President George H.W. Bush remembered as 'uncommonly kind'

close

Video

President George H.W. Bush remembered as 'uncommonly kind'

Former chief political adviser Charlie Black pays tribute to his boss.

This is a rush transcript from "Justice with Judge Jeanine," December 1, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

JEANINE PIRRO, HOST: Hello welcome to "Justice." I'm Jeanine Pirro. Thanks for being with us on this somber night in America as we remember a President. Funeral plans for our 41st Commander-in-Chief have just been released. George Herbert Walker Bush will lie in state at the United States Capitol for a public viewing beginning Monday at 5:00 p.m. until Wednesday morning when a funeral service will be held at the National Cathedral in Washington at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

President and Mrs. Trump will be among the dignitaries in attendance. President Bush will then be moved back to Houston where he will briefly lie in repose before another funeral at St. Martin's Episcopal Church on Thursday. He will be laid to rest at his Presidential library in Dallas.

Tonight, we'll look back at the life and legacy of George Herbert Walker Bush. We will also keep an eye on any breaking news tonight as President Trump heads back from the G-20 Summit. I'll be joined by the late President Bush's former Chief of Staff, John Sununu, and the Reverend Franklin Graham, whose father had a very special relationship with the former President and a little later, country music legend George Strait who had his own personal relationship with Mr. Bush.

But first joining me now by phone, former chief political adviser to President George H.W. Bush, chief spokesman for the '92 campaign and chairman of the Prime Policy Group, Charlie Black. Charlie, thanks so much for joining me. You know, Charlie --

CHARLIE BLACK, FORMER CHIEF POLITICAL ADVISER TO PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH: Judge, it's my pleasure. It's my pleasure on this sad day.

PIRRO: Yes, indeed it is and throughout the hour, Charlie, we are going to talk the about President and his incredible accomplishments and his legacy. But you worked side by side with him when he was President and when he was running for a second term. Tell us something about him that no one knows.

BLACK: Well he was - some people know this, but he was an incredible man, a man of personal courage and political courage. He believed in public service for the sake of service, not just for political ego gratification. But the thing I would say is, he was uncommonly kind and courteous.

Now, I've worked with him for about five years closely, almost daily. Of all the people I ever worked with in politics, President Bush thanked me more for helping him out than all the others put together.

During his presidency, I did hundreds of TV interviews on his behalf. I defended his tax increase when he broke the tax pledge over and over on television and he would call me or when I saw him, he would say, "You've taken many bullets for me on this, and I have to thank you for it." And of course, I would say, "It's a privilege and an honor to work for you, Mr. President. You don't need to thank me." But he kept thanking me.

PIRRO: Well, he clearly was a gentleman, a refined man and an elegant man. But you seem to indicate when we talked a little earlier today that he wasn't a man who put his finger to the winds and tested for the political calculus or decided things based upon polls.

BLACK: No, he had the - he was almost a political junky in terms of his interest in polls and politics. He had in his private office, in the White House residence, he had four televisions. There are in those days, we had just four networks, and he would watch all of them at once. He was interested in politics. He liked it, but he saw the job of being President as distinct from politics. You were supposed to do what you thought was right. You were supposed to work across party lines and be civil about it.

But you know, Judge, two of his best friend in the world were Democrats -- Lud Ashley from Ohio and Sonny Montgomery from Mississippi. These were Congressmen he served with in the '60s, 20 years before he was President. And he kept it that way. He has many friend on the Democratic side than the Republicans.

PIRRO: And indeed, it was his friends, Charlie on the Democratic side who pushed him to go back on his promise. You were there during the calculation as it related to the "read my lips no more taxes," tell us about what happened on the inside there.

BLACK: Well, the President was very concern about the Federal deficit, which you know, if you look at it today, gosh, it's 20 times as high. But he felt the economy was in danger of slowing down because of the size of the deficit. Of course the economy did slowdown in 991 and 1992 and so he felt we needed to cut the deficit, but the Congress was controlled by the Democrats, both Houses.

