Working Across the Aisle As Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan, with Actors Dennis Quaid and Dan Lauria

this friendship and this ability to work with each other and not demonize everybody on their on the other side right I feel like it's slipping away day by day and here it's embodied beautifully in a scene you saw the attempted assassination scene and now here's the scene which actually happened of tip O'Neal the Speaker of the House Democrat going to visit Ronald Reagan in the hospital after he'd been shot let's watch boy he'll do anything to get that damn tax cut I left specific orders no Democrats Within 100 yards you'll have to grin and Barett how you doing pal well I don't recommend getting shot no you know what ti I think there's I think there is a reason for all this there's a big job left to be done and whatever time I have left it belongs to him y though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil for thou art with me surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever that's so beautiful yeah what what what was it like like going into that did you feel a responsibility oh very much so and uh I have to tell you I've been doing this for 50 years dentist made it so easy cuz if you don't work together on a scene like that it falls flat and uh you know you know we're on the opposite ends of the boat we're really like tip O'Neal and Ronald Reagan but we found the common ground and Dennis said go for it and we went for it and it's a good scene it was like four in the morning is that right yeah but tip he he was the first visitor to of Reagans other than Dancy you know after the assassination and they uh they got together almost on a weekly basis over over at the White House and I mean you don't see that anymore it's only when they have to uh it reminds me in another life I practice law and this is how it is for a lot of lawyers you know you do bare knuckled brawls all day long in the courthouse and in depositions and so on but then a lot of times you're traveling to do depositions or what and then you do go out for beer with each other at the end of the day yeah and some of our uh presidents who've really gotten a lot done it was because of the way they could work with the other party I I always think of LBJ and everick Dirkson they would go at each other all day long and then at night go over break open the bman bottle and well I wouldn't I wouldn't call a dog what you called me today and every well I took an oath to tell the truth H be it was a lively debate yeah it wasn't that long ago you know when I first started working at Fox Bob Beckle was there he was a Democrat uh campaign guy for years and he was grizzled but he was one of those guys who would meet in the underground bars and have the scotch when he was still drinking with his Republican colleagues and they talk sense about the race you know like the truth your guys going down I know and they' be real honest with each other that Circle of Silence that you know the lawyers also have and the thing you know thing the truth is Republicans and Democrats we need each other other they do oh yeah because they keep each other from going this way or too far that way I mean uh George Washington didn't want us to have uh political parties he thought you know uh but I mean you got to have a a pro and a con of of a side you know to in order to debate that and uh so this the time when it worked yeah and I there is a lot more common ground than we are made to right you know we have a lot more things in common and the politicians who are willing to work together are the ones who usually find that Common Ground they exploit it and then we benefit from it but if you don't get together you can't accomplish anything I mean they do pass a lot of things in Congress that we just don't hear about it on the news not news why don't they advertise they don't want their constituents to know yeah I guess so like I said compromise is a dirty word i' say we agree on 70% so that makes you a 70% friend not a 30% enemy which is right what it is one of Reagan's things so let me ask you this Dan there are a lot of conservatives in the movie you know Dennis is an independent who's voted on the right side of the aisle as well as left but um there's Kevin Sorbo there's um Kevin Dylan there's John Voit so is there any John vo very right John vo very right big big Trump fan can I tell you I'm very left yeah so is there any risk to you and do it like do do you have to explain to your friends why you would act with these guys I know how no not at all and uh I'd like to U share with your audience a very nice thing about John voy I am on the uh National veterans Foundation board and whenever we've called John as veterans to come and present an award or do a fundraiser or even reer award I I presented John with the first Charles dering acting award Charles was like my father and the youngest man in the land on Normandy he was great and he thought John Boy hell of an actor forget politics so John's always been there for the Vets so to for me I I disagree with John politically about everything but working together with him at it's like working with this guy he's the best a you know he embodied Reagan I mean it must have been like being around Reagan oh yeah it was it made it easier for me you so you mentioned the military you're a former Marine yes went to Vietnam and I know you're very careful about characterizing exactly what you did in Vietnam in the right way yeah I you know always make it clear that we had orders to go to Vietnam and they stopped us at Oak hour and we technically I'm a vet because we floated off the coast we had to keep going then at the very end I went in with a South Vietnamese unit toh teach them to call in air strikes but as soon as we got hit they got us out of there I don't I'm speculating but I think it's they didn't want the public to think they were redeploying Marines again well God bless you for your honesty on that but you ultimately got put on a commission that investigated back to the presidential assassinations sadly the JFK one worked yeah and I had never heard this before Dan tell us about the recreation and what this expert Marksman Colonel McMillan he was the one who trained the our Olympic team where they run through the snow and then shoot so we had to recreate uh it was at quanico Virginia and if you look at the uh Senate investigation on assassination on that when they were at the firing range the officer day it says Lieutenant Dan Lau so that's you were there my I actually held the weapon that uh used the very one and uh 1978 is that the what we're talking about the that was when it came out but we were investigated in war commission oh 73 not 10 years after oh yeah this is this was way had nothing to do with the warrant commission but um and I'll never forget it as long as I live the bullet that went through Kennedy's throat easily could have been that terrible weapon that Oswald used could have been shot from that window the bullet that took off the part of Kennedy's brain has to be a different weapon for one reason the velocities are different wow that's what thist Mar said remember yeah and I remember asking uh Colonel McMillan who do you think did it and boy I got a look on never forget that's not our job Lieutenant as long as people talk about who did it they're going to ignore the physical evidence that it was more than one person that it has to be two weapons yeah the have you read unspeakable yes Robert uh RFK recommended it uh it takes all of the evidence that is there including the stuff that's been released uh and puts it into cohesive grow in the times but it's it's a 360 and and beluchi he he thinks it was the intelligence Community I mean he's told me that himself FR there's three frames missing in a bruta tape and I think beluchi might have had a good theory he thinks the security agent in the front seat he pulls out his weapon then there's three frames missing he thinks he accidentally fired and that's what killed him oh that's you mean is that when he went through the sign uh are you talking about no there's three frames actually cut out of the abuda tape but it is part while it goes through the sign everybody thinks that's what if it's just gross incompetence that actually I mean that's kind of where we are on the Trump investigation because the Secret Service had so many fall Downs on the job that a lot of people are saying they were in on it or somebody was in on it and my instincts as a reporter covering Washington for 20 years is always vote for incompetence you'll be right more than you'll be wrong that is it is a wound that is still there since 1963 I remember I you I remember that everybody wrot and there's a wound that is still there that is never because you you feel that things were withheld and the truth is out there we need to know in order to heal even you know how much my family and I love our dogs right yes even sweet little strudwick he's not that little but he is sweet I can't imagine life without them they've got a great life but some dogs are not so lucky and they need our help this is why I'm so glad to tell you about Delta rescue it is the largest no kill care for Life Animal Sanctuary in the world they've rescued thousands of dogs plus cats and horses too they provide all of the animals with shelter safety and most of all love and they've been doing it for more than 45 years now Delta rescue relies solely on contributions to stay open and giving can bring tax benefits to you too speak with your estate planner about how you can grow your estate while helping animals in need and check out the estate planning tab on their website to learn more we love Thunder and strudwick and Delta rescue helps the pups who need it most and also need love and safety and a home visit deltar rescue.org today to learn more that's deltar rescue.org thanks so much for watching if you like what you just saw hit the Subscribe button 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