Would-Be Reagan Assassin John Hinckley Jr. on Trump Assassination Attempts, Jodie Foster Obsession, and His Life Now | Ep. 1343

30:20And when that started, John, do you, so how old were you about then? I was in my early, early, about 20, in 1976, I was 21. Okay. Well, that tracks. I mean, that's where a lot of young men in particular have a psychotic break. But do you remember during that time, were you still talking to your parents by phone? Were you maintaining normal relationships in your life? Sort of. I mean, I was talking to them by phone, yes, but I was living, I wasn't living at home. I was living in apartments by myself and getting depressed and I was getting isolated from my family. I was pushing them away. They weren't pushing me away.

31:07I was pushing them away. would they have known john is mentally ill they around 1980 they could see that i was not doing well and my father referred me to a psychologist that he knew so i went to see the psychologist but the psychologist just thought i needed to needed like a kick in the pants to straighten up um that you know that's only no you weren't on any medications back then no and then also i saw When I was living in Colorado in 1980, I saw a psychiatrist that my parents found for me. And I did tell a psychiatrist about Jody. He didn't seem to be too concerned about him. Right, because now there's a duty for a psychiatrist to warn if he thinks a patient might actually hurt a third party.

32:03So clearly that wasn't the case from the sound of it. But did you, my understanding is you didn't settle on Ronald Reagan right away. You thought about hurting some others prior to him. Can you walk us through that? How'd that go? Well, in 1980, Carter, Jimmy Carter was still the president. And he was campaigning, you know, for re-election. So I started stalking Carter. I was in Dayton, Ohio when he was there. and I was in Nashville, Tennessee when he was there. Thank you, everybody. So I was kind of following Carter around. President Carter was in the Tennessee city conducting a town meeting at the Grand Ole Opry.

32:50And he got within arm's reach of the president, but he didn't bring his guns with him. He left them in the luggage. But then when Carter lost the election, my focus, I dropped my focus on Carter and started focusing on Reagan. Now, I read that in October of 1980, you were arrested at the Nashville International Airport after three pistols were discovered in your suitcase on the same day that President Carter visited the city. My note to myself reads, how was he free? Like, how were you free? I mean, I would think that's the kind of thing that could get you locked up for a long time, given that the president's coming there the same day.

33:30I think today it wouldn't be what happened. But in 1980, I had to go before a magistrate in Nashville. And I got fined$62.50. They took my three guns. And I got out of town as fast as I could. Wow. That was October 1980. The assassination attempt with President Reagan was March 1981. So I mean, it was just months later. And, you know, frankly, you should have been on their radar. But yeah, it was a different time. And it's a different time today, thanks in part to you, I mean, and your behaviors. There was something involving Ted Kennedy. Can you tell us? I don't remember that one as well, but I think in February of 81, I went to his office at the Capitol in D.C.

34:30Do you recall if you were thinking about attempting to assassinate Ted Kennedy? Yeah, only because he was a Kennedy. I had nothing for or against Ted Kennedy just because he was a Kennedy. I mean, that's my thinking, this crazy thinking I had back then. This is from your book, chapter 18.

35:17that's what I was going to do. Is that an accurate recitation of how it went down that day, John? It's very, very accurate, yes. So, I mean, it's potentially just sheer luck that Ted Kennedy lived beyond that day. Maybe so, also with Carter. I mean, if Carter had been reelected, I would have stayed after him. I just, as fate had it, you know, Carter lost and I became, you know, fixated on Reagan. But I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States. Was there any piece of you, John, who looked at President Reagan and said, he seems like such a nice guy, he's jolly, he's loved by his family?

