Just 69 days into his presidency, Ronald Reagan was shot while leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel after a speech. The assassination attempt left him wounded in the chest, and his press secretary James Brady badly injured with a gunshot to the head. The entire ordeal was caught on video and in now-iconic photographs. "The president first waves with his right arm, then you see his left arm go up, and there comes the shot," Dan Rather, CBS Evening News anchor at the time, said as he described the footage during a live special report. "That's Secret Service agent Jerry Parr, pushing the president into the limousine -- and James Brady the White House Press Secretary is hit," he continued. The shooter was John Hinckley Jr., a 25-year-old man who claimed he was trying to impress actress Jodie Foster. Law enforcement quickly apprehended him at the scene of the shooting. "This is a scene of police officers and secret servicemen getting under control and holding down that man who is suspected … [Read more...] about March 30, 1981: President Ronald Reagan shot by John Hinckley
Ronald reagan
Can runner-up Ted Cruz channel Ronald Reagan’s 1976 convention speech?
The silver medalist in the 2016 Republican primary battle, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, will address the GOP convention in Cleveland on Wednesday night. Only Cruz and a handful of top advisors know what he'll say, but it's likely the freshman Republican is drawing some inspiration from another staunch conservative who once failed to capture his party's nomination and then spoke at the convention as a runner-up: Ronald Reagan. Reagan, the 40th U.S. president, ran successfully for the job in 1980 and held the White House for eight years. But four years earlier, in 1976, Reagan was the second-place primary finisher behind incumbent GOP President Gerald Ford. Reagan, like Cruz, excited significant portions of the conservative movement but was unable to expand that support into a winning coalition. Like Cruz, he championed an unapologetic brand of conservatism and scorned a Republican establishment that kept him at arm's length. Reagan's speech on the final night of Gerald Ford's convention in … [Read more...] about Can runner-up Ted Cruz channel Ronald Reagan’s 1976 convention speech?
What I Learned Watching ‘Back to the Future’ With Ronald Reagan
It had been a busy week for President Ronald Reagan, and I was expecting a low-key evening watching a movie at Camp David with him and Nancy Reagan. What I wasn’t expecting was for that movie to yield a little insight into Reagan’s nostalgia, and the force that pulled him out of it and onward. Nor did I expect a mention of the president’s ex-wife, which made for one of the most awkward nights we ever shared together. The year was 1985, and, as a presidential press aide, I had become the regular companion for the president and first lady on their weekends away. The idea of having someone from the press office accompany the president to Camp David was White House press secretary Jim Brady’s. He thought it was essential that there be a point of contact with the chief executive at all times—someone who could act as Brady’s eyes and ears “just in case.”Story Continued Below Just a couple of weeks earlier, the president had had major surgery to … [Read more...] about What I Learned Watching ‘Back to the Future’ With Ronald Reagan
26th Presidents Day Celebration at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum
By Contributed Content | February 21, 2018 at 12:40 pm Roger Cooper plays George Washington during the 26th annual President’s Day Celebration at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum Monday, February 19, 2018. Visitors attending the event enjoyed storytelling by president and first lady look-alikes, live music, crafts and games.(Andy Holzman/Los Angeles Daily News)during the 26th annual President’s Day Celebration at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum Monday, February 19, 2018. Visitors attending the event enjoyed storytelling by president and first lady look-alikes, live music, crafts and games.(Andy Holzman/Los Angeles Daily News)Aaron Castilla and Lindy Rasmusson perform with the Doo-Wah Riders during the 26th annual President’s Day Celebration at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum Monday, February 19, 2018. Visitors attending the event enjoyed storytelling by president and first lady look-alikes, live music, … [Read more...] about 26th Presidents Day Celebration at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum
Will Ferrell’s Rep Defends Him After Dropping Out Of Ronald Reagan Alzheimer’s Comedy
Will Ferrell has decided to scrap his most controversial role to date. The famed funnyman was reportedly slated to play President Ronald Reagan in a film that centered on the two-term commander-in-chief’s long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. A rep for Ferrell has come forward amid much buzz about the role, assuring fans that it was not the actor’s intention to offend anyone. In a statement, posted on Page Six, the “Daddy’s Home” star’s publicist said “Reagan” was just “one of a number” of roles Ferrell was considering. The unidentified representative went on to state that the film was not an “‘Alzheimer’s comedy,’” adding that regardless Ferrell would not be taking the part. Ferrell himself has not yet spoken on his ties to the movie nor his decision to pass on the project. “The Reagan script is one of a number of scripts that had been submitted to Will … [Read more...] about Will Ferrell’s Rep Defends Him After Dropping Out Of Ronald Reagan Alzheimer’s Comedy
Kelli Ward claims President Ronald Reagan regretted the 1986 ‘amnesty’ law. Did he?
