(light inspiring music) - Hi, Kate. - Hi.
- Hi, how are you? - Good, how are you? - I'm all right. So tell me about
this love story, 'cause it's one of the things that was the biggest constant
in Reagan's political life, but it's not talked about
as much as some things. - There wouldn't have been
a President Ronald Reagan without a Nancy Reagan. I mean, she didn't
make policy decisions, but she protected him. Their love, and the intimacy
they had, was everything. And they had an intimacy
that the rest of the world... It was just theirs. - Mm-hmm.
- And, you know, that strength of having a
relationship like that, it really brought out
their best selves, I think, in both of them. - Yeah, I think they'd
call 'em the power couple because they were really a
unit, they were a partnership. But I think everybody
is, like yourself, is fascinated with this
couple because they were so... Almost you couldn't
penetrate this circle that they, there were two
halves of a circle, and... But they relied on each other
and they had each other's back and their love was very intense. But I also think that that
is what catapulted him to become the man he
became as President, because of Nancy's
support and belief in him. And someone that he could
trust, that he could talk to. They may not always agree, but I think the fact that he
could, he believed in her, and their love for
each other is what I... It's a big, it's the heart
of the film, to be honest. So-
- In your research, what do you think it was
that drew them to each other and welded them
together so tightly? - Well, I think he was
broken when they met. And he even said, "I
would've lost my soul if Nancy hadn't
come into my life." And I think he lost
faith in marriage and believing that he could
find someone that he could trust and that he could let in, because, you know, he had
a protective shield on after his first marriage failed. And I think Nancy, he realized, and it took him a little longer,
I think Nancy was all in, but I think once he realized that Nancy was truly his partner
and the love of his life, and someone who would protect
him and be there for him, I think that was just what grew. And that's why he wrote her all these beautiful
love notes every day. And there was a book
published about it. "I love you, Ronnie." - Yeah, you know, Reagan was
the first divorced President that we've had. And, you know, it just
really kinda points out about that a relationship,
a good relationship, what it can do for your life. The relationship
that's also rooted... That God is in the
relationship as well. - Mm-hmm.
- And that... And relationships could
bring out the best or the worst in us. And with Nancy, it was
definitely the best. - He sort of, I think about
it, kind of an example of second chances,
or even third, 'cause he got a great- - Yeah.
- Second chance at marriage. - Right.
- He had a great second career,
and then that flopped, and then he had kind of a
third career as President. So what does that
say to both of you about taking a
chance after failure? - I think you gotta be
careful what you ask God for, because He just
might give it to you. And He always gives it to
you in a way that you go, "Oh no, I didn't mean that." (Kate chuckles) And... You gotta be ready for. - I think, you know,
we all have a purpose. And sometimes, like you
said, one door closes, another one opens. But they say rejection
is God's protection. And so, in a weird way, I
think there was a purpose and it wasn't what
he thought it was, but it became something
else that was even greater. And Nancy believed
in his purpose, so... And his greatness. So that's, I think, getting
those second chances that we thank God,
we do. (laughs) - Man plans, God laughs. - That's right. (laughs) - And I liked, you know, the story of Reagan and Nancy, and the journey, that
was very important, to have good films out there, and this could be a nice
film for people to see. - What did you think about
the idea of framing it with someone who would've
been Reagan's opposition, and yet respected
him at the same time? - Well, I think you see this character was put
on the responsibility of seeing Reagan,
following his career, and making judgments
about his character, and reporting that to
the Soviet hierarchy. That's what his job was. So he had this focus in
these folders that he created to share what he had learned. Well, that's a great person
to tell the story, isn't it? - Mm-hmm.
- He's the guy that's really determining
every little step along the way because he sees this guy coming and he sees there's
leadership ability in him. He sees how he confronts
this, how he does this. And he makes this report. And in the process, he
becomes very enamored of this man's
character and ability. And then finally he's his fan as he sees what happens
to the Soviet Union because of him. So...
- He's explaining Reagan's life to
this young man, so- - Yeah. - If you were to describe Reagan to a Millennial or a
Gen Z American today, well, how would
you describe him? - I'd say that he was a person who was full of positive energy and knew exactly what
our country was based in, and the structure
of our country, based on the founding
principles that were given to us by very great men. He knew all of that, and he knew that we
had to get back to that because we'd lost
our way a little bit at that time he came
into the presidency. And so I would say,
"Take a look at this guy, and what he did." He did it right. And he gave us...
- Mm-hmm. - He was a great
blessing for the world. - And he also came back,
more than once, from failure. - Yeah. Well-
- Like, what is it that Churchill said that
success is not final, failure isn't fatal. It's only the will to continue that counts.
- Well, God bless you for saying that. That's fantastic. - Well, Winston
Churchill said it, I won't take credit. Close enough anyway.
- No, I understand, but-
- Words to that effect. - No, I understand that. But did you bring that up
so that you are attentive to people who are wise in
positions of leadership. He's a great man,
Winston Churchill. And-
- And a few failures himself along the way.
- Oh, absolutely. There's nobody that
doesn't have failures. We're here.... You know, we're not
complete people. We're learning, all of us. Every one of us is here
to learn something, to grow stronger and wiser. And we have our... And sometimes the best
information comes when we fail. - Mm-hmm. - We learn the most from
our failures, perhaps. - As long as you could pull
yourself back up and keep going, - That's it. Right. - Well, thank you.
- The great people are always tested. And we-
- Mm-hmm. - We admire them
because we identify that they have fragility, and they have to have
strength to overcome some of their weaker
aspects, you know? - Absolutely.