36:04Does that, does the person's humanity ever sink in there? Or is that just not? That's where my illness comes in because I liked Reagan. I liked Reagan in 1980, 1981. I thought he was a nice guy. I'm sure I saw a movie or two that he was in. My father loved Reagan. My family were big Republicans. I didn't shoot him because I had an animosity to him. I liked Reagan. So that's where my illness comes in. Did you vote for him? No, I didn't vote that year. Okay, for anybody. So how did you get the idea to show up at this hotel and shoot the president of the United States? You saw the movie Taxi Driver, but that was a couple years earlier.

36:53A week prior to the shooting, I flew to Los Angeles. I was going to make one last attempt to make it with my music. I had been living in Hollywood in 1976 when I first saw a taxi driver. But in 1980, 81, I was going to make one last attempt to have a career in music. So I flew out to L.A. But when I got to the L.A.X. airport, I couldn't I couldn't function properly.

37:30And I thought to myself, what am I doing out here? I went to the Greyhound bus station Got on a Greyhound bus And went cross country on this bus The week prior to the shooting I arrived in Washington D.C. March 29th Checked into a hotel The next morning I saw Reagan's schedule in the newspaper His schedule for the day and I saw that he was going to be at the Washington Hilton. And so that's how I knew where to go on March 30th. Wow. It's amazing to this day that they make the president's schedule so public. That's how the attempted assassin at the Hilton this past time knew where President Trump was, what time he was going to be there.

38:23You know, we're still we're still doing that. Is that unbelievable to you? Yeah, it is. I guess you have to do it because all the press and everybody wants to know exactly where the president is and what he's doing minute by minute, so I guess that's why they do it. I take it you don't think that's a great idea? No, not at all. So accessible. They shouldn't. I think they did stop putting president's daily schedules in the newspaper

38:59but yeah they shouldn't be giving they shouldn't be giving out such minute details about the president's schedule no they shouldn't it's not necessary for the rest of us to have that so you go to the I mean it's crazy because I keep wanting to call it the Hinkley Hilton you know they call it that right yeah I do I heard that it's crazy so they you go to what will become known as the Hinkley Hilton and you join the press corps outside that's waiting for President Reagan, right? And I know this is another area in which you've been actually kind of critical of the Secret Service. Tell us why. Well, I pulled up in a taxi cab and got out.

39:39I saw where a little crowd had gathered. So I went over to the crowd and became part of the crowd. You know, no security, no Secret Service was really paying attention to us because I was part of the press crowd. So Reagan's entourage pulled up and he got out of the car and walked towards the building. And he waved over and it looked like he was waving right at me. And it kind of startled me. And I waved right back to him. And he went on into the building. Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. And gave his speech. Thank you very much. While he was giving his speech, I just milled around that area.

40:30No one was paying any attention to me. And together, we'll make America great again. Thank you very much. And so when Reagan came back out, that's when I fired my shots. So no one had tried to screen you, pat you down, ask you questions, make you go through a magnetometer to get that close to the president? No, not at all. I'm sure today is different, but back then, no one approached me. Do you remember what it was like in the moments before you pulled the gun out of, what, your pocket? I had a coat on. It was in my coat pocket. Do you remember that feeling? Not really well. I just, you know, I just pulled out the gun and just started firing wildly in the president's direction.

41:28And unfortunately, I hit other people. And I do think I remember dropping the gun to the ground and kind of crouching because I knew I thought I was going to be shot by the Secret Service. but instead they just jumped on me and people in the crowd started jumping on me and pummeling me and finally I got pulled out of the crowd and taken to a car Were you afraid of being shot? Not really I was thinking if I'm going to commit this crime the chances are really good I'm going to be shot so that was my thinking but I think because I was in such a crowd of people the Secret Service didn't start firing they just jumped on me we have a bit of that moment here

42:34happens in seconds Get him out! Get him out! Get him out! And you were so close. How many feet away would you say you were from the president? About 10 or 15 feet. Oh my gosh, that's stunning to watch. John, after it happened, did you have a feeling of, you know, triumph? Like now, now Jody's going to know who I am? Yes, I did. I mean, not while I'm being pummeled, But in the days that followed, I thought, yeah, I was going to have this reunion with Jody that she would be so impressed by what I did and want to come see me and be with me and all this stuff. I had that feeling. In addition to the president, four, well, three others were wounded.