So any budget arrangement had to be a compromise. It had to be a deal. They insisted on a tax increase. He eventually made a deal that - and Governor Sununu when he's on later can give you more details than I can. He was there the whole time, but $3.00 in spending cuts for every dollar of tax increase. Now, the President knew he had pledged not to increase taxes, but he thought this was the right thing to do for the country.

He asked me about it, and I said, as a political adviser and I said, "Yes, it will hurt you politically. If you break that pledge, it will hurt you politically." And he said, "Was there any way I could win?" And I said, "Well, if the economy gets really good, then people might be able to overlook it or willing to overlook it. But it's probably going to hurt your reelection."

He did it anyhow because he thought it was the right thing for the country.

PIRRO: And when he did do it, he realized the risk that was associated with going forward with a deal with the Democrats and going back on his promise. He understood it?

BLACK: He understood it and he understood that it might well cost him his reelection.

PIRRO: All right, let's talk about him and his interest in politics. His kids were interested in politics. Obviously, two of them running for governor in the same year -- one in Florida and one in Texas -- how did he and Barbara handle the politics of their children as opposed to the politics of their own?'

BLACK: They were always very proud of all their children. And especially those who entered into politics, George W. and Jeb. When they both ran for governor in the same year, I mean, they were keeping up with the braces and details and talking to their sons on a regular basis. And the interesting thing was as we approached Election Day in 1994, it looked like George, President Bush 43 had a better chance to be elected governor of Texas than Jeb did to become governor of Florida. He was behind in the polls. Even though the Bushes were in Houston, they were prepared to be in Austin with George W. Bush on Election Night, they ended up getting on a private plane at the last minute and flying to Florida to be with Jeb. And of course what happened is Jeb lost and George won. But that's how much they cared about their sons.

PIRRO: Well, then in this - in the last few seconds, what do you think the President will be most of remembered for, Charlie?

BLACK: He should be and I hope he's most remembered for his masterful diplomacy and foreign policy expertise. Ronald Reagan won the Cold War, but finishing the Cold War and cleaning it up and leading a unified Europe and a cooperative Soviet Union took a lot of hard work, and we had the right person in there because President Bush 41 had all the experience and relationships around the world to pull that off. That plus winning the Gulf War and pulling out of the Gulf War once the mission of freeing Kuwait was accomplished. Those are the things he should most be remembered for, for his expertise in world affairs.

PIRRO: All right, Charlie Black, thanks so much for being with us tonight.

BLACK: Thank you, Judge.

PIRRO: All right, and joining me now, former New Hampshire Governor John Sununu who served as Chief of Staff for late President Bush. All right, good evening, Governor.

JOHN SUNUNU, FORMER NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNOR: Good evening, Judge.

PIRRO: I know that you are personally very sorrowful tonight. And I just want to find a little bit out about the President and the fact that, you know, we all know he was a man that excelled at everything. He excelled at sports. He excelled in education. I mean, he was accepted at Yale. He excelled at patriotism at the age of 18. He signed up to go into the - I believe into the Navy. He had 58 combat missions. One was his plane was hit and he ends up being picked up in the Pacific by a submarine. This man is a hero with accolades that we don't often hear about.

SUNUNU: Well, he was a great man. He was an easy person to be a friend with and he was always a lot of fun, even in the toughest times we had, we always found a few moments to have a good laugh.

PIRRO: And he, in addition to having a sense of humor, he was a man who was liked by everyone and was very much a diplomat. I mean, tell us about the man that you call the quiet man.

