A Time to Heal: Gerald Ford's America

A twenty minute film about the life and times of President Gerald R. Ford. This film is shown daily at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.

[@lakerboy16]

One of the kindest souls. Pure heart, no personal agenda. One of the most unsung and underrated presidents this country has ever seen.

[@stewartcameron7742]

Hi

[@Nmax]

Yes. We need a Gerald Ford today .

[@Kingof69ner]

And he also helped cover up Kennedy's murder

[@jkdbuck7670]

Ford was my dad's favorite president. When I asked him why, he explained that Ford was put in charge at such a tumultuous moment in our history, caught a lot of crap for pardoning Nixon which in 20/20 hindsight was needed for the country to move on....he took charge when NOBODY could have succeeded. So I watch these videos of him and he really seemed like a great guy.

[@Nmax]

Thank you President Ford. You carried the nation forward in a difficult time and did a splendid job.

[@onehumanhistory]

My last job as a translator for the army was created by the treaty Gerald Ford signed with Brezhnev. THANKS FOR THE JOB, JERRY!!!!

[@arnoldklett-bader828]

It was his decency and they way he took up the responsibilities of the office. He had the stature to be President.

[@mcgannahanskyjellyfetti1663]

Nobody really gave him a chance. It seemed that he was intended to be just the fall guy...

[@williamwingo8952]

@@mcgannahanskyjellyfetti1663 ...and he certainly was good at falling down.

[@tonyjohansson7567]

We can learn so much from president Ford. His way of leadership would be needed also in 2021.

[@ozmond]

I didn’t vote for Biden in the primary, but I voted for him in the general, and Ford reminds me of Biden.

[@omega-ap5928]

Have you guys seen what happened yesterday a call which was worst than the water gate it was such a sad day for morden history!!🥺

[@mrdumbboy3362]

@@ozmond Ford is tremendously better than Biden.

[@romo2674]

@@mrdumbboy3362 I see your colours in the adverbs

[@nyceyes]

What?! Comparing Ford to Biden?! Criminal and America destroying Biden can't carry water to Ford, who was a good man. Please stop watching MSM and read more.

[@MrArmandoBurgos]

Both Ford and Carter are underrated, but these men carried on the weight of an institutional crisis and settled the foundations for the stability of the nation in the 80s and 90s.

[@2H2521]

@MrArmandoBurgos Carter was a DISASTROUS president, far from underrated!

[@derkommissar4986]

I agree, people put the attention to Reagan, but Ford and Carter did give their best and paved the way for a flourishing America

[@robertortiz-wilson1588]

​@derkommissar4986 huh? What did they do specifically?

[@renealexander2703]

@@derkommissar4986 , actually Carter gets a lot of credit. But Ford does seem to be underrated.

[@renealexander2703]

@@derkommissar4986 , Reagan is bashed and not given any credit. Many people don't give Reagan any credit.

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

One of the finest true Americans you will ever witness in politics. 🇺🇸

[@angelcastaneda529]

Србомбоница, you say that. But can you find proof? Anything to support your claim?

[@TheGreyAC]

AMEN

[@angelcastaneda529]

@@jetstream6389, proof of what?

[@Nmax]

💯 agree President Ford the finest true American. A great man

[@briteness]

Although he might be seen as a bit of a lightweight, Gerald Ford really was what the country needed at that time. For those of you old enough to remember the Bicentennial spirit of 1976, try to imagine what it would have been like if Nixon had still been president. For that matter, can you imagine any similar widespread American pride in any of the years since? In spite of the problems, those were good days.

[@simonovessimon4242]

+David Carpenter oh yes one of the men who covered up the true investigations in to the assassination of jfk..the warren commission--what a fine fellow he was,,a fuckwit goofball that tripped over his feet..and into presidency..,pardoned that other crook nixon..a useless person a true puppet--i do agree david ..they were good days..he took the secrets with him...

[@seanwebb605]

+David Carpenter The nation would have been stronger if Ford had allowed the justice department to do their job and let Nixon pay for his crimes. The man weakened the democracy.

