President Reagan and Nancy Reagan's Interview with Chris Wallace on May 18, 1985

he questions, so I'm aware of that and I think I'll probably keep my eyes open, okay, a few people have suggested and I wonder what you both think. that while you are very happy facing difficult problems than complaining about the schedule or facing someone who you think has not done a good job that you are not very comfortable with that and that perhaps you are more willing to take on those difficult tasks and then your husband such Maybe he does it for them and there is some truth in that, you ask me well, why did you ask him first?

Well, I think that there are always some unpleasant things added that have to be done when they have to be done in human relationships that are not very pleasant and yes I don't like that I try to be understanding with everyone's point of view. from others and that's how he sees it, yes it's difficult for me if it does take some discipline or even some personnel change, it seems like from time to time he hopes that maybe you'll take that curtain out of his hand, it's, it's, it's more difficult, in other words, I'm a soft touch, I think the answer.

Yes, of course, right? when? when mrs. Reagan is pushing a particular point of view, sir. President, does she sometimes say no to her yes and always take a no as a final note? Reagan, yes, although I can come back to it a little later and try again. You've seen that icy wind take five steps back and then try again, come from a different direction and now they're finally at some point. a no, that means that's it, yes, sometimes in the policy area, how much input do you think you have on policy compared to the personnel question? no, that's not mine, that's not mine, confirm no, which area and I must say that's what Generally, we hear which ones we just change, but we have a couple more questions.

Well, do you remember she chimed in on that topic? Well, I remember we talked about it and what could be done and she annoyed me. There are some things like that. that bothers you when I know that they are completely false, completely false. I think wanting a strong and adequate defense should not be used by others to indicate that you want to start a shooting war. I've seen four of them in my life. that involves our country and I think one of the hardest things a

president

would have to do is make the decision to send those young people into danger and watch them lose their lives.

It must be heartbreaking for Mrs. Reagan, there have been several occasions over the past few months when it seemed like you were asking the President how to respond to reporters' questions. What was happening there? I think at ranch weather time, a couple of them were ranch weather. We're doing everything we can and there was also one that I think had a Special Olympics event where they asked him about the Ethiopian Jewish airlift and you said something like no comment or something and he said no comment and there's been a couple of instances where it seemed like there was certainly the one about the ranch that doesn't run the ranch I remember it because it was a question that and now I don't remember what the question was I think it was something about what are you doing in terms of arms control with the Soviets, what yes , what are you doing, what are you doing to try to figure it out, yeah, and it was a question that had been asked over and over again and it was a question that was starting to really get to me and I wasn't really prompting what I was actually doing.

It was talking to myself that bothered me so much that I lowered my head without dreaming that he would listen to me. I never dreamed but my one, the truth is that I had paused because again I was faced with that question so many times that I stopped to say well, you know what I'm going to say to him. say this time and when I heard her say that I thought yeah, that's it, when we are, we will do what we can, but I will never do it. She talks to myself again, she doesn't ask you, you know?

President, what a good politician you are, Mrs. Reagan absolutely sensational, don't you think? I think you are a good thing, I don't know, we both talk about it and there is one thing, however, Lemon, you have opened the door for me to say something because it is not that important in our conversations that I have and since the days when I was governor I made a decision: the only way you could live with yourself is if you make policy decisions based on what you honestly believe is best. for the people, good or bad for the people, and I informed a cabinet in California that those have been the instructions for this cabinet.

I don't want to hear the political ramifications of a decision that we have to make because if you start thinking that way, then I think that happens too much in legislatures where decisions are made based on the political ramifications of the next election and so on. . Oh, the only way I think you can live with yourself is that you can make us make a mistake, but it would be an honest mistake, you sincerely believe that you have done the best thing for the people, but let me ask you if you remember the 84 campaign because we have talked with various people such as Ed Rollins, Stu Spencer and Dick Wirthlin. who says looking back at that campaign and then you're certainly talking about politics in a campaign where the lady.

Reagan is one of the most astute and cunning politicians you will ever meet. I mean, I guess what I'm really asking you as a political professional is how good politics is. Well, I think when she talks about something like that, I think she's reflecting what you might feel, it would be a brother's reaction on a broader scale of more people, it's a reaction to what I mean, it's a reflection of what it would be. the reaction of making some decision, then you think she has a pretty good antenna. in that sense, yes, mm-hmm, like Reagan, some people have suggested that you have been the driving force in her husband's career and that you wanted the presidency more than he did.

Yes, I know I've read that; it isn't true. I thought I married a doctor and then he was actually asked to run for office shortly after we got married and the Democrats turned him down when he was such a Democrat and then when the governorship came around I took him on but that didn't happen. It was something that I had carved out for our future and certainly the presidency was not something that I said, you have to do this, no, that's not true, in fact, she was delaying her bid for re-election a little bit. choice in this agency, well, she wasn't asking that, but how did you persuade her?