43:24Press Secretary James Baker, his injuries would be very severe. Yeah. Sorry, Brady. And he had a head wound. He was critically wounded. There was Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy. He was shot in the side, in the chest. There was D.C. policeman Thomas Delahanty. He was shot in the neck. James Brady has been the name of the press room. He was the press secretary. And he's probably the most famous of the ones other than President Reagan who were shot that day. A big advocate for gun control and gun safety measures because of what happened to him. And I wonder, like, and of course, President Reagan was shot.

44:05You did shoot him. And it was by the grace of God that his life was not taken. I mean, they said that had that bullet been, you know, an inch the other way, he would have been dead. He didn't even know he'd been shot until he got into the car. And then it became clear. But it just missed his heart. He had a collapsed lung. He walked into George Washington Hospital and famously told his wife, Nancy, honey, I forgot to duck. And so when you think about that, when you hear those injuries, John, what does that do to you? What does it make you feel? It makes you feel really bad that I hurt four people that day.

44:44One, critically, James Brady, it makes me feel very bad. Another part of the reason I wrote the book, Megan, is because people think I don't have remorse for what I did. So I wanted to bring out in the book that I have tremendous remorse for what I did. I just I just wish I could take it all back. And, you know, I'm so sorry for what happened. President Reagan would give an interview to Larry King about his experience there. Here's some of that. I didn't know I was shot. I heard a noise and we came out of the hotel and headed for the limousine. and I heard some noise and I thought it was firecrackers.

45:30And the next thing I knew, one of the Secret Service agents behind me just seized me here by the waist and plunged me headfirst into the limo. I landed on the seat and the seat divider was down and then he dived in on top of me, which is part of their procedure to make sure that I'm covered. Well, as it turned out later, the shot that got me caromed off the side of the limousine and hit me while I was diving into the car. And it hit me back here under the arm and then hit a rib. And that's what caused an extreme pain. And then it tumbled, it turned instead of edgewise and went tumbling down to within an inch of my heart.

46:12Amazing, because the great communicator, as they called him, still sounding kind of optimistic and sunny in the recitation of his assassination attempt. And then there was this moment, John. I didn't know for quite a while until they began to tell me about the young man that had done this and what his problem was that he was not exactly on a normal basis. And so then I added him to my prayers, prayers for myself that, well, if I wanted healing for myself, maybe he should have some healing for himself. That you forgive John Hinkley? Yes, I found out he wasn't thinking on all cylinders. Did you see that at the time?

47:01No, I didn't. When was the first you saw that? Many years later, I saw it and was really touched by what President Reagan said. Very touched. And it wasn't just him. Jim Brady also spoke out about you a couple years later. This is from 1982. Do you ever think about this man, John Hinckley, and what he did? I mean... Well, every day in therapy that I'm there, and taking my pain-ridden body around those two gymnasiums that we've got down there and hurting every step of the way. It's pretty difficult not to think of why you're in that situation. But I think dwelling on the past

48:06smacks of revenge or, you know, I hope he doesn't win the Irish sweepstakes or something like that. I'm not really wishing him any evil. Not wishing any evil. He was paralyzed as a result of the shooting. Pretty extraordinary acts of forgiveness and kindness your way, John. Is that something that they would show you in the psychiatric hospital to help humanize these guys for you? No, it wasn't until I was released that I saw this. I'd never seen what you displayed with Mr. Brady. I'd never seen that before. Oh. What's your reaction to seeing that? well i just um with so much i hadn't done what i did that day because um james brady certainly deserved to have a good life and i took that away from him but uh i'm just very sorry for what i did did you ever have the chance to apologize to any of the four men by letter or other way?