[@simonovessimon4242]

+Sean Webb top comment

[@briteness]

Sean Webb I disagree. If we started convicting presidents for every impropriety where would we be? Surely there is not anybody who could ever be president without doing something some segment of the population would consider improper and criminal. I am not so much defending Nixon as saying that dragging the country through the mud endlessly would not in fact strengthen it. It would have been a bad precedent, and Ford, thankfully, avoided it. It might be the most important thing he did as president.

[@seanwebb605]

David Carpenter That is insane.

[@wosh253]

gerald ford was what america needed after watergate, he was a pretty chill president.

[@roc7880]

you mean cool not chill

[@charlest2858]

And it cost him re-election

[@roc7880]

@@charlest2858 the election not the re election. but it was worth it, he healed the country.

[@bradyfry8031]

If ford isn't remembered for anything else, he'll always be remembered for 2 very distinct unique things: being the only person to become vice president and president without being elected to either office and the pardon of nixon.

[@redjirachi1]

One of the nicest people to serve as president.

[@person3070]

yep

[@faysmith9885]

I am a Democrats, but having watched President Ford's video of his speaches, and all his accomplishments he seemed to be such a lovely man of good character. Our now president could learn something from him.

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

Gerald Ford was one of the worst war criminals in history. I wish it wasn't true, but it is. He enabled Indonesia to unleash a mass slaughter in East Timor to forcefully annex it, and slaughtered tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children with the armament Ford supplied to them. When he learned of Indonesia's ongoing war atrocities against civilians, he said and did nothing to stop it, and in fact covered it up so that Congress wouldn't learn about it. It was a completely pointless and mindless thing that Ford did, and had no purpose or benefit to US interests. It's detailed exhaustively on Wikipedia and other sources, and it's much more gruesome than what I described here. Ford seemed decent, but as I unfortunately discovered, he wasn't.

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

@A L , Then why did he and Kissinger make it a point to keep the sales of these jets and heavy armament to Indonesia a secret from Congress? They both have blood on their hands; especially Kissinger.

[@shaunhoyme3786]

how old are you when were u born?@@maskedmarvyl4774

[@shaunhoyme3786]

if u did not live thru it how do u know

[@shaunhoyme3786]

i am replying to masked marvel not fay smith who commented on fay smith post TO BE CLEAR

[@beachbum1523]

History has proven that Gerald Ford was absolutely the right person for the job at precisely the right moment. Even Ted Kennedy later agreed that Ford did the right thing in pardoning Nixon. Ford will be remembered as someone who healed a hurting nation.

[@williamwingo8952]

Actually, all he did was to transfer the press' hostility from Nixon to himself.

[@rshelton760]

I was a young kid but fortunate enough to get a brief handshake from Gerald Ford as a kid in Winston-Salem, Nc.

[@suearmstrong9597]

Dignity and Integrity. He made Americans feel SAFE AGAIN. One if America's GREATEST most HUMBLE PRESIDENTS. He was never elected into office. God put him in charge...... when AMERICA NEEDED HIM MOST. 🌿🕊 🥁🦅🇺🇸 🥁🦅🇺🇸 🥁🦅🇺🇸 🥁🦋🇺🇸

[@gennarojg3]

Gerald R. Ford, Jr. was an amazing man. Just like Harry S. Truman he was a common man who had very little in the beginning, but his riches were in his honesty. He healed our nation and restored American values during the Bicentennial of 1976, which I recall vividly. He should have been re-elected in his own right, but he was given a bad rap for the economy & his own decision to pardon Richard M. Nixon. He was a decent man and a good friend to my Uncle Joseph & Grandfather who knew him through their business dealings in the plastic industry. God bless his soul. Sincerely, Dr. Gennaro Giammarino, III .

[@gordongreene77]

He would have been a better President than Jimmy Carter, Camp David Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement notwithstanding.