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kelli Ward has made the point several times: President Ronald Reagan's "biggest regret" was granting amnesty as part of 1986 immigration-reform legislation and then counting on Congress to secure the border, which never happened.Ward, a former state senator from Lake Havasu City, and her campaign attribute the claim to Ed Rollins, who served in the White House as an aide to Reagan and who was national director of Reagan's 1984 re-election campaign.Rollins also now is serving as Ward's campaign chairman as she pursues Arizona's GOP Senate nomination in a three-way race against former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, a Tucson-area congresswoman. READ MORE: Ward wants 6 debates with GOP Senate rivals McSally, Arpaio Ward's argument: President Donald Trump and Congress should learn from the failure of the 1986 law as they move forward with the debate on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals … [Read more...] about Kelli Ward claims President Ronald Reagan regretted the 1986 ‘amnesty’ law. Did he?
CHP officer in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s motorcade hurt in crash near Ronald Reagan library
A crash involving motorcycle officers accompanying Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his visit to Southern California sent one officer to the hospital, but Trudeau’s vehicle was not involved and he was not hurt. The Ventura County Fire Department says the crash involving California Highway Patrol officers happened shortly after Trudeau’s motorcade left the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, where Trudeau gave a speech Friday night. One officer was hospitalized with moderate injuries. It’s not clear what caused the crash. Trudeau was on his second day of a visit to California. He made appearances in San Francisco on Thursday and is set to appear in Los Angeles on Saturday. … [Read more...] about CHP officer in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s motorcade hurt in crash near Ronald Reagan library
Readers Write: Blue Earth, Ronald Reagan’s ranch, conservation, Garrison Keillor, Amazon’s zipped lips on employee-tracking
My heart aches for the Hurleys of Blue Earth, Minn. — if they are still in Blue Earth ("In wake of beating, family decides to pack up and leave," Jan. 28). What happened to the Hurleys — that is, bullying experienced by their family in the wake of a brutal attack on their son — could happen anywhere and ought to happen nowhere. The people of Blue Earth need to take a hard look at themselves and do some soul-searching. Shame on this toxic town. Where is the humanity? To paraphrase attorney Joseph Welch, have the townspeople no sense of decency? Elissa Mautner, Minneapolis • • • I used to live in Blue Earth, and at the time it was a pretty peaceful community. Apparently, things have changed. Supporting your kids when they are wronged is right. Supporting them when they are wrong is reprehensible. The perpetrator's mother referenced in the article — and in fact, the whole town that remains silent — should be ashamed. It is they … [Read more...] about Readers Write: Blue Earth, Ronald Reagan’s ranch, conservation, Garrison Keillor, Amazon’s zipped lips on employee-tracking
Remembering Ronald Reagan on anniversary of his death
By Miriam Velasquez | [email protected] | Daily NewsJune 4, 2017 at 9:51 am Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on Feb. 6, 1911. On June 5, 2004, Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, died after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. The Gipper, who was also a well-known actor and served as governor of California, was a popular president known for restoring American confidence after the problems of the 1970s and helping to defeat communism. Former first lady Nancy Reagan, and former president Ronald Reagan laugh at a joke during the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library opening ceremony in Simi Valley on November 4, 1991. (Los Angeles Daily News file photo)1991 file photo – For the first time in history, five U.S. presidents gathered in one place. President Bush and former presidents Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon appear in the courtyard of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley on November 4, 1991. Reagan died Saturday, … [Read more...] about Remembering Ronald Reagan on anniversary of his death
Ronald Reagan’s ranch now helps groom young Republicans
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – One by one, chatty teenagers in jeans walked across the stone patio that Ronald Reagan built by hand to ring the bell at the former president's coastal mountain ranch. Nancy Reagan tugged on that same rope decades ago to call her husband home for lunch when he was out horseback riding or working in the stable. On a bright fall day, the Virginia-based Young America's Foundation shuttled in nearly 100 teenagers from 46 different states for a three-day conference at Rancho del Cielo, hoping to summon Reagan's spirit. They were not there for a history lesson. Instead, YAF leaders gave the high school students gathered at the late president's properties modern-day pointers on what it means to be a Republican, and tips for fending off what the group views as the other side's indoctrination. The foundation promotes itself as a political counterweight to the liberal thought that its supporters say courses through colleges, and spends millions every year to fund … [Read more...] about Ronald Reagan’s ranch now helps groom young Republicans