SUNUNU: Well, he had a style which was not pushy. A style which was - had a great component of listening to it. He had developed relationships over the years, but he also had this great capacity to put himself in the shoes of the person he was trying to deal with. He put himself in Gorbachev's shoes when he was trying to work out the collapse of the Soviet Union and he nursed it along magnificently, not pushing but not too hard, but pushing fast enough to get things done. He put himself in the shoes of his opponents when he was trying to do the budged deal and certainly was a man who understood that there was a lot of value in getting agreements that were win-win.

PIRRO: And you know, the fact that he very often had an opposing party in the legislative branch with as many as 260 Democrats to 275 Republicans in the House, 55 of a --

SUNUNU: Judge, not often, always. Always.

PIRRO: Right, the whole term and then he was able to get incredible, you know, very - legislation that will be a part of his legacy, including the American with Disabilities Act.

SUNUNU: I said it earlier today, he passed more domestic legislation of import than any President except Lyndon Johnson or Franklin Roosevelt. It was the budget agreement which produced the only surplus as we've had in decades even though Bill Clinton like to take credit for him, the five-year budget agreement produced those. He had the Clean Air Bill, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Civil Rights Bill, the legislation that established energy policy that opened up the path to energy independence, the crime bill. We can go on and on and on.

PIRRO: It is incredible, and you know, when you talk about the passage of all of this legislation, you realize that this was a man with military accomplishments and he apparently likened his political - the diplomacy to a mission. He said, I'm a man who sees life in terms of missions. Missions defined, and missions completed. And I guess that philosophy carried him through not just the war, but through his political life as well.

SUNUNU: Well, it is and he had the capacity to understand just how much had to be done and what kind of a face to put on. It was reflected in his campaigns. It was reflected in his dealing with Congress on these various issues.

You think about this, it was the one-term presidency. So you add up all the things he did in foreign policy, all the things he did in domestic policy and recognize that these were all going on simultaneously. We were doing all of this every day. This President was smart enough to handle these details to be able to work with folks on a one-on-one basis when it was required and as I said earlier, smart enough to take a little time out through the whole process and join us in a few laughs.

PIRRO: Well, and you know, there is also much talk about the fact he loves sports. He loved football and we're going to talk about that. We've got people he played golf with, the country music he loved. And he was a man who was able to do it all, and also have a fabulous family that he spent time with and reared in a very - not just religious, but in a very elegant and sophisticated and, you know, patriotic way.

SUNUNU: Judge, you talk about his love of sports. He was captain of the Yale baseball team and there is really an iconic photo out there, people can find it online of George H.W. Bush in his baseball uniform as captain of the team with Babe Ruth about six months before Babe Ruth died, accepting from Babe Ruth the memoirs - Babe Ruth's memoirs for the Yale library.

It's just an amazing photo of these two iconic figures, one from baseball and one from eventually American politics and to get the two of them on the same occasion talking to each other has always been one of my great historical coincidences.

PIRRO: All right, Governor John Sununu, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on the President and we know that your heart is filled with sorrow. Thanks so much.

SUNUNU: Thanks, Judge.

PIRRO: Thank you and memories of President Bush from the Reverend Franklin Graham and country music star, George Strait still ahead tonight. But next, a fascinating story you likely haven't heard from George Bush's days as Vice President. John Solomon spent some time with Mr. Bush and shares this amazing with you next. Stay with us. You're going to like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are Americans. Part of something larger than ourselves. For two centuries, we have done the hard work of freedom. And tonight, we lead the world in facing down a threat to decency and humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PIRRO: A country in mourning tonight as we remember President George H.W. Bush, his legacy and his many heroic acts as a true patriot. My next guest has quite the story to tell about the President's incredible bravery. Award-winning investigative journalist John Solomon joins me now. Now, John, you spent a day with the former President, several days as I understand it, and were able to discuss a situation that was classified for decades.

It was 1983. H.W. Bush was then President Ronald Reagan's Vice President when Reagan was fighting communism in Central America, specifically supporting El Salvador's military. Reagan needed someone to go into the jungles of El Salvador and warn the out of control commanders of the Salvadoran military to end their death squads which in some cases included even Catholic nuns. Tell us what happened.

