40 years ago, in the spring of 1984, President Reagan spent six days in the People’s Republic of China, visiting Beijing and Shanghai. To ease into the schedule, he was a week getting there and he spent another day and a half in Alaska afterward, meeting once more with Pope John Paul II. It was Ronald Reagan’s first trip to a Communist country and was somewhat strained because of his campaign as Taiwan’s leading political champion in the US. When he was elected, he still believed that the government that had fled to Taiwan in 1949 was the legitimate government of China. It’s believed that Richard Nixon was quite influential with Reagan regarding China, emphasizing its importance as a counterweight to the Soviet Union.

Now that we’re into the month of February when lovers celebrate their devotion to one another, we’ll dedicate this podcast to the Reagans – first, we’ll hear a brief word from the President and then we’ll let Mrs. Reagan explain how she met this fella, in her own words, recorded years ago from her autobiography My Turn. But first, let’s start with the President who spoke about their relationship at a luncheon honoring Nancy at the Republican National Convention in New Orleans in 1988.

In this week’s podcast, we present Ronald Reagan’s famous October 27, 1964 “A Time For Choosing” speech.

The complexity of dealing with problems in the Middle East was pervasive during the Reagan years but the 40th President continued to pursue a path to peace. In February 1984, he invited President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan to Washington to discuss the war in Lebanon and other issues. Things were hot in the Middle East. By early 1984, US forces were directly fighting in the Persian Gulf. In late February, a US Navy destroyer launched anti-aircraft missiles against Iranian patrol aircraft. At the end of May, a USAF KC-10 tanker helped Saudi Air Force jets maintain patrols over the Gulf to head off Iranian retaliation for Iraqi attacks on oil tankers. In early June, the USAF tankers and AWACS assisted the Saudis in shooting down one or two Iranian F-4 Phantom fighter-bombers. So, US military forces played a frequent and direct combat role in regional conflicts during 1984. Therefore, in constant pursuit of communication at least, President Mubarak of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan visited. First, let’s talk about Jordan and Hussein.

In 1984, forty years ago, the Reagan-Bush campaign launched a highly praised television ad blitz proclaiming, "It's Morning Again in America." The ads underscored a theme at the center of Reagan's campaign: that America was "Prouder, Stronger, and Better" under President Reagan's leadership. And while those great “Morning in America” campaign ads were running, the President was riding the campaign trail. In today’s podcast, we’ll feature excerpts from a quintessential campaign speech where the candidate tells you what he did, then tells you again, and then, of course, tells us again.

This Reagan Forum podcast that you are listening to is only one of the eight different podcasts that the Reagan Foundation and Institute produces. In fact, this is only one of two that are audio only – the rest each come with video. One of our favorite podcasts is called the Reagan Retrospective. These podcasts are stories shared by people who knew President and Mrs. Reagan best – people who worked with them, were friends with them, and knew them throughout their life. Each podcast brings you new behind-the-scenes stories from the Reagan years. They’re funny, poignant, and rich in history. Over the past 3 months we have recorded over a dozen of these podcasts and they’re now being released a few per month. So today we are going to share four of our most recent Reagan Retrospective podcasts. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

In September 1984, the day after the President addressed the UN, he addressed a meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The World Bank was established along with the International Monetary Fund in 1944, at the Bretton Woods Conference. The Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low and middle income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. During the 1980s, the bank emphasized lending to service Third World debt and making structural adjustment policies that were designed to streamline the economies of developing nations.  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) oversees the stability of the world's monetary system, while the World Bank aims to reduce poverty by offering assistance to middle-income and low-income countries. You’ll hear in these remarks, that while the President lauds the work of the World Bank and IMF, he does clarify where American support needs to be because as he said: "While we would not impose our ideas, our policies, on anyone, we felt obliged to point out that no nation can have prosperity and successful development without economic freedom."

Have you watched our Reaganism podcast yet? Reaganism is dedicated to exploring where the Reagan Movement lives today, hosted by the Director of the Ronald Reagan Institute, Roger Zakheim. The show has two goals: to understand the foundations of the political philosophy that powered the Reagan Revolution; and to host discussions about contemporary issues through the lens of President Reagan. Episodes come out weekly. In a recent episode from August 5, 2024, Roger sat down with Matthew Continetti who serves as the Director of Domestic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. They discuss the historic 2024 presidential campaign and how the election might unfold in November. They also talk about national conservatism, the energy around Kamala Harris, the democratic convention, and more.

So 40 years ago at this time, our then 40th president was running for a second term. And just what did the polls say? Well, by the end of October 1984, the latest national opinion polls strongly favored President Reagan. Newsweek’s poll showed the president ahead by 17 points: a USA Today poll showed his lead at 23 points and US News and World Report said that its state-by-state survey showed Mr. Reagan way ahead in 45 out of the 50 states and the President “on his way to a smashing victory on November 6.” In addition to traditional campaign stops, the President used his bully pulpit to pursue his agenda; specifically, those radio addresses. So in today’s podcast, we’ll tune into one he sent in September 1984.

On August 14, 2024, the Reagan Foundation hosted an in-person event with former Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross for a discussion on his latest book, Risks and Returns: Creating Success in Business and Life. The book is a candid reflection of a life lived at the pinnacle of Wall Street, New York, and Palm Beach society, as well as within the Trump administration in his role as Commerce Secretary. During the program, Secretary Ross sat down in conversation with Reagan Foundation and Institute President and CEO David Trulio to discuss his career in business and politics.