Why Thatcher Likes Reagan: He Makes Her Laugh

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher today disclosed one of the secrets of her friendly relationship with President Reagan: He makes her laugh.

Thatcher made the comment during an interview by four reporters, ages 9 to 14, from the children’s newspaper Early Times.

Jessica Patterson, 9, from Belfast, said that when Thatcher was asked what made her laugh, “she said Ronald Reagan. She said he told her lots of ‘lovely, delightful’ stories. She said he had a really good sense of humor.”

Luke Salkeld, 12, from Plymouth, said he didn’t like Thatcher’s answer to his question on how to tackle unemployment.

“Her words of comfort were that there were jobs there to go out and get,” he said. “That wasn’t what I really wanted to hear. And she gave a lot of statistics which I didn’t really want.”