The Reagan Diaries

by Ronald Reagan

  We tried everything, wrote & re-wrote the clause. The debate grew heated & then they took on the United States as being an interloper in European affairs, etc. The battle went on way past lunch hour. We finally settled for wording that bluntly said most of us felt there should be such a meeting & our ministers would meet in July to lay plans. Lunch came at about 2:30.

  Our dinner that night was heads of state only. Instead of business we got into story telling. Brian Mulroney (Canada) started it & I got on with some & a good time was had by all—(all except Mitterrand).

  Saturday, May 4

  The usual working breakfast then back to the Chancellery for the plenary session. This was the windup. After lunch we went to the Bundestag for Helmut’s reading of the statement. Our press treated the lack of a specific date in ’86 for trade talks as a repudiation of me by the summit. First of all I had never sought a specific date—nor had anyone else. We simply asked for a meeting sometime in early ’86 & all heads of state plus the Pres. of the European Community were for it.

  Later I had a brief one on one with P.M. Craxi of Italy. He’s very interested in the Middle East problem. I briefed him on where I thought we were on that.

  Nancy arrived about 5:30 & that night we went to a dinner for heads of state, wives plus a few others at home of Pres. Von Weizsaecker. A pleasant evening.

  Sunday, May 5

  Dawns the day the world has been hearing about for weeks. By 9 A.M. we were on our way to Konrad Adenauers grave site with the Kohls—our wives put flowers on the grave. The press had only been given an hours notice on this. We didn’t want them claiming we were doing it to soften the criticism on Bitberg.

  From there we helicoptered to Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp. This was an emotional experience. We went through the small museum with the enlarged photos of the horrors there. Then we walked past the mounds planted with Heather, each being a mass grave for 5000 or more of the people—largely Jews but also many Christians, a number of Catholic Priests & Gypsys who had been slaughtered there or who were just starved to death. Here I made the speech I hoped would refute the phony charges that had been made. I declared we must not forget & we must pledge, “never again.”

  Before the day was out there were reports that my talk had been effective. It was carried live on German TV & elsewhere in Europe.

  Next stop later in the afternoon was Bitberg. Here the people were jamming the streets—most friendly but some demonstrators. We went to the cemetery & met Gen. Ridgeway—91 yrs. old—last surviving top W.W. II leader in Am. & Gen. Steinhoff, a German General who had been shot down in flames & whose face had been rebuilt by a American Army Dr. at wars end. Kohl & I & the Gen’s. walked thru the tiny cemetery & then at a monument there the Gen’s. placed wreaths. The German “taps” was played & then in a truly dramatic moment the 2 Generals clasped hands. There had been no leak to the press that the Generals would be there.

  Then we motored to the Air Base where both German & American units are based. There were several thousand people—families of the military plus a number of citizens of Bitberg—the Mayor, City Council et al. The German mi. band played our Nat. Anthem—then the Am. band played theirs. My speech was sort of a sequel to the one at Belson. It was enthusiastically received & our people thought it turned the issue around. I felt very good. I was told later that during my speech—the 2 Generals sat—holding each other’s hands. General Ridgeway & his wife returned to Bonn with us on A.F.1.

  Back in Schloss Gymnich we got done up for the White Tie State dinner at Schloss Augustusberg. There was a small reception then into dinner. After dinner there was a half hour entertainment—Chamber music.

  Well this was the day—everyone—well not everyone but much of the press had predicted would be a disaster. Dick Wirthlin did some before the day & after polling. Before the trip 49% said I should go to Bitberg, 47% said no—4% undecided. After the trip 59% said I should, 38% said no & 13% were undecided.

  I always felt it was the morally right thing to do.

  Monday, May 6

  A 10 A.M. farewell ceremony complete with troops, national anthems & all at Villa Hammerschmidt with the Pres. & his wife. Then the Kohls joined us & we departed for Hambach castle. We made this trip in Marine One & landed at Nevstadt. There was some ceremony & then we made the drive up the mountain to the castle. Again there were lines of happy cheering people except for one little group of dissenters. When we went by they turned around, bent over & showed us their bare bottoms. There were about a dozen—boys & girls.