49:18I wasn't allowed to. I mean, I actually had a court order that I couldn't communicate with them. It makes sense. Yeah. I mean, to their family members who may see this, what do you want them to know? I'm very sorry for what happened and I'm not the person that I was in 1981. And And I do have a great deal of remorse for what I did. And I'm just so sorry for what happened. And then there's Jody, who gave an interview after she learned of what had happened and that she was, through no fault of her own, a motivation for it. She held a press conference in April 1981. Here's a bit from that. Actress Jodie Foster, now a student at Yale University, says that she was very frightened.

50:10She cried when she heard that Hinkley was suspected of attempting to kill the president. Hinkley, it turns out, had been sending letters to Foster for some time. Foster told reporters she received several letters from Hinkley last fall and threw them away, what she usually does with unsolicited mail. But she was disturbed when more letters arrived in March. I gave them to my college dean, who in turn gave them to the Yale police. These are now in the custody of the FBI. In none of these letters and notes I received was any mention, reference or implication ever made as to violent acts against anyone, nor was the president ever mentioned.

50:45How do you feel when you notice the possible relationship? I felt very shocked, very frightened and very distressed. Very distressed. John, do you count Jody as one of your victims? Oh, yes, definitely. Does she have anything to worry about now? No, not at all. I'm not obsessed with her, and I only wish her well. Hinckley has applied to visit his parents over Easter without an escort, and once again there have been serious objections. When we come back, the notorious criminal pen pals who helped delay John Hinckley Jr.'s release Startling revelation from Miller brought the hearing to an abrupt end.

51:28And the letters that left many questioning whether his remorse was real. Yeah, my judgment was not good in the 1980s.

51:42It's always good to tackle the root of a problem rather than just slapping a Band-Aid on it. And today I want to tell you about Veracity, a company focusing on the core of our energy and weight, metabolism. Veracity offers drug-free, doctor-formulated solutions like Metabolism Ignite. They say it's the number one doctor-recommended GLP-1 booster and alternative designed for those who want results without the side effects or allergens. Founder Allie Egan, a certified hormonal health coach, created Veracity after her own metabolic struggles. It's 100 % natural, caffeine-free, and they say it's safe to use, even if you're already on GLP-1 medications.

52:20It's no wonder this is sold out 10 times. So before metabolism ignite sells out again, make the switch to GLP-1's The Natural Way. Head to veracityhealth.co and use the code MEGAN to get up to 65 % off your order. Once again, that's V-E-R-A-C-I-T-Y health.co for up to 65 % off. And make sure you use my promo code MEGAN so they know I sent you. Our sponsor, the Electronic Payments Coalition, says Washington politicians are always getting in your wallet, and now they're messing with your credit card, too. They say your credit card and the security it offers are under attack, and that Senators Dick Durbin and Roger Marshall want to change the nation's payment system to benefit corporate megastores like Walmart and Target at the expense of everyday Americans.

53:09Credit cards can keep your payments secure and provide rewards that families use to help make everyday purchases more affordable. The Electronic Payments Coalition says the Durbin Marshall mandates would let corporate megastores cut corners on credit card processing, routing transactions over cheaper, untested networks that have weaker security and fewer protections. Find out more at GuardYourCard.com and consider telling Congress to guard your card. Parents, have you heard your kids say, I'm not a math kid? Well, with Mathnasium, every kid can be a math kid. They customize their math instructions so kids who are struggling are able to catch up and get ahead.

53:48And advanced kids are challenged to reach higher. Mathnasium makes math fun, so kids learn to love it. Parents say that Mathnasium has not only improved their kids' grades, it's given them a new level of confidence in math and in school overall. Visit mathnasium.com to find a location near you.