JOHN SOLOMON, AWARD-WINNING INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: It's an extraordinary story. Most extraordinary, no one in America knew that it happened. It was a secret mission. They set up a cover trip where the Vice President would go to Argentina, do some state business there and then he disappears from Argentina on a Blackhawk helicopter, a very small team. It's Oliver North, Tony Bennedy (ph), his long-time body man and advance man, and a couple of Secret Service agents and they fly in on a Blackhawk helicopter into the jungles of El Salvador.

And it's George Bush's mission to go tell those commanders, you are going to stop killing civilians, you are going to get your act together. You're going to allow a democratic election or President Reagan is going to cut you off. And he delivered. It's an extraordinary story that it's about a 12-hour drama that if you wrote it for a script for a movie, it would probably be a great box office hit.

PIRRO: Now, I understand that at some point, there was a - somewhat of a showdown between the El Salvadorans and the Secret Service.

SOLOMON: Yes, I think everybody going into the trip knew that this would be a high-risk trip. The night before the small team that was going couldn't sleep. So Vice President Bush decided to pick up their spirits and so he started an impromptu game of poker to keep everybody's nerves down. He was calm as could be. Oli North said, he took him to the cleaners that night playing poker, but it kept everybody in a great spirit and so they come in the next morning. They are going to a Presidential villa that just two weeks earlier had been the site of a slaughter where civilians had been slaughtered.

President Reagan and Vice President Bush had picked this location specifically to send a message, we are come right to the place where you committed these crimes and we're going to deliver this message. So they get to this Presidential villa. They did a quick paint job to get all the blood and bullet holes out of there.

The Vice President is meeting with the President of El Salvador first and in walk a bunch of these soldiers and they've got all of their AK-47s and semi-automatic weapons and of course, the Secret Service is very concerned. It's about five to one, there are five soldiers for every Secret Service agent in this thing. Vice President Bush comes out and says, "Guys, can you keep it down? I am trying to finish this meeting." He kind of diffuses the situation. The soldiers eventually put their weapons down and he has a very brief meeting. Everybody who witnessed it said it was absolutely extraordinary.

He gets the military leaders assembled around a table and he looks at them and says, "My message is simple. You guys are going to stop this," and first he slammed his hand on the table. Startles all the soldiers and he said, "I am going to be serious. You are going to stop all of this activity. You are going to allow an election. And if you don't, President Reagan is going to cut you off and you know what that will mean for this war." And out the door he walked and on to the Blackhawk helicopter he went and he left with the soldiers still absorbing that message. It's a really great story.

PIRRO: You know, John, the amazing part of it is, here is this Yale graduate who is a combination of brilliance - and by the way, he graduated from Yale in two and a half years while he was on the baseball team, and he was the head of the baseball team, and then he's telling these people in the jungle, you do it my way or it's not going to work out for you. He was an incredible man. But he didn't have all that bravado about him.

SOLOMON: Not at all. One of the things I - first I'll tell you just how risky this mission was. The helicopter pilot that actually brought him in that day two weeks later was shot and killed on a secret mission in El Salvador. So that's how dangerous the skies were at that time and it's just remarkable to think back.

But he's a very under spoken man. When I went to see him in 2010, he's a funny, self-deprecating man. But he didn't want to talk anything about himself. He wanted to talk about the state of the world and you really got to see his intellect then.

He said three things to me I will never forget. The first is, he was worried about the state of politics. He said, "When I was in politics you could be opponents during the day and friend at night. And today opponent means enemies and I worry about that in America."

The second thing he was concerned about was just the general vitriol in the country. People seem to think only about themselves and not about the country at large, America second, me first. He was worried about that.

And the third thing he said to me which I often got a chuckle about was, in this world we live in today, we have no strategic. There is no Bush doctrine anymore. We just worry about the next 10 minutes of life. I worry about that. We ought to have a longer lens for America. I'll remember those comments.