[@thunderbird1921]

Today, Ford would get INTENSE backlash for the comments he made about "restoring traditional values" (and get called racially insensitive, sexist, etc.). The young so-called progressives especially want a "clean break" with America's heritage. We went from seeking to fix some flaws to trying to tear down everything.

[@frannyzooey11]

"I am indebted to no man." President Ford was did the right thing as opposed to the "in" thing. He swore to preserve, protect and defend the Constition of the United States, not\ to mess around with Richard Nixon. He was honest and had integrity. He was refreshing.

[@BullCraftMaxx]

Amen brother

[@simonovessimon4242]

+Jane Doe lied about jfk warren commission..a stool y ..puppet..a trip artist extraordinaire ..pardons the other crook nixon so he will keep his mouth shut..

[@gordongreene77]

You have an original and a superior sense of judgement.

[@stevenfrasher3780]

Gerald Ford really was the breath of fresh air America needed after the turmoil of Watergate; he and betty exuded decency, dignity and relatability in the White House. That's Vice President Nelson Rockefeller with the camera at 14:25, on July 4.

[@itssimple9657]

Say Gerald, do you like Nachos?

[@canalesworks1247]

Once upon a time that show was funny....

[@dalesajdak422]

D’oh!

[@ratedprogram6947]

"I think we're going to get along just fine"

[@WORLD8NSH5KNIGHT1]

Ford's British contemporary at the time - Prime Minister James Callaghan (in office 1976-1979) had similarities - both were regarded as decent, honest men, both had served in their respective Navies in WW2 and both are seen as sandwiched between political giants

[@exie4678]

Both people I think all should have respect for, if only for their conduct, decency, and approach to their office; even if Nixon and Carter overshadowed Ford, and Callaghan between Wilson and Thatcher.

[@Nmax]

This is a great biography. Learning more about a grand statesman is a treat.

[@Nmax]

Presisent Ford. A great a moral president. The right person at the right time in history.

[@manishverma7179]

special Ford legacy.

[@geoffreyfence9569]

As a Republican, I would much rather someone like Ford be leading our party again rather than the buffoons like Trump that we have now.

[@seanwebb605]

But the GOP never actually let him lead. He was placed into an instant lame duck status with a Democratic controlled congress. And Reagan instantly mounted a challenge for the next presidential election. The party never rallied around Ford. In fact Ford was a good party member who fell on his sword in a brokered deal intended to look legitimate. They should have simply allowed the justice department to conduct their investigations and allowed for the constitutionally prescribed line of succession to determine the replacements for both Agnew and Nixon. Not the back room political behaviour they saw the rise of Ford.

[@cigars8884]

Ford said there was no deal. But I agree they should have let Nixon rot in prison along with Agnew.

[@seanwebb605]

cigars888 I'm not saying that Ford was necessarily in on the fix. He wasn't up for membership in MENSA, but he must have realized that even a house minority leader wouldn't really want to become vice president. It is political suicide. Particularly under those circumstances.

[@katherinesparkes6860]

President Ford would be too far to the left to be a Democrat in the current political arena of the United States let alone a member of the Republican Party.

[@katherinesparkes6860]

LBJ said the Gerald Ford was dumb. I dont agree with that he went to Harvard Law School and graduated in the top third of his class. Ford was the only person in the history of American politics to become Vice President then President of the United States. While not being elected to either office.

[@ForeverBennett]

A very honourable man.

[@WORLD8NSH5KNIGHT1]

8:26 An important point that is often overlooked

[@bigal3940]

An impressive man!

[@jpsned]

I have his book, "A Time to Heal."

[@RADIUMGLASS]

He was cool. Ford moved across the street from the Simpson's.

[@Patrick3183]

That was Bush

[@jakobheidenreich5]

I like his belief in the third American century but it doesn’t look like america will be here in 2076

[@scottliberati5137]

Maybe not even here in 2026 (250th aniversary). It is poised to be part of the global, one-world genda. It could be Amerika (as in the movie of the same name).

[@Springbok314]

A great American.

[@aaronwilliams6989]

DEEP!!