54:33Transcription by CastingWords Hey, everyone. It's me, Megan Kelly. I've got some exciting news. I now have my very own channel on Sirius XM. It's called the Megan Kelly Channel, and it is where you will hear the truth, unfiltered, with no agenda and no apologies. Along with the Megan Kelly Show, you're going to hear from people like Mark Halperin, Link Lauren, Maureen Callahan, Emily Jashinsky, Jesse Kelly, Real Clear Politics, and many more. It's bold, no BS news. Only on the Megyn Kelly channel, Sirius XM 111, and on the Sirius XM app.

55:11Welcome back to the Megyn Kelly show and our interview with John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot President Reagan 45 years ago this past March. Today, he's a free man living in rural Virginia. How is it that after, was it 34 years? Yes. They said you could leave the facility and go out on supervised release if you lived with your mom in 2016. How did they get to that point? Well, I had gradual releases, you know, from three days to five days, to seven days, to 10 days, 17 days. So I was not just released overnight. Over a period of years, I was getting these gradual releases given to me by the judge.

56:00And finally, by 2015, the judge saw that I was ready to leave the hospital as an outpatient. And so in, I believe it was September of 2016, I left St. Elizabeth's for good and never went back. Wow. I understand they were considering possible release a couple of times earlier, but they found out once or twice that you were corresponding with some serial killers, which didn't exactly help your chances. Right. Who did you correspond with? That was in the 1980s when I still was going through my recovery. I had a correspondence briefly with Ted Bundy, and some of Manson's followers were writing to me.

56:51I never communicated with Manson himself, but Squeaky Fromm wrote to me several times. Tinkley received mail from Squeaky Fromm, the Charles Manson follower, now in prison for attempting to kill President Ford. I went to shake a hand, and I looked down, and there was a gun in a hand pointed directly at me. Yeah, my judgment was not good in the 1980s. What? Why were they communicating with you? Why was Ted Bundy writing you letters? Just because I was very well-known back then. You know, I was in the news all the time, and they wrote to me. And in those instances, I wrote back. You write in the book in chapter 41, arriving at St.

57:41Elizabeth's. They admired me. I was famous. Not loved, but certainly familiar. These people couldn't believe it was me. I would be waiting in line for something and suddenly everyone would move out of the way to let me go up front. People argued over who got to battle me in cards or at the ping pong table. When I started talking in group sessions, everybody shut up and listened fast. I got a private room right next to the main offices. Did you feel like a celebrity? Was that important to you? I mean, I did because when I first went to St. Elizabeth's, I was on TV almost every day. Opening arguments were heard and the first witnesses called.

58:18And the other patients would see me on TV and they couldn't believe I was standing there right there in front of them. They were just kind of in awe of me. And yeah, I was treated very much like a celebrity by the patients. There's a debate going on right now in society that I've taken a firm stand on, and it revolves around whether we should, as news media, say the name of mass shooters or even potentially assassins, you know, attempted assassins, because it can be dangerous to give them the infamy they seek. What do you think? well it's it's hard not to say their name on the news because you're you're reporting the story and the public wants to know the i think the public wants to know the shooter's name i mean for instance the uh after the assassination of charlie kirk you immediately knew that assassin's name they weren't trying to hide it or anything so i think it'd be very difficult to just not say the shooter's name.

59:29And what about the widespread use of it and repeating it over and over? What do you think that does? I don't think you need to do that, but I'm just saying in a news story, if you're going to report the news accurately, it's kind of hard not to say the name. How do you think it would have affected you, John? Do you have any way of speculating if you had known that if you did this dastardly deed, no one would say your name. Jodie Foster would not know it was you. Your name wouldn't be well known. You wouldn't be famous. And then when you got to St. Elizabeth's, you would not get any sort of star treatment.

1:00:08I don't think I would have done it. I mean, the whole point of it was to get Jodie's attention so she would know who I am. so yeah i mean if my name was going to be kept out of everything i don't think i would have done what did you learn about ted bundy in your correspondence well it was brief i can't he just we it was they were mundane letters we just talked about what we did during the day and it's hard to believe i'm you know listening to reading about what ted bunny does during his day in his cell. But that's, I mean, the letters were just very mundane letters. I feel like St. Elizabeth's kind of dropped the ball there.

1:00:57How are they allowing this kind of influence on you while you're in their care? Oh, I don't know. This is... I was getting so much mail back then, I think they kind of lost track of everything. Did you have any of the ladies who write you letters saying, I want to be your girlfriend or I want to get married? Oh, yeah. Lots, yes. You did? Yes. Did you get married or see any of them? I didn't get married, but I had a whole lot of young ladies writing to me and wanting to meet me and giving me their phone number and address and measurements and everything else. Oh, wow. And did that just peter off over the course of the three decades or what?

1:01:44Yeah, it kind of dwindled out over time. Yeah. In your book, you talk about the Charlie Manson correspondent saying you did get one from Charlie himself. Yes, you're right. He knew of me. Apparently, he even liked me, saw me as something of a kindred spirit. His letter salutation was John boy with a nice little swastika right in the middle of it. Do you still have these? Oh, no, no. The government has those letters. I don't have the letters. I mean, it's pretty crazy, the life that you've gone through. I can't even imagine. So what was it, John? Was it medication that helped finally, you know, you break free from this mental illness that got you to the point where this psychosis was no longer debilitating?

1:02:37I think the main thing was my long 22-year relationship with Leslie DeVoe that brought me out of my depression and psychosis. And yes, the medication helped and the therapies helped. And some of the staff at St. Elizabeth's helped. As I got older, I just got away from a lot of thinking, bad thoughts that I had early on in my life. Were you what happened to Leslie? After 22 years, she just got tired. The government started focusing on her and going through her going through her bank records and her trash. And she just said, I can't deal with this. So we ended the relationship. She's no longer alive.

1:03:30I mean, she she died a few years ago. But she just couldn't deal with the government. surveillance. Of course, we're speaking to John Hinckley Jr. And some of these memories are documented in his memoir, which is called Who I Really Am. It came out last December, Who I Really Am. So then eventually in 2022, you were released entirely, no conditions, you're on your own. And you've been living that way now for some four years. How do you spend your days? What's your life like now? I do what everybody else does. I go grocery shopping and do my laundry and take care. I have two cats that I take care of.

1:04:13And I write my songs. I do cat paintings. Sell my little cat paintings to pay my bills and pay my rent. You know, I have a quiet life here in Williamsburg. Do you ever get recognized? Occasionally when I'm in the stores. How does that go? People will come up to me and want to take a picture with me or shake my hand. Really? The main thing that they say is I love your music. Hello, everybody. This is another one of my original songs.

1:04:53You only know what used to be. You don't know a different side of me I do have a lot of my songs on Spotify and the other streaming sites, if anybody wants to hear my music. What do you like to sing about? Getting over hard times is the main theme. The past is gone, it is over I have a YouTube channel where I sing my songs and I have all my songs on, as I said, on the streaming sites, if anybody wants to hear them. And what's your YouTube channels in case they do? It's just John Hinkley. Okay. Are any of your families still alive? My brother and sister are. My parents are deceased, but my brother and sister are still alive.

1:05:51Are you in their lives at all? Oh, yeah. I just talked to my sister yesterday on the phone. Okay, so they're supportive. How do you pay your bills? Like, how do you, you know, make money? By selling my little cat paintings. I don't make very much money. I just barely get by paying bills and paying rent and paying for gas and all this stuff. And how old are you now? I just turned 71. Wow. So, I mean, you could have, God willing, you know, a decade or two in front of you. John, what do you think, when you look back on the measure of your life, the vast majority of it's been in a locked facility because you were, of course, found not guilty by reason of mental defect.