  At the castle there were about 10,000 teenagers gathered. I’d been told that German youth were a little down—tired of being told of the Nazi horror & not sure there was a future for them. Accordingly I addressed them in an effort to show them the pride they should have in what their country has achieved in these 40 yrs. & how they have freedom & the chance to make their dreams come true. They really responded. I had a chance to meet a small group of them afterward. They want to participate in an exchange program with us. I’m going to help.

  We helicoptered to our Ramstein Air Base—the C.O. of our air forces in Europe, Gen. Donnely, Jr. & other officers met us. We could only wave to the turnout of base personnel & families. It was goodbye to the Kohls—they were quite emotional. Helmut swore undying friendship. Then we boarded A.F.1 & on to Madrid. Had lunch on the way & landed at 4:15—Barajas Airport. King Juan Carlos & Queen Sofia (We have known them for some time) met us. More ceremony—review of troops, then a march by—the Nat. Anthems & of course 21 gun salute. Then we met the official party—Pres. Felipe Gonzalez & other officials. I’ve already met Gonzalez in Wash. The King & I rode in one car, Nancy & the Queen in another to Pardo Palace. Again the streets were lined with cheering people. There had been a hostile demonstration before we arrived. It was as if the people were trying to tell us not to feel upset by that. At Pardo another ceremony with troop review, guns & anthems. Then the King & Queen departed—Pardo was to be our residence. At 6 P.M. I had a meeting with Gonzalez who is both Pres. & P.M. We got along fine. I gave him the whole load on Nicaragua & think he’ll be no pushover for Ortega who is visiting him after his visit to Moscow. By the time our meeting was over we were Felipe & Ron.

  At 8:50 we motored to the Zarzuela Palace—the Royal home for dinner with their majesties & their daughters the Princesses Elena & Cristina. There was an exchange of gifts—one of his to me was a most interesting saddle. It will dress up our tack room.

  They have refused to live in the Royal Palace preferring this smaller, homelike place. The evening was a family dinner & very pleasant although we did manage to get in some talk about Central Am. & Spain’s place in NATO.

  Tuesday, May 7

  Nancy off with Queen Sofia for a lunch & a visit to an art school where Nancy was persuaded to join the students in dancing the Flamenco. She made every paper in the world & a lot of magazines.

  I made a morning speech on free enterprise to about 350 business leaders—some Americans who head up Am. business in Spain. The King accompanied me. Then I was into a meeting with Gonzalez & members of the Cabinet & Parliament.

  The day was topped off with a State Dinner—White tie again. The dinner was in the official Palace which is used for such occasions. All in all it was a good day & a fine relationship exists. The people in the streets were really friendly & enthused.

  Wednesday, May 8

  The King & Queen came by to take us to the airport. There was a farewell ceremony—review of troops—nat. anthems, 21 guns—the works. Then it was goodbye & we were off to Strasbourg to address the European Parliament. Let me just say, the monarchy in Spain like an anchor to windward is an important factor in keeping Spain on a democratic course & the King is dedicated to that purpose. He & I have a solid relationship & his friendship for the U.S. is sincere & lasting.

  We arrived at the Strasbourg airport about 12:15—met by our Ambas. Van Galbreath plus a large delegation headed by Pierre Pflaimlin—Parliament Pres. The usual ceremonie
s—review of the French Troops, etc. Nancy was then taken for a tour of historic old Strasbourg. I went to a lunch with the greeters & members of Parliament, signed the Golden Book of Strasbourg with the Mayor & then on to the Parliament. I was aware that 38 members out of the 434 had voted that I shouldn’t be allowed to speak, so was not surprised when I was greeted with something of a demonstration. I am the 1st Am. Pres. to ever address the European Parliament. The political coloration of the demonstrators was obvious. They reacted to any criticism of the Soviets—held up signs about Nicaragua, etc. I felt it necessary to direct a few comments their way which brought ovations from the majority. My theme was “Freedom works,” & I recognized the near miracle that the Parliament represents.

  At the beginning there was a breakdown in the teleprompter & I had a momentary problem picking up my place in the script. After a time the TP began working.

  After the speech had a brief meeting with Pres. Ahrens of the Parliamentary Assembly, Sec. Gen. of the Council of Europe, Oreja & Chairman of the Council of Europe Comm. of Ministers Deputies.