[@nadershadani2854]

RIP president Ford

[@sthorner11]

Biden should take a lesson from Ford

[@WORLD8NSH5KNIGHT1]

Scott- there are some similarities

[@inferno0020]

Former President Ford reminds me of Biff Tannen

[@jackmcfakie7857]

The last truly humble man to take the top job.

[@person3070]

Carter?

[@mikejewpants4099]

You don't think Carter was humble?

[@DAVID-xb7ov]

@@mikejewpants4099 he is humble man.

[@williamwingo4740]

And he had a lot to be humble about.

[@Nmax]

President Ford had a great cabinet.

[@arunsundar7127]

Gerald Ford's early days looking like Jack Nicholson

[@wyatt9144]

Not being elected gives him an edge in my opinion. He had the chance to situate himself as someone EVERYONE can appeal to, not something anyone else can do.

[@jedijohank]

Ford was the greatest president ever no question

[@Semonyacob]

One of the best, not the best

[@gbcvn]

Ford was THE BEST! Never sought the office and was honest and decent. We should be so lucky to have another Ford!

[@seanwebb2614]

jedijohank Holy crap. You must be kidding.

[@BullCraftMaxx]

Ford did so much for this beautiful country one of a kind

[@seanwebb2614]

BullCraft Maxx Hardly.

[@blakebro1]

I live near Grand Rapids!

[@arthurgeorge2343]

I love Gerald ford

[@iamthenrone]

Cathy O Brian. Listen to her story.

[@ericeasterday5849]

Gerald Ford was born the same year my great grandfather was born!! Except, my great grandfather was a couple months older than him.

[@konradcomrade4845]

why didn' Gerald R. Ford revise one of Nixon's decisions on nuclear energy production? Especially to shut down the Oak-Ridge Lab's MSRE molten-salt (advanced, safe) reactor type (thorium fueled and less long-term radioactive residues). He could have included it into his urgent Address on National Energy Policy in 1975. No other politician obviously understood the promising technology of Alvin M. Weinberg's reactor development.

[@ror3420]

Nixon removed the Gold Standard and replaced it with Fiat Currency.

[@IntrepidTraveler1]

Ford predicted Biden and Harris.

[@fayeedwards6906]

He knew he would get a sweet deal no tell if he was honest

[@markwells1792]

A true American Statesman

[@andrewcarruthers5357]

Ford does sound like Homer Simpson.. I must say i was disappointed to read about Ford's behavior during The Warren Commission regarding The JFK assassination. Ford was allegedly reporting to the FBI about the commission's lines of inquiry. Also he was a friend of Nixon's which cannot be overstated...

[@corintomartins5823]

Boa tarde.

[@dantespears713]

The Simpson’s brought me here

[@dalesajdak422]

I’ve always really liked Gerald Ford, so the end of “Two Bad Neighbors” was one of my favorite moments in the Simpsons.

[@bradyfry8031]

Did anybody here in the comments section ever meet Ford?

[@qualityman1965]

The 70s were very tough years. Economic upheaval, oil crisis, cultural change coming faster than people can handle, and political trash from previous president did not help this man. They did not help his successor either.

[@williamwingo4740]

He kept practically all the Nixon cabinet, including Haig and Kissinger. That made it look as if his admin was just a continuation of Nixon's, and that he had no plans or programs of his own. Except the WIN buttons, of course....

[@jimmyjohnson6663]

100 ! 💯 ♥️

[@ajankowski2]

Gerald Ford was a remarkable man, IMO the last 'great' Republican. Like Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower, he truly understood the plight of the average working man in the United States. How else does a Republican get to spend 25 years as a Representative from a State as Blue as Michigan was during its heydays as very Unionized, very heavy in Manufacturing with all the Auto Industry that was there. I can vividly recall one of his big talking points during the 1976 Campaign. He wanted to reduce taxes (typical of Republicans) BUT in his case, he only wanted to reduce taxes on low and low to middle income households, not for millionaires. It's such a shame that the Nixon/Agnew messes overshadowed the whole country which convinced many that we needed an 'outsider' in the White House (as in Governor Carter). It would have been great to see what he could have accomplished had he been reelected.

