Would-Be Reagan Assassin John Hinckley Jr. on Trump Assassination Attempts, Jodie Foster Obsession, and His Life Now | Ep. 1343

June 19, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The Man Who Shot Reagan: John Hinckley Jr. on Mental Illness, Obsession, and Remorse

John Hinckley Jr. was 25 years old on March 30, 1981, when he fired six shots at President Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton. He hit four people: Reagan, Press Secretary James Brady (who was critically wounded and permanently disabled), Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, and DC policeman Thomas Delahante. Hinckley now says he is "a totally different person from the person I was in 1981." He spent 34 years in psychiatric confinement at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, was conditionally released in 2016, and fully released in 2022. Now 71, he lives quietly in Williamsburg, Virginia, selling cat paintings and writing music. He spoke with Megyn Kelly about his mental illness, his obsession with Jodie Foster, the assassination attempt itself, and his reaction to recent political violence.

The Erotomanic Delusion and the Obsession with Jodie Foster

Hinckley's fixation on Jodie Foster fits the clinical pattern of erotomania—a delusional belief that someone is in a romantic relationship with you when no such relationship exists. When Kelly described this condition, Hinckley confirmed it "sounds very very much like what I was going through." He believed that by shooting the president, he would achieve "this magical union with her and she would be so impressed."

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What you'll learn

1 (00:51) **John Hinckley Jr. Introduces Himself** - Hinckley states he is a "totally different person" from 1981, setting up the core theme of the interview.
2 (06:26) **Reaction to the Trump Assassination Attempts** - Hinckley condemns the recent violