Forty-five years after the assassination attempt that nearly claimed the life of the 40th President of the United States, John Hinckley Jr. has offered a rare look into his psychological state, his past delusions, and a previously blocked attempt at personal reconciliation. Speaking on The Mark Joseph Show podcast, the 71-year-old Hinckley, who was unconditionally released from court supervision in 2022, expressed profound regret for his 1981 actions and revealed that President Ronald Reagan had once planned to visit him at the psychiatric facility where he was institutionalized.
The Blocked Reconciliation: Reagan’s Proposed Visit
The most striking revelation from Hinckley’s recent interview is that President Ronald Reagan intended to visit him at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C., where Hinckley was committed following his 1982 acquittal by reason of insanity. According to Hinckley and confirmed by podcast host Mark Joseph—who produced the biographical drama Reagan starring Dennis Quaid—the proposed meeting was vetoed by hospital administrators due to security and psychiatric concerns.
Joseph stated that during his historical research for the film, he spoke with the former head of St. Elizabeths, who recalled advising the president, “Please don’t do that,” when Reagan inquired about visiting his shooter. Hinckley expressed deep disappointment that the meeting never materialized, noting he would have welcomed the opportunity to apologize directly. “I heard that he wanted to meet me… but the staff at the hospital turned it down, which I wish they hadn’t done,” Hinckley said. “I think it would have been a good meeting. It would have gone well. I never disliked Reagan. Even on the day I did what I did, I liked him.”
Joseph theorized that Reagan, a deeply religious man, may have been inspired by Pope John Paul II’s historic 1983 prison visit to Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who had attempted to assassinate the pontiff in 1981. However, the institutional boundaries of St. Elizabeths prevented Reagan from executing a similar gesture of public forgiveness.
The 1981 Attack and Its Devastating Human Toll
On March 30, 1981, Hinckley, then 25 years old, opened fire with a .22 caliber revolver outside the Washington Hilton hotel, where Reagan had just addressed a labor coalition. The shooting wounded four people and fundamentally altered several lives:
- President Ronald Reagan survived a punctured lung and severe internal bleeding after a bullet ricocheted off his limousine, requiring emergency surgery and a 12-day hospital stay.
- James Brady, the White House Press Secretary, suffered a devastating head wound that left him permanently brain-damaged and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. His subsequent advocacy led to the landmark 1993 Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which mandated federal background checks.
- Thomas Delahanty, a Washington, D.C. police officer, suffered permanent nerve damage in his neck.
- Tim McCarthy, a Secret Service agent, was shot in the abdomen while shielding the president.
Hinckley’s actions were motivated by a severe psychiatric delusion. He believed that assassinating the president would impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom he had developed an obsessive infatuation after watching her performance in the 1976 film Taxi Driver. In a letter written shortly before the shooting, Hinckley explicitly framed the assassination attempt as a romantic gesture intended to win her attention.
Moving Past Delusion: The Message to Jodie Foster
Now in his seventies, Hinckley describes his former self as highly delusional and acknowledges the damage his obsession caused. “I had a dark heart in 1981, and I’ve overcome that,” Hinckley stated during the podcast, adding that his infatuation with Foster is no longer a priority. “I just wish Jodie Foster well. I don’t really see her movies, but I wish her well.”
The impact of Hinckley’s obsession on Foster was profound. In 1982, she published a deeply personal essay in Esquire titled “Why Me?” detailing the intense media scrutiny and trauma she experienced as an unwitting catalyst for a presidential assassination attempt. In a 2024 interview with People, Foster reiterated that the event left a permanent mark on her life and career. Representatives for Foster have not publicly commented on Hinckley’s latest remarks.
Legal Legacy and the Evolution of the Insanity Defense
Beyond its human and political toll, Hinckley’s trial reshaped the American legal landscape. In June 1982, a jury found Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity. The verdict sparked widespread public outrage and led directly to the Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984. This legislation shifted the burden of proof from the prosecution (which previously had to prove sanity beyond a reasonable doubt) to the defense (which must now prove insanity by clear and convincing evidence), drastically narrowing the defense’s applicability in federal courts.
Hinckley spent 35 years under psychiatric care at St. Elizabeths. In 2016, he was permitted to live under strict supervision with his mother in Williamsburg, Virginia, under conditions that barred him from speaking to the media or contacting the victims’ families. In June 2022, a federal judge granted him unconditional release, concluding that his psychiatric conditions had been successfully managed and that he no longer posed a threat to society.
The Ethics of the Post-Release Platform
Since gaining full freedom, Hinckley has attempted to transition into a career as a singer-songwriter, releasing music online and planning live performances. However, his efforts have met with significant resistance. Multiple music venues across the United States have canceled his scheduled concerts following public backlash and safety concerns, illustrating the ongoing societal debate over the limits of rehabilitation and social reintegration for high-profile offenders.
The timing of Hinckley’s podcast appearance coincides with renewed cultural interest in the Reagan era. Rawhide Pictures has announced a theatrical re-release of the Reagan biopic on September 25, featuring a director’s cut with ten minutes of additional footage. The film, which received a 98% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes despite mixed critical reviews, has kept the legacy of the 40th president in the public eye, highlighting the stark contrast between the cinematic celebration of Reagan and the real-world reflections of his attacker.