[@lukeprimon1864]

He reminds me of homer Simpson

[@jimhanold9026]

Jesus, Luke! What you said can accurately be equated with the kind of waste material that bulls excrete!

[@dalesajdak422]

Say, Homer, do you like nachos?

[@lukeprimon1864]

Lol. I love that Simpson's episode

[@dalesajdak422]

Luke Primon Probably one of my favorites.

[@mylamolon7912]

Wow

[@kallekongo4820]

Ist das nicht der "vorzügliche" Menschenfreund, der Cathy O`Brian so menschlich gegenübergetreten ist ??

[@SRBOMBONICA86]

Yes it's him

[@winyguy]

Here what Gerald R. Ford said about Yogi Berra: - Gerald Ford was involved with a very special golf event in Vail, Colorado, for twenty years --- The Jerry Ford Invitational. Gerald Ford recall one year on the thirteenth hole of the Vail Golf Club, Yogi Berra pants split. In perhaps what was the greatest nonverbal "Yogi-ism," The crowd roared when they realized he actually had on Yogi Bear undershorts.

[@kallekongo4820]

Gerald Ford hat sich für MKUltra wunderbar eingesetzt und eigenen Einsatz gezeigt - fragt mal Cathy OBrien !!!

[@maxmariusxd4765]

Why pardoned Nixon? That was his fall.

[@thecawdsquad875]

No, he was correct.

[@larrywheeler9917]

How about the TRUTH? I hear thats very healing.

[@kallekongo4820]

Ein sehr guter Freund von Larry Flynt.

[@ajmanks]

So why didnt he get reelected

[@nurlatifahmohdnor8939]

Smokers?

[@shaunhoyme3786]

think of life as a football field republicans and democrats are the endzones most of us are somewhere between the 35 yard lines they need to remember this in the policies and speeches or beliefs they may have and remember us between the hashes!

[@mephistofaustus6631]

Ford was as right wing as they get and back in the 60s he and his believed in pro choice and it was rude and disrespectful to ask that to a president him and his wife were offended and that was in the 60s let that sink in.

[@thecawdsquad875]

What?

[@mastrblastr3010]

Ford was considered very solidly conservative in the 1960s, not quite Goldwater, but definitely on the Party's Right flank. He was also pro-choice, only pro-lowering taxes on the poor, pro-EPA, pro-Equal Rights Amendment, pro-detente and pro-union to a certain degree, coming as he did from Michigan.

[@nurlatifahmohdnor8939]

Page 28 pu-nah = tetramerista glabra

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

"A time to heal". Gerald Ford was a war criminal. In 1974, at the request of Indonesia, he armed the Indonesian army that wanted to forcefully annex East Timor after the Indonesian government falsely claimed that East Timor wanted to become a Communist regime. At Ford's direction, we gave attack jets and heavy armament to Indonesia, and they proceeded to slaughter thousands of civilians living in East Timor at random. Ford and Henry Kissinger (who brokered the deal secretly) stayed silent about the slaughter, even though they knew the Indonesian army was raping thousands of women and murdering them, along with their children, and Kissinger even orchestrated a "code of silence" to keep what was happening a secret and not leak to the press or to Congress what was happening. It was a grotesque war crime that Ford enabled to happen, and did nothing to intervene once the massacre began. Both Ford and Kissinger are war criminals with an enormous amount of blood on their hands, and should have been put on trial and imprisoned for life for what they actively enabled to happen, by arming the Indonesian army, not intervening in the ongoing massacre of civilians, and then covering up the gruesome genocide in East Timor. Yes: "A time to heal". What Ford did in Indonesia was absolutely pointless and mindless.

[@harsamc123]

Ur independent east timor is now one of the poorest country in the world after leaving indonesia

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

@@harsamc123 Yes, they should have allowed themselves to be systematically slaughtered until there was nothing left of them. That would have eliminated the entire "poorest country" thing. You missed your chance to be in Reagan's or Trump's Cabinet....