1:06:42and when that happens you get locked up until a psychiatrist team says that you are no longer a danger to society which is what happened since you were eventually released and you look back on your life now with a relatively normal childhood obviously some sort of a break in your early 20s and the loss of your freedom for the vast majority of your time here on this earth how do you assess the measure of john hinckley jr well that I that I developed this bad mental illness early on in my life and that I overcame the illness that I'm a survivor that I have overcome so much I have seen so much bad things in my time at St.

1:07:23Elizabeth's and um I've had a strong faith throughout all of this I am a Christian I've had a strong faith throughout all of this and I just hope in my remaining days I can please the Lord. Amen. Good luck to you. Thank you for coming on and telling your story. Thank you, Megan. It's a fascinating story. Again, if you would like to read John's full story, his book is titled John Hinckley Jr., Who I Really Am. With political violence, once again, part of the national conversation. It is interesting and it's valuable to hear from someone like John. Although President Reagan forgave Hinckley, his children have had differing views about Hinckley's release.

1:08:11Reagan's daughter, Patty Davis, long opposed it. After a judge approved Hinckley's unconditional release in 2021, she wrote, quote, when someone you love is gunned down, time doesn't move on from that day, that hour, that moment. That event is your prison and there is no release from it. I actually interviewed Michael Regan many times during my years at Fox. What a great guy he was. I loved Michael Regan. In 2012, he expressed concerns about Hinckley's release. And he shared this story from when he rushed to the hospital to see his dad after he was shot. Everybody remembers my dad's sense of humor during that period of time.

1:08:49And he was no different with family than he was with the public. And I remember walking in the hospital room and my dad looking up at me and going, well if you're ever going to get shot don't be wearing a new suit and I said excuse me well you know yesterday I was wearing a new suit I said I know that and he said well if you're ever going to get shot don't be wearing a new one I said well thank you for the warning and he said that young man who shot me Hinkley I said yes John Hinkley understand his parents are in the oil business I said yes they are dad I understand they live in Denver I said yes he says do you think they have any money i said well i don't know i imagine they would have money oil business denver he looks at me as well do you think they never buy me a new suit

1:09:34not only of course it is that have a bullet hole in it but they had to cut it off of him when he was brought to the er michael what do you think your dad would think about it because he famously forgave john henckley jr uh... and you know as so many christians do they they they they forgive those who trespass against them. And that doesn't necessarily mean you'd want them walking free, though. Well, when I go out and speak, and I speak a lot about that, that here is the man who actually lived the Lord's Prayer, just didn't go out and recite it. And I told people, I said, interesting, that bullet.

1:10:04My dad is shot and fell, first president to ever be shot and survive. But not long after that, Pope John Paul is also shot and survives. What did both of them do? Both of them got down on their knees and forgave their assassins before they even left the hospital room. And then later on, Ronald Reagan and John Paul would get together. And what was it they could talk about? That both of them felt God had saved them for a purpose. And what ultimately was that purpose? The two of them ended up changing the world. A few years later, Michael Reagan had a change of heart and publicly supported Hinkley's release.

1:10:45He was such a sweetheart. He said that if his father could forgive Hinkley, then he should too. Though he joked that his stepmother, Nancy Reagan, would be, quote, pissed if she were still alive. One final note. A few years ago on this show, I spoke with Tom Baker, the first FBI agent on the scene of the shooting outside of the Washington Hilton. He described the chaos of those first minutes and hours. As I got out of my car, a man came running up to me, Lieutenant Wilson of the Washington, D.C. Homicide Squad. And he knew me from a previous incident. And he had the revolver in a glass scene envelope that his officers had just taken off of Hinkley.

1:11:27And he says, we have the gun. We want to give it to you. And I said to him, hold on. There's a truck from the FBI lab coming. What was that like within moments coming up to a scene where the president of the United States was just shot in an attempted assassination? And you've got the lieutenant running over to you saying, we've got the gun and trying to give it to you. I mean, is there any element of you as a man just feeling like, oh, my God? That was exactly it. It was the oh, my God was that whole two or three minutes riding up there. I knew this is really something we have to do it right.

1:12:06Hinkley, we know he was a disturbed young man. But at the moment the shooting happened, we didn't know that. So we were very concerned. Is this part of a bigger conspiracy? Is this part of something perhaps being engineered by the Soviets, the Russians? And are other people elsewhere going to be shot? So that first hour or two early that day, it was, I describe it, and later we looked up it and we did a lot of studies about it afterwards, it was a crisis situation. It evolved into a major case. But at that first hour or two, it was, we considered it a crisis. When they went in, the surgeons to get the bullet, the head surgeon couldn't clearly see the bullet because it was literally behind the heart.

1:12:55And another little side story, there was an intern there, an intern being someone the first year out of medical school, was on duty beside the surgeon in the emergency room. and to assist the surgeon in getting to the bullet, the intern reached with his hand into the open chest of the president and cupped the president's beating heart in his hand and held it aside like an inch or an inch and a half so that the surgeon could reach under the heart and take out the bullet, which is what happened. It's amazing to think of it. this 24-year-old is holding the president's beating heart in his hand. It's quite a remarkable scene.

1:13:40It's just remarkable to think about how differently that day could have ended and just how different the world would be today had President Reagan actually been assassinated. Thank God he lived. Tom Baker shared many more incredible stories. To watch our full episode, search for episode number 456. Thanks to all of you for watching. And as always, let me know your thoughts. My email's megan, M-E-G-Y-N at megankelly.com. When it comes to your dogs, why does there always seem to be a compromise when we're talking about their food? It's either fresh and healthy or easy to store and serve. With Sundays for Dogs, you get both and your dog gets the best.

1:14:20Founded by Dr. Tori Waxman, a veterinarian and mom who got tired of seeing so-called premium dog food full of fillers and synthetics. She designed Sundaes, air-dried real food made in a human food grade kitchen using the same ingredients and care you would use to cook for yourself and your family. Everybody's clean, packed with real meat, fruits and veggies, no weird ingredients, no fillers. Compared to kibble or other brands, Sundaes invests 50 times more in its ingredients for true premium quality, no cost cutting. Best of all, just scoop and serve. You don't have to worry about the freezer, the thawing, the prep.

1:14:56My brother-in-law, he had this huge dog. It was beautiful, but it was so large. It was like a pony. And he had to serve it like recently killed chickens. I got to keep the carcasses in an extra refrigerator. It's a no. Try Sundays, okay? It's going to make your life easier and your dog happier. Go right now to sundaysfordogs.com slash Megan. Get 50 % off your first order, or you can use code MEGAN at checkout. 50 % off your first order at SundaysForDogs.com slash MEGAN, SundaysForDogs.com slash MEGAN, or use code MEGYN when you check out to get your discount. Thanks for listening to The Megan Kelly Show.

1:15:37No BS, no agenda, and no fear.

1:15:45In the U.S., there's a break-in every 26 seconds. But when intruders step near, SimpliSafe Home Security steps up. Stop. This is SimpliSafe. Police are on the way. Using AI alerts, U.S.-based live agents help deter break-ins. SimpliSafe, no long-term contracts. Save 50 % on your new system with professional monitoring at simplisafe.com slash sxm or with promo code sxm. Outdoor deterrence requires a SimpliSafe Active Guard outdoor protection plan starting at$49.99 a month. Visit simplisafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information. Tennessee 2012. Breathe in. Feel the sense of calm that comes from having up to$300 in overdraft protection with GoToBank.

1:16:23Now. Did you say$300? Yes. Now, back to our breathing. So if I overspend my balance, GoToBank has my back up to$300? Yes. Can we breathe out now? Less worries, more zen. With over$300 in overdraft protection. Tap to open an account today. Eligible direct deposits and opt-in required for overdraft protection. Fees, terms, and conditions apply.