Michael Reagan discusses the Use of His Family's Name During the Election.
LEMON: Governor Me Pence getting high marks for his performance in the vice presidential debate, but will that translate into more support for Donald Trump? Let's discuss now with Michael Reagan, the son of President Ronald Reagan and the author of "Lessons My Father Taught Me." Always a pleasure to have you on, sir. Thanks for coming.</s>MICHAEL REAGAN, "LESSONS MY FATHER TAUGHT ME" AUTHOR: Good to be with you.</s>LEMON: So, what did you think of last night's presidential debate? How did it compare to the Clinton-Trump debate?</s>REAGAN: I think it was the best debate we've seen so far. There's one coming up Sunday, but last night's debate had substance in it. I agree with many conservatives, many -- even liberals Mike Pence won the debate, because basically his demeanor. The calm, cool, collected demeanor that he, throughout the debate showed very well for him. Did it move anybody? No, it didn't move anybody at all to say now I'm going to vote for Donald Trump, or Kaine moved anybody to say now I'm going to vote for Hillary. They usually do not, but it was a nice debate.</s>LEMON: Yes. I mean, if you watch it, if any honest person watch the debate they could see who won regardless of your ideology. Does it bother you, though, that Mike Pence flat out denied many of the things that Donald Trump has said? Is that OK with you?</s>REAGAN: Well, I understand where he's coming from because in many of the things that Donald Trump has said, he can't defend them, so he's got to find a way around them, which do you in debates.</s>LEMON: And you do that by ignoring them, right?</s>REAGAN: That's why he may talks about pivoting and moving to another issue, another area that you can talk about because you can't defend many of the things that he said. He did a brilliant job at doing that where Donald Trump got caught every time in the debate he had with Hillary Clinton a week ago.</s>LEMON: You were fired up on Twitter on Sunday night. I have to read of them. You said, "No way do I or would I, or would my father support this garbage Trump on Clinton. I don't think she's loyal to Bill." And then the second one you said, "I'm glad my father is not alive to watch this. He would tell us to vote the down ticket to stop Hillary. My father would not support this kind of campaign if this is what the Republican Party wants. Leave us Reagans out. Nancy would vote for HRC." I mean, that's after Saturday night's rally where Donald Trump went way off script. Now that you've cooled down, do you still feel that same way?</s>REAGAN: Yes. I do feel in many ways the same way, Don. I'm offended when somebody uses my father's name, or wraps themselves in my father and then goes out and says the things that in fact, he says when he goes off script and somebody's got to stop and say wait a minute, that's just not right to do that at all. And when I said about Nancy voting for HRC, listen, Donald Trump hasn't done a whole lot for women during the last -- this campaign since he joined on June -- a year ago. And he's not doing anything now to bring women on board and to make fun of Hillary tripping into a car when she was ill with pneumonia is really off the page. And to make mention and infer that she would in fact, cheat or has cheated on Bill and then say who can blame her, really was. And I write about things of this nature in my book, "Lessons My Father Taught Me," that's one of the lessons my father taught me when we were talking about John F. Kennedy and the affairs that he was having, and I asked my father. It should -- Richard Nixon even talk about these things at all? Should the RNC show the pictures they have with John Kennedy going into hotel rooms with other women? He said no, that's not an issue for a campaign. The issue of the campaign is, are you qualified to be president of the United States, not that you're qualified to be a good husband or good wife.</s>LEMON: So, what would you have conservatives do? What would you have, you know, republicans do then because you're saying -- you're saying that Nancy Reagan would vote for Hillary. Would you -- would you tell republicans to vote for Hillary Clinton?</s>REAGAN: No, I would tell republicans to vote their conscience, vote who they want to vote for, just -- I'm trying to protect the Reagan legacy and who we.</s>LEMON: Got it.</s>REAGAN: And this family.</s>LEMON: Got it.</s>REAGAN: And this family's name's being dropped all over the place every single day and inferring that Ronald Reagan would support these things and Nancy Reagan with support these things. And I have to say no, they wouldn't support this kind of a campaign, not at all, not by the meaning of the campaign and the name-calling that is in fact going on. If you want to do it, do it in somebody else's name but certainly don't do it in Reagan name.</s>LEMON: Yes, the name of your father. So, listen, on Monday, the Trump campaign announced that it would be giving away a Reagan print to donors. How do you feel about Trump using your father's image to fund raise?</s>REAGAN: We're back-to-back. Let's use Ronald Reagan. We didn't gove up pictures of Abraham Lincoln during the 1980 campaign of my father. We gave out actually photographed pictures of my dad in the cowboy hat which was a terrific selling poster, if you will, to raise money. I would suggest to Trump, give out photographs of himself getting on his plane or in his plane. It's he who is running for the presidency of the United States, not my father, and that might be a great photo for people who are 60 and older who remember Ronald Reagan, but I would guess most of them already have a photo of my father.</s>LEMON: I'm not 60 and I remember Ronald Reagan. But let me -- listen...</s>REAGAN: Would you like a photo of my father? I'll send you.</s>LEMON: I will. Yes, please send me one. So, listen, this is what he wrote in his book. Donald Trump wrote in his book about your father, "The Art of the Deal" which was co-written about Tony Schwartz. There is s section about politician who are con people but don't deliver on the goods. He says "Ronald Reagan is another example. He's so smooth and so effective, a performer that he -- so smooth and so effective a performer that he completely won the American people. Only now, nearly seven years, are people beginning to question whether there's anything beneath that smile." He also took a full-page ad out critiquing your father's foreign policy, so why all the praise towards your dad now?</s>REAGAN: Yes, you tell me. Because he's the last man standing at this point in time and the republicans want to take back. I'd like to take back the White House but take it back, you know, in the right way, that's why I say with down ticket is very important to vote the down ticket if you want to protect yourself against Hillary and some of the choices that she'll make. I mean, he is a salesman. You think -- think of this way. What does a salesman do? He tells you what you think you want to hear at the moment to sell you the goods he's trying to sell you. And so you have to look and say, OK, who is Donald Trump? And I don't think we've found out any more than he's still that salesman that's out there. Hey, I would have loved for him to call me and say give me some insight after all you were around during many of the races your dad ran, you were there as an advisor to your father. Give me some insight. But everybody instead wants to just have my name and use the Reagan name instead of the Reagan, you know, information that we have to be able to share to help somebody get elected to anything, whether it's the House, the Senate or the presidency.</s>LEMON: So, what do you think he's selling?</s>REAGAN: He's trying -- he's trying to sell a bill of goods to get into the White House to become the president of the United States of America. But you don't do it by demeaning people. What bothers me -- and I've said this to you before, is it doesn't me what he says. I expect it from Donald Trump when you hear it for years. What bothers me is the applause he gets after he says it. When he demeans Hillary Clinton and says that you know she may be cheating on Bill and he gets a laughter and applause that bothers me. Who are these people in that room who think that's funny or in fact, want to applaud it and believe that it might be true? That should concern me and concern the Republican Party, then in fact, is this the direction we're going. If that's the direction the Republican Party is going, fine, but leave the Reagans out of it.</s>LEMON: Michael Reagan. Thank you, sir. I appreciate it.</s>REAGAN: Thank you.</s>LEMON: When we come right back, bad news for President Barack Obama, why a majority of Americans give the president a failing grade on race in our brand-new poll.