Ronald Reagan carried a gun with him at all times and stashed it in his briefcase whilst he was away on official business.
An American author has claimed that the former president never left the White House without a .38 caliber pistol by his side.
He even took it on Air Force One in case a disturbance broke out in mid-air said Brad Meltzer, who writes political thrillers.
… In an article in the New York Daily News, Meltzer said that on a tour of the Secret Service headquarters whilst researching his latest book, he came across the actual car door from the limousine where Reagan was shot.
Meltzer wrote: ‘It was an eerie keepsake for sure.
‘But not nearly as eerie as the next detail they told me. We were talking about Reagan and that day he was shot.
‘Then one of the agents offered this secret: When Reagan was President, he carried his own gun. I couldn’t believe it.
‘It’s true,’ they said. A .38. Reagan used to hide it in his briefcase and take it on Air Force One.’
Meltzer added: ‘Whatever you think of Reagan, you have to admit, he had a black belt in badassery’.
The claims are all the more extraordinary as most Presidents do not even carry any money on them and rely on aides to pay for things.
Meltzer said that he contacted former President George H.W. Bush who said he was ‘impressed’ with the idea that Reagan carried a gun as he had ‘no idea’ about it.
His son George W. Bush did not carry a wallet but did carry around the NYPD badge of George Howard, a first responder who was killed on 9/11.
President Obama is more likely to have his Blackberry in his pocket than anything else, Meltzer added.
It’s not really all that surprising when you think about it, to learn that one of the greatest presidents of our time was a gun-toting badass. And it’s likewise not surprising that Barack Obama, the wimpiest president we’ve ever had, relies only on his Blackberry while he likewise treats the Marines and Secret Service around him as little more than servants.