The Reagan Era Quotes

The Reagan Era Quotes

They Said It

"There have been times in this office when I've wondered how you could do this job if you hadn't been an actor."

- Ronald Reagan, 198850

"Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem."


- Ronald Reagan, First Inaugural Address, 198151

"They say that the United States has had its days in the sun, that our nation has passed its zenith. [...] My fellow citizens, I utterly reject that view."


- Ronald Reagan, 198052

"Honey, I forgot to duck."


- Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan, following his being shot in a 1981 assassination attempt

"The march of freedom and democracy [...] will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history."


- Ronald Reagan, addressing the British Parliament, 198253

"In spite of the wildly speculative and false stories of arms for hostages and alleged ransom payments, we did not—repeat, did not—trade weapons or anything else for hostages, nor will we."


- Ronald Reagan, denying the Iran-Contra Affair, November 198654

"A few months ago, I told the American people I did not trade arms for hostages. My heart and my best intentions still tell me that's true, but the facts and evidence tell me it is not."


- Ronald Reagan, admitting the Iran-Contra Affair, March 198755

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"


- Ronald Reagan, at the Berlin Wall, 198756

"I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead."


- Ronald Reagan, announcing his own Alzheimer's Disease, 199457