PIRRO: John Solomon. Thank you so much for being with us.

SOLOMON: My pleasure, Judge.

PIRRO: All right. We know what he was like in the White House and we know about his character, but what was President Bush like on the golf course. A man who lit the links with the former Commander-in-Chief hundreds of times shares some of his favorite stories. With me and next, the Reverend Billy Graham had a relationship with several Presidents, but what was special about his friendship with President Bush, the Reverend Franklin Graham joins me live next with his recollections.

ROBERT GRAY, CORRESPONDENT, FOX NEWS: Live from "America's News Headquarters," I'm Robert Gray. Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger has been indicted for murder nearly three months after fatally shooting 26- year-old Botham Jean inside his own apartment. Guyger says she entered Jean's apartment thinking it was her own and opened fire when she saw him in the darkness. Originally charged with manslaughter, the grand jury upgraded the charge to murder on Friday. Guyger faces life in prison if convicted.

Friday's 7.0 earthquake in Alaska causing minimal damage to buildings in Anchorage despite being just miles from the quake's center. Experts say this is thanks to stringent building standards in the state which sees more large quakes than the rest of the country combined. But roads in the area did not fare so well, nor did the Alaska railroad which has shut down all operations. I'm Robert Gray, now back to the judge.

PIRRO: Welcome back to our continued special coverage here on "Justice" remembering President George H.W. Bush. Spiritual guidance and faith are key to every President. One of H. W. Bush's long-time confidante was the one and only Reverend Billy Graham. His son, Reverend Franklin Graham joins me now to talk about the special relationship the President and his dad shared and some of his personal memories of the late President.

Good evening, Reverend. Thank you for being with us this evening.

FRANKLIN GRAHAM, CHRISTIAN EVANGELIST AND MISSIONARY: Thank you.

PIRRO: All right, Reverend, can you explain how it was that Bushes got to know the Grahams? Where did it start?

GRAHAM: Well, my father first met Mr. Bush, this would be the father George H. Bush in Washington at a couple of meetings where they shook hands and didn't really know him. But he was playing golf in Florida, I believe it was at Hobe Sound and Mrs. Bush, Dorothy Walker Bush heard that my father was there and asked if he would come by the cottage, she wanted to meet him. So my father went by and they met. She was a devout woman. She loved God. She knew the scriptures. She asked some questions from my father and so as a result of that meeting, she invited him back on other occasions and he got to know George H. and the rest of the family and they became very close friends after that.

PIRRO: Well, what you're saying is that George H.W. Bush, Bush 41's mother reached out to your father, is that correct?

GRAHAM: That's correct, that's how it all started.

PIRRO: Okay, and after that then, a relationship developed. And I understand that they spent a great deal of time together, your father and President Bush.

GRAHAM: They did. My father liked the former President very much. They became close friends. They spent not only time together when he was in China as the Ambassador. He knew him of course as the CIA director and when he became Vice President, they spent a lot of time together during those years.

But the President was a very devout believer. He was Episcopalian, he was very quiet about his faith. He didn't talk about it. He didn't wear it on his sleeve. But he had a very deep faith and he and my father spent many hours not only discussing theological issues, doctrine, but also having prayer together. And so my father appreciated the President very much and of course, they became close friends, and that friendship stayed right up to when my father passed away earlier this year.

PIRRO: How did the President's faith or his religion direct his politics?

GRAHAM: That's an easy question to answer. First of all, he had Christ- like character. He was humble, he was faithful, he was a man who was gentle, and he was a man of compassion. All of these are Christ-like characteristics. That was his faith. Not only did he have the faith, but he lived out his faith. And he carried that not only through his presidency but after he left the presidency.

He used his voice as a former President, teamed up with Bill Clinton who had taken the last four years away from him, and they became friends. They went out and began to help people, especially in Haiti where I had done a lot of work. They went down there to try to draw attention and raise money for the Haitian people after that devastating earthquake.

And then, the same thing when the hurricane came into South Texas. President Clinton came down and spent time with President Bush and they toured the devastated areas, raising money and trying to get awareness. But he had great compassion for people but he was a very humble man. And the Lord Jesus Christ was very humble.

PIRRO: And last question - yes, indeed, and the last question, they also spent time together in Kennebunkport. Very quickly before we go, how would you describe President H.W. Bush as it related to his ability to do a lot of sports things?

GRAHAM: Well, first of all, he was - my father I think expressed it this way, he was on steroids. He got up early in the morning and he would want to take a swim. Then he would want to play tennis. Then we want to play golf, then he would want to go fish. My father said you needed a vacation after a vacation with George H. Bush.

PIRRO: All right, Reverend Franklin Graham, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with us tonight.

FRANKLIN: Thank you.

PIRRO: All right, and here now to talk more about President H.W. Bush's legacy and his personal memories of this great man. Former Deputy Assistant to President George H.W. Bush and adviser to the Bush-Cheney campaign, Brad Blakeman. Good evening, Brad, it's good to have you here.

BRAD BLAKEMAN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH: Good evening, Judge.

PIRRO: You know, the President wrote your letter of recommendation for law school. I want to talk about that in a moment. But first, let's talk about the President on the world stage. Give us a sense of what it was like working with him.

BLAKEMAN: He did his homework. He was focused. He was principled. There was a method to everything he did. He inspired people. I remember going to communist countries with him as Vice President instituting the Reagan doctrine, getting the wall to come down in 1989. Now, he's the President, and then seeing what was left with Reagan with the wall coming down was not the finish of the job.

Now he had to buck up and create these free states and he didn't turn his back on Eastern Europe. He helped them. He worked with them and now today, we have free countries like Poland and the Czech Republic who are great friend of the United States. This guy was a statesman beyond. He was central casting for somebody who understood the world. He saw the world as it was, not the world he wished it to be.

PIRRO: And the amazing part is, the man was a congressman, he was an ambassador, he was the head of the CIA, a Vice President, the President - and you know, a military hero. There were so many parts to this man. But let's talk about his writing you a letter of recommendation to law school. How did that come about? How old were you when you met him?

BLAKEMAN: When I first started working for then Ambassador Bush who was running for President and then became Ronald Reagan's Vice Presidential nominee, I was 21 years old. I was out of college. I volunteered on the campaign.

And during the course of him being Vice President, we traveled all over the world. And we're at a fundraiser in Florida. And all the fundraising people had left. He was going to remain for dinner and he said, "Everybody come. You're coming in and eating with us." And I sat down next to the Vice President. He went around the table and questioned each member of the staff. "What's in your future? What do you want to do with yourself?"

And he came to me and I said, "Mr. Vice President, I intend to go to law school." He goes, "When you do, I'm going to write you a letter of recommendation." And he did and then attached to the letter of recommendation was a note and it says, "I hope this doesn't hurt your chances." And that's the type of guy he was. He followed through. He cared about people and he did what he said he was going to do, and I got in.

PIRRO: And you got in.

BLAKEMAN: Yes.

PIRRO: And then you ended up working with him even more.

BLAKEMAN: Absolutely, and then the son. I worked for the son, two years in his campaign, W 37 days in the recount and three years as a member of his White House senior staff.

PIRRO: All right, and your final thoughts before we close this segment, Brad?

BLAKEMAN: He was the real deal. What you saw behind the camera is what you saw when nobody was looking. This guy was compassionate, he was real, and he cared about people.

PIRRO: Yes, very similar to the Reverend Franklin Graham. Brad Blakeman, thanks so much for being with us this evening.

BLAKEMAN: Thanks, Judge.

PIRRO: All right, President Bush, the country music fan. I'm joined live next by the legendary George Strait with a personal recollection about the man he knew well, next.

Former President George H.W. Bush was a country music fan. And he called our next guest a friend. Legendary country artist George Strait joins me now to share his memories of the late President. George, good evening and welcome to "Justice." We are thrilled, I, in particular as a country music fan are thrilled to have you on this evening. Thanks for being with us.

GEORGE STRAIT, AMERICAN SINGER: Thank you, Judge.

PIRRO: All right, good. Let's talk about when you first met President George Herbert Walker Bush.

STRAIT: Well, I met him actually at the White House in 1989. He invited me up there to give me the American Success Award which I had no idea what it was. I never heard of it before. But that was something to get to go to the White House.

PIRRO: So you went.

STRAIT: It was exciting.

PIRRO: Okay, but apparently, George, you struck up a friendship with the President, he took a liking to you. And you two ended up spending time together. How did that happen and where did you two connect?

STRAIT: Well, after that time in 1989, he picked me out at the end of the ceremony, there were several of us that he invited, I think. And he had somebody get my wife and I and my son and took us into the Oval Office and he what's funny was first he asked my son, he said, "Don't you need an excuse for being out of school," and wrote him one.

PIRRO: He did?

STRAIT: And then he showed me a magazine, a country music magazine and my picture was on it and told me that he was a big country music fan.

PIRRO: And indeed he was. And in fact, in 2002, I believe it was in March, the live concert at the Houston Astrodome. You sang there before they closed it. And you again received an award from President Bush. I have it on my album, I listen to it all the time and he talks about you being a great American.

STRAIT: Well, you know what? He was the great American. And it's such an honor for me for him to be there that night. You know, he came out and brought me on stage, and talked to the folks, and actually came on the bus before the show. And it was just an amazing night all together.

PIRRO: Well, and apparently after that, the two of you continued to spend time together. And I believe it was at Camp David. His last weekend at Camp David in January of 1993 that you went to spend the weekend with him. Tell us what that was like.

STRAIT: I tell you, Judge, he called me one morning, really early in the morning and I had just met him. I didn't give him my phone number. But of course he's President, he calls me and wakes me up and invites us to Camp David.

I can't hardly believe it, but anyway, my wife and I and my son went and I took three band members and we did a little show for them one night. And so we were going to leave the next morning, that's our plan. He asked me, "Are you going to church with us Sunday morning?" Which was, this was Saturday night. I said, "Well, Mr. President, we kind of want to get back early so we can watch the Cowboys and the 49ers play for the NFC championship game." He said, "Why don't you stay here and watch it with us." I said, "Okay." So we stayed, went to church, and had lunch and watched the football game. Spent the night that night and let me back up a second because the Cowboys won that game. And he says, well, "Let's call Jimmy Johnson," and I said, "Okay."

So, you know, he picks up that red phone and gets Jimmy Johnson on the phone and in less than two minutes, Jimmy Johnson called back. And so President Bush told him congratulations and all of that, and he said, you know, I've have another George that likes to talk to you, so I got to talk to him.

The next day, Judge, he gave a speech to the troops. That was his last weekend at Camp David, and he gave a speech to the troops there in a big hangar, and it was an amazing speech and the troops loved him. They loved him there was not a dry eye in that house when it was over. It was just an amazing time.

PIRRO: George Strait. Thank you, George Strait, thank you for being with us and thank you for providing the music that he loved.

STRAIT: Thank you, Judge.

PIRRO: All right, and President Bush on the links. His long-time golfing buddy shares some great stories in just a moment.

President George H.W. Bush had a passion for many things in life and one of his favorite ways to relax, golf. My next guest had a very special relationship with the late President and got to see a side of him many did not. He played, listen to this, hundreds of rounds of you guessed it? Golf with him. And formed quite the friendship.

Ken Raynor joins me now by phone. Good evening, Ken.