It wasn't a case of constant drumming, yes, really, yes, let me tell you something and neither of us really set out to do it. do what we are now doing when the group emerged in 1965 after the '64 elections, when I supported Barry Goldwater's candidacy. I always thought my contribution could be being an artist and that is well known and able to attract an audience but I could support people and causes. I believed. I never thought I would want full public office and this group came about after the party had become so torn apart in the dissension of that particular campaign over the governorship that the California party was so divided that maybe we could lend a hand and bring them together and they kept emphasizing that I could win and our first reaction was, you know, don't talk nonsense, find a candidate and I'll be very happy to do it. all I can to help you but no, that's not for us, that's not our way of life, well they went on and on until we couldn't sleep and it seemed to be such a total change in our whole life that I finally said what. if they're right and if this is something and we couldn't live with ourselves if we say we keep saying no, then the deal I made then and with perfect confidence would not result in my running for office as I said, "Okay, yeah you set it up so that I can take all the speaking engagements here in California, not just the political chambers of commerce, things like that, let me for the next six months and I'll come back and tell you for the six months.” months, so to speak, if you are right that I should be the candidate or if there is someone else and I will continue to do what I have been doing in the past and they did that and I did the best I could when people came up. after a speech and say, you know you should do this, not say no, and I would start talking to someone else and I finally came home one night and said they were right.

I think I have the best chance of winning now that it's a case. we've almost done it I don't think it's true we've almost decided between us that when I finally gave in and said yes I did it with the idea in mind that it was just for the election that when the election was over I could go back to doing what I was doing and I didn't know that, but you know, I think as far as I'm concerned, people get confused and this whole thing in my life pushes him and he doesn't understand that. If he had decided to go into the shoe business, I would be selling shoes, you know what, aren't you glad he didn't?

My next point was that, actually, as it all turned out, he gave me the most fascinating, interesting, wonderful, frustrating thing. Sometimes scary sometimes but our life I never thought I would have. What do you say to that man?

president

, well, I'll tell you what happened to both of us, although it was sometime after I became governor and we were sitting like we're sitting now in the living room and all of a sudden we both said what we were going to do It made everything we had done look boring as dishwater and that was the expression she used and it was true, I had never anticipated it.

I thought I was really sacrificing something I love to do for something I was really going to be. a task, but actually, instead of just talking about problems from the outside to address them, they have a hand and well, a man who was governor when I was an artist had told me about his work, he said that sometimes he would house feeling ten feet tall and we both felt that way ever since, but it's a great opportunity to help, but it's a great challenge and yeah, we're glad we did it, let me, let me. enter one last area if i may mr. president, do you believe that mrs.

Reagan will leave her own mark as first lady beyond being your wife. Oh, I think she already left that mark. Yes, I saw it on the last trip to Europe, but no, yes, and I think there are cars that interest her if she grew up. in that she was very worried about it and then she found out that she was in a position to do something about it and yes, she left her own mark on it and how do you think that when all is said and done, she will be among the first ladies ? Well, could it be the number? one.

I know I won't speak for other people. I'm done, but I did it. There's one thing I have to ask you because I'll kick myself if I don't do it when you say. when you were looking at the question of seeking re-election, it was a constant drumbeat, can you explain what you meant by that haha? Well it's like when you asked me about the staff that if he says no then okay snow but then a little while later I could go back to them directly from another so how was our decision to go for real life?

Then he would talk about it and I would say, wow, I don't know and then we let it go and then he had come back again so it became it wasn't what she was saying it wasn't something simple she was automatically going to do that I wouldn't do it. had done I had my worries and questions about whether I should do that over and over again, the more I listened and the more things happened, the more I came back and said, I just don't know how we can't do that, you know and and in the end in all honesty I have to say that I could understand how she felt like there was so much more to do that she wanted to do that she couldn't do in four years and that she was on a path that she wanted to see completed and that was important and I felt like it was for the lady.

Reagan Sr. president, thank you very much, that's it thank you, Christian, thank you, good luck, would you mind sitting still for a minute now that we've smashed your Saturday winds, are you used to them? Well, they are very generous. I know this isn't the way you want to spend your time? But that's great. I better put my arm back where it didn't match the throws. I have to tell you, as you know, I've been a big fan of your wife for many years, I think when this show and I'm not just flattering you because I've done all the

interview

s.

Now I can say whatever I want. I think when the shows are over, what you've seen and many of the people close to Mrs. Reagan have seen that the country is going to say that the country is going to see about her, I mean, listen when the show is on, you have around of 88, that's right, it's kind of like, I mean, it's a sacred tradition in the south, right? It's just that governors have their wives and then they run for governor. I think Governor Edwards of Louisiana and Governor Wallace and Alabama. Yeah, what do you think about that?

That's not how I see it. You will give a sermon like: "If I am elected, I will not serve." I guess I think we're safe.