Nancy Reagan was a big influence of President Ronald Reagan becoming the conservative icon he is now seen as, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich told Fox News Channel on Sunday.
"She was a remarkable sidekick to Ronald Reagan. She supported him totally at every stage," Gingrich said as he discussed the former first lady on the day she died.
Nancy often subordinated her own desires, Gingrich said, noting that while the president loved spending time at their California ranch, she was not such a fine. Still, she did so in order for him to unwind, and she spent the whole time catching up by phone with her Hollywood friends.
"She also had a big impact, I think, on his conservatism because her father was a very active conservative," Gingrich said. Nancy inherited that conservatism, and had a big influence on Ronald Reagan even before he ran for office.
She and Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver made many decisions that shaped the Reagan administration and how the president operated," he said.
"Those who know her well know how magnificently she rose to the challenge of Alzheimer's and how much she did to try to make the president's last years comfortable," Gingrich said.
"As she once said to me, it was a tremendously terrible disease because the person you're looking at looked perfectly normal and yet you knew in their eyes they were slowly fading away."
Related Stories:
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.