  Then Nancy joined us & it was off to Lisbon—a 3 hour flight across France, the Pyrenees & Spain. I was struck again at how much the Spanish & Portuguese countryside looks like Calif.

  We were met by Pres. Eanes & wife. Motored into town (this was my 2nd meeting with the Pres.—he had been to Wash. on a State visit). We had a chance to visit on the drive—Nancy & his wife were in another car.

  In town a huge, warm welcoming crowd & the usual military review—except this time part were horse cavalry. Then we went into the ancient Jeronimos Monastery for a wreath laying ceremony assisted by mi. cadets. A meeting with Lisbon’s Mayor & his wife—signed guest book & exchanged gifts. Then to Belein Palace escorted by the cavalry. Another exchange of gifts. Pres. Eanes & our people had a plenary meeting. He held forth most of time about NATO & need for additional help in mil. spending. We have a solid partnership what with our bases on the Azores, etc.

  Then we departed for the Queluz Palace & the luxury of dinner in bed & good night’s sleep.

  Thursday, May 9

  A busy day. Briefing before leaving Queluz at 10 A.M. for Sao Bento & a meeting with P.M. Soares (we too have met previously in U.S.). We met privately for about 15 mins.—some photos, etc. then downstairs to a plenary. We covered a number of subjects with a great deal of agreement on all. He & I then went into garden & delivered statements to the press. Incidentally there had been some demonstrations about me & a lot of graffiti but I noticed it usually linked me with Soares. The dissidents didn’t like either of us.

  At noon he took me over to the Assembly where I met the officers of that body plus reps. of the 7 parliamentary groups of counsel of the Parliament. There was a gift exchange & a guest book signing. Then into the Assembly Chamber. Pres. Amaral made an opening speech & introduced me, at which point a group to my left—both physically & philosophically got up & walked out. The great majority was warm in its response to my remarks.

  Nancy joined me & after a switch of cars at Queluz we drove to Sintra Palace. We were in a Ford Grenada because the limos couldn’t get up to the palace because of the narrow road & short turns. It’s an old palace started by the Moors on a steep mountain side. It was a 2 P.M. lunch but very pleasant. Back to Queluz for 10 mins. then a meeting with Dr. Lucas Pires—Pres. of the Center Social Dem. party—he is a conservative. The govt. is basically Socialist but is moderate regarding private enterprise.

  We had a few hours rest then before we had to get into Black tie. First downstairs a press reception for all the assembled press, foreign & American. From there it was on to the St. Dinner at Ajuda Palace. We & the Eanes’s did a receiving line before dinner. The dinner was held in a magnificent room—three long tables the length of the room & a speaker’s table across the room at the head of the 3 tables. He & I did brief toast remarks then back to Queluz.

  Friday, May 10—Going home day

  I did a briefing & then an outdoor press conference in the garden. Then Nancy & I & our party joined the Eanes’s on the grounds at the Horse Pavilion for our exhibition of their Lusitanians Horses. This was Haute Ecole—dressage on the order of the Lipizzaner in Vienna & very good.

  From there direct to the airport—a mil. review, this time of Marines. I was struck by the fact that I was a head taller than almost all the men in the ranks.

  Ceremony over—it was farewells & onto A.F.1 & out over the Atlantic—a 7 hour, 40 min. trip to Wash. D.C. & a beautiful 80 degree day. A nice welcome home on the S. Lawn. We’re here for overnight & then to Camp David.

  [Saturday, May 11: radiocast; left for Camp David; ran news coverage of trip. Sunday, May 12: ran more news coverage, commented, “The media is doing its best to suggest the trip was a failure.” Monday, May 13: relaxed by pool; returned to W.H.; met with Regan on tax plan; haircut.]

  Tuesday, May 14

  Still waking up on Europe time—early. An early meeting with a bipartisan group of Congress leaders—minus Tip O’Neill & Jim Wright. We reported on the trip which was a different story than they’ve been getting in the press who are determined to picture a very successful trip as a failure. Bad cess to them! Then an N.S.C. meeting to talk about stock piling strategic materials. We’ve had a study going which found the 1979 plan a shambles.