KEN RAYNOR, HEAD GOLF PROFESSIONAL AT CAPE ARUNDEL GOLF COURSE AND CORAL CREEK CLUB: Great to be with you, thank you, Judge.

PIRRO: Well, it's great to have you on. You know, to have the ability to play hundreds of rounds of golf with the President of the United States, I have got to ask you a few questions. Did he ever take a mulligan?

RAYNOR: Only off the first tee and he used to instill the no last rule. If you hit a bad shot the first try. He made the rounds and enjoyed the course. Everybody was balled as he just loved being out there with his fellow players and members and the camaraderie on the golf course brought to him.

PIRRO: And you know what, Ken, there was just a full screen up, I believe of you, the President and Jack Nicklaus. That's Jack Nicklaus in the middle there. The three of you. What was it like? You are a golf pro, right, Ken? Arnold Palmer, I'm sorry that's --

RAYNOR: I was a PGA member and we enjoyed a lot of rounds of golfing. He and Arnold Palmer and Phil Nicholson and (inaudible) Davis Love and so on and so forth, so we are blessed that he loved the game as much as he did and we got to enjoy it so much together.

PIRRO: All right, and did he ever throw a club? Did he ever get upset with his game?

RAYNOR: He'd get upset with a game because golf is a game of love and hate relationship. We love our good shots and hate our bad shots. He didn't like particularly chipping and putting, but free putting, it used to just drive him crazy, but he loved being out there with his family and his friends.

PIRRO: All right, and fishing. I understand you used to fish with him as well.

RAYNOR: Well, people on the golf club at the Kennebunkport which is where I was a golf professional is along the side of a river. We used to spend some time in there. And it was really his getaway like getting away from the powers of the office and the pressures of the office.

And so, on the golf course or on the river, we used to spend time there. Then after the President received his Labrador, we would go get salmon fish for 10 straight years, so there were two passions for two people that loved the outdoors.

PIRRO: You know, we just had Reverend Franklin Graham on who talked about the fact that his father would vacation with the President and the President would start by swimming then tennis and golf and fishing and it just never ended, so he apparently had a lot of energy, the President, yes?

RAYNOR: He truly did as all his family does. And don't forget the power walking on the beach that we used to do in the winter when he couldn't golf or go fishing. So he was a go getter all the time and lived his life the same way.

PIRRO: Lastly, I understand that when he became President, he appointed you to a special position with a special title. Do you want to share that with my viewers?

RAYNOR: Well, a lot of people in the Secret Service used to also wonder whether sometimes whether that I would be appointed to any office in the Cabinet.

PIRRO: And you got a title of? The secretary of swing?

RAYNOR: Secretary of swing, which just goes to show what a good humor he had. We had lots of jokes and we had good times together, it was great.

PIRRO: All right, thank you, Ken Raynor, the secretary of swing. All right, and a tribute to President Bush from perhaps his most of unlikely friend is next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA CARVEY, AMERICAN COMEDIAN: You know, I want to tell you, I've been feeling good about the Republican Party. Been consulting with some -- thank you. I'm in enemy territory here. They consult me with some Republican posters, it looks good. It looks good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PIRRO: Finally, tonight, as we begin a week of mourning for our 41st President, a moving tribute to George H.W. Bush from the man who became famous making fun of him.

Comedian Dana Carvey whose impression of Bush was one of "Saturday Night Live's" most famous is reacting to his death tonight. Years ago, President Bush actually invited Carvey to the White House to do his famous impression and the two stayed in touch over the years.

And tonight, the man Carvey is best known for impersonating, he says quote, "It was an honor and a privilege to know and spend time with George H.W. Bush for over 25 years, when I think of those times, what I remember most is how hard we would laugh. I will my friend." We all will. Thanks for watching. I'm Jeanine Pirro advocating for truth, justice and the American way. See you next Saturday.

Content and Programming Copyright 2018 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2018 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.