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

@@gordongreene77 , And you are lazy. Look up the gruesome history of Indonesia's attempted genocide of East Timor and Ford's enabling of it. Then tell me what part I am exaggerating. If anything, I have understated the sadistic behavior of Indonesian forces that massacred countless citizens of East Tumor, with the aid of heavy weaponry and jets supplied by Ford, who knew of the slaughter and did nothing to stop it.

[@Patrick3183]

Indonesians did that.

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

@@Patrick3183 , Which Gerald Ford and the disgusting toad Henry Kissinger supplied them heavy weapons for at the Indonesian government's request, to use on civilians. Ford and Kissinger knew this, and didn't care. Kissinger even warned a Republican Senator who knew what they were doing to "keep your mouth tightly shut" about their weapons sales to Indonesia.. They both have an enormous amount of blood on their hands.

[@susanford2388]

Just an aside. Gerald Ford was not elected but assumed the position due to the resignation of Nixon but he could have brought in a female VP & set the bar for the next election. How shortsighted of him & misogynistic. He may have won a his own election.

[@campingramen1841]

So you are saying that he is a misogynist just because he chose a competent man over others? Anyone with common sense will say YOU are being misandrous by saying that. The fact of the matter is that no gender is superior to the other, whether you like it or not. True, he would have set the precedent by choosing a woman VP but he didn't, and that isn't a misogynistic decision. It is simply A DECISION he made. That doesn't mean he is against women. Misogyny seems to have become a buzz word that totally unafflicted people use whenever a man makes a decision in regards to women that they view as wrong, whether or not it actually is. It is totally understandable for those who are actually faced with a problem relating to gender that has been inflicted by the opposite sex, but it isn't just a term people should fling around whenever they have a minor disagreement with something a person does.

[@susanford2388]

@@campingramen1841 I think you are quite blind & ignorant. RBG & Sandra Day O'connor were both subjected to misogyny after they graduated from law school & started searching for positions they were qualified for. Both had to take positions without a salary to prove their intellectual ability. Far too many women are subjected to fatuous questions when asked why they want to aspire to high positions. Questions men are never asked. Kamala Harris' becoming VP has been applauded just because she is a woman, no man has received that. in 1972 Margaret Thatcher was asked "Will there ever be a female Prime Minister". She said "Not in my lifetime". She served for 11.5 years. Angela Merkel for 16 years. Gerald Ford had a multitude of women he could have called upon to be his VP but he did not because he perhaps had never thought of the idea. Didn't want to upset hillbilly southerners. Who knows. Thatcher was already leader of the Tory party in 1975. She said "For a woman to be as good as a man she has to be better". If you are not female then you truly do not understand what a misogynistic world this can be. I lived in Greece for many years & for any woman to get into high positions they had to be related to some male even higher. No individual merits seemed to work. So get off your high horse & do some research of the hurdles women have had to overcome because of blind prejudice.

[@purplelionpoliticsandhisto5025]

He picked Nelson Rockefeller, a great American. He wasn't sexist, he merely choose the person he thought best fit for the job, and in that time, it was Nelson Rockefeller.

[@m3rl707]

How does this got to do with sexism? Seriously? Making problems out of nothing.

[@Patrick3183]

A woman would never have been chosen in the 1970s

[@malamuteaerospace6333]

A man for the times. A Christian with the most upright stoic character. And he was probably just as Truman the most honest, descent and humble President's to ever hold office.

[@patrickhealy2706]

Nixon's flunky

[@LeeEricsson]

Trumpers desecrated his statue.

[@seerattan]

Ah come on, this man couldn't chew gum and fart at the same time.

[@thecawdsquad875]

A quote from LBJ.

[@person3070]

@@thecawdsquad875 and nixon himself

[@eddieafterburner]

You may want to consider a different brand of gum.

[@TheMrBennito]

A puppet on a string in the Warren Commission.

[@nurlatifahmohdnor8939]

A 23-channel mobile CB transceiver. trans|mit + re|ceives = transceives What is remit?