  [Issues briefing lunch; cabinet meeting to discuss budget plan; cabinet affairs briefing on administration’s tax-simplification plan; Maureen visiting. Wednesday, May 15: woke up early; meeting on tax proposal, some progress made; met with trustees of Reagan Library and Museum regarding plans for buildings at Stanford University; commented, “I can’t get used to the idea that mil’s. of dollars are going to be spent to house my papers etc.”; met with Congressman Bill Dickinson (R-AL) about a plan to present Defense Department affairs to the public; greeted women’s NCAA basketball champions from Old Dominion; said farewell to reassigned military aide; received an award from Senior Citizens Council; met a Michigan county executive who changed to Republican Party; videotapings; went upstairs, noted, “Have to stay hidden—Nancy has some guests for tea.”]

  Thursday, May 16

  Bill Casey came in to explain about the Wash. Post story that broke this week about the March car bombing in Lebanon in March that killed so many people. The story was that the CIA had trained the bombers in anti-terrorist tactics & this was the result. CIA tried to tell them the story wasn’t true but the Post went ahead with it. Well it wasn’t true. […]

  Pres. Duarte of El Salvador came by—We had a good but short meeting. He’s totally supportive of what we’re doing in Nicaragua.

  [Lunch with Vice President Bush; met with four oil men with counterproposal on suggested changes in energy taxation.]

  An ec. policy meeting with the council. Much time spent on textiles & our protective quotas. We’re getting a lot of heat that we must do something to curb imports of textiles. Frankly they are crying wolf & they aren’t hurt that bad. They close a plant because it’s old & no longer profitable—then blame the closing on imports. There are 28,000 mills in the U.S.

  [Attended party reception and dinner, commented that it was the “biggest Repub. fund raiser in the history of the Party.”]

  Friday, May 17

  Met with Jack Kemp—he wants the top rate in our tax proposal to be 30% rather than 35. We’d have to eliminate some pretty major deductions to make up for the revenue loss.

  Then an NSPG meeting re Radio Marti. We’ve been ready with that station for some time. It is to broadcast to Cuba & finally bring some honest news to the Cuban people. Now some of Castros flunkies have gone public laughing at us because we haven’t gone on the air. Our problem has been that Cuba has the ability to join not only Radio Marti but radio & TV stations halfway across our nation. We need the ability to retaliate & knock his TV & Radio off the air. Chairman Addabbo in the Congress has refused to approve the funds for the needed equipment even though Congress passed the legislation that established Radio Marti. Monday is Cubas
freedom day. I’ve ordered us to start broadcasting on Monday May 20. If Castro retaliates we may have to shut down but make it temporary & demand that Congress move. After lunch I spoke to the Convention of Nat. Repub. Heritage Groups Council. I learned I was the 1st Pres. to even address their convention. They put 42 ethnic groups together to support Repubs. & me in the last election.

  I met with Sec. Shultz. He’s tired & wants to bow out before the summer is over. I told him I had never envisioned being here without him but didn’t have the heart to lean on him if he really wants to go. I’m afraid he really wants to go.

  Cong. Sam Hall—Dem. from Texas came by to say farewell. I’ve appointed him a judge in E. Texas.—Off to Camp David. We did a TV taping in the early evening—part of the NBC documentary airing in June.

  [Saturday, May 18: took a two-mile hike; taping for NBC documentary. Sunday, May 19: weather clear; returned to W.H.]

  Monday, May 20

  Cuban Freedom day & today Radio Marti went on the air. Castro responded immediately by canceling the immigration agreement by which we were returning to him the criminals & mental patients he dumped on us in the Mariel boatlift & he was sending us pol. prisoners he’s been holding. We’ll have to wait & see if he […] that mil. watt jammer he has which could knock out commercial radio & TV in half our country.

  [Launched program for summer jobs for teenagers; received mixed news in economic briefing; met with three congressmen with plan for better public relations in explaining administration projects; attended farewell party for Mike Deaver, leaving to work in private sector.]

  Tuesday, May 21

  Met with Repub. Leadership—House & Sen. I got a little ticked off & told them I was tired of foreign policy by a committee of 535. Our discussion was on the budget & aid to the Contras—I’m not sure we can’t get the latter since Ortega went to Moscow.

  Pres. (of Honduras) Suazo for a meeting & lunch in the W.H. It was a good meeting. They are not flinching from the threat of Nicaragua & they intend to help the Contras. I think we tightened the friendship.