane. and have you all these people on the stage secing to sort of pick up the reagan mantle and carry it forward not only standard bearer for the party but hopefully as president of the united states. so they will no doubt invoke him. invoke his leadership style. she still the touchstone for the modern day republican party. even though a lot of his policies may not today hold up in the modern day republican party. he is still the iconic figure that is that touchstone for the party. >> i'm wonder figure there is anyone the candidates are speaking to, the point earlier about lines and moments that are remembered and shared on social media, all of that. can any of the candidates do anything to get out in front of donald trump without being negative. is it? i was thinking earlie

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

new ad. >> i was very young and lightning struck and i found myself in the command center for ronald reagan ad today that they say mimices one of reagan's ads from 1984. we will show you some of each. >> there is a bear in the woods. for some people the bear is easy to see. others don't see it at all. >> there is a scorpion in the desert. for most of us its venom is a clear and deadly threat but others refuse to even speak its name. >> and donald trump has also been touting his ties to the 40th president. >> ronald reagan became not only a republican but a pretty conservative republican and he is somebody that i actually knew and liked and he liked me. >> but today the wall street journal saying records show they were scant. >> i believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and have lived here even though sometime back they may have entered illegally. >> today ronald reagan's son talked to andrea mitchell and said republican candidates should stay away from claiming his father's legacy. >> i think all of them make a mistake by invoking ronald reagan. i think everybody ma

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

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

ronald reagan. >> that's the party i believe in. reagan and bush. >> welcome back to "the lead."berman, live from the ronald reagan library here in scenic simi valley, california. just 25 hours ago. until the cnn republican debate, the stakes could not be higher, make or break for a few of the candidates. here to talk about what we can expect republican strategist and commentator s.c. cup, michael smerconish, dan pfeiffer, former senior adviser to president obama. we just talked to senator rand paul from kentucky. i think he gave us a healthy dose of what we can expect. i asked him, he went after donald trump, fell in the polls, will they change tactics, he said, no, i'm going to 0 go after him harder. >> i don't think it benefits him. what if he's successful in landing a blow against donald trump? is rand paul going to be the beneficiary? i think carly fiorina would be the beneficiary. i think ben carson would be the beneficiary. i think he'd be better served punching within his own weight class which is probably more of the establishment candidates. >> talk about establishment

>> as carl cameron was saying, it's the home of ronald reagan. you don't have the big audience so it's a lot of insiders, and for his donors right now, they are a little bit anxious about what's going on with jeb bush. so he's got to demonstrate command, leadership, the ability to hold and be present on that stage in a way that distinguishes himself from trump without getting into a school yard back and forth. >> i don't disagree but can i add one? >> yeah. >> governor kasich. he needs to have a big debate because he holds his own, he's a great governor, a really good record. he made it just barely into that debate -- well, just because he announced late. he did okay. the question for him is scale. can he scale up his campaign in order to compete a little bit more. >> this is one of the issues for kasich and for some of the others is people don't know who they are. we do at this table, but nobody knows who john kasich is. kasich is a direct threat to jeb bush because he's a sitting governor with a record. >> and to marco rubio. establishment ties

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

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

i didn't sit thering and say, gee this is the next ronald reagan. they are capable people. night. certain extent mike huckabee taps into it. he is an eligible speaker. carly was passionate. rubio has love for america what reagan had. what overshadowed everything in that very long debate cnn insisted going three hours. the airplane, flew around the world and great great changes with a great person and i had privilege flying on it. john kasich, only congressman to beat a democrat in 1982. tough election for us. very significant player n fairness to reagan and fairness to other people on the stage there is not another reagan on the world stage and that is unfortunate. martha: that may be but that person could emerge, joe. reagan wasn't reagan when took office or was elected to the presidency. you don't know what you get toa large extent until you watch that person in office, do you? >> i don't think anybody can emerge to be reagan until they have gone through this process, become the of the united states if one of them can do that. you grow into it. i don't think a lot of peopl

and while today they talk about building walls -- reagan enacted immigration reform. >> you solve a problem in the ronald with a wink and a nod and you get together and get things solved. >> reagan saw america as a shining sit on the hill. a country welcoming people in, not shutting them out. >> if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. >> in reagan's words, a shining city teaming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace. andrea mitchell, nbc news, washington. >>> that will do it for us on this wednesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. >>> tyra in tears. her new tv breakdown. >> now on "extra." >> tyra banks' surprise new confessions about her struggles to become a mom at 41. >> you just have no idea what people are going through. >>> kylie jenner knocking big sister kick off her throne. >> why the youngest jenner is fast on her way to blowing kim's bank account out of the water. >>> rosie o'donnell and tatum o'neal spotted on a secret lover's retreat?

their guru, ronald reagan, actually did perform a deal with russia, which had well-known, numerous nuclear weapons. and his motto was "trust and verify," which is what obama is doing today. reagan also sold nuclear weapons to iran, saddam hussein, and osama bin laden. this is a country that does not have established nuclear weapons. they may be working towards it, but they do not have it. ronald reagan made a deal. trust and verify. this is the exact same thing going on. why do they oppose it if they are ronald reagan conservatives? guest: you are right that ronald reagan did negotiate to ban major nuclear arms control agreements with the soviet union. the 1987 treaty that eliminated all intermediate range nuclear arms missiles. and he began negotiations on the strategic arms reduction treaty, which george h.w. bush finalized. but there is one difference between those cold war era agreements between the u.s. and the soviet union and this agreement, which is that this is a multilateral agreement between the united states, its allies, and iran. and it is iran taking on all of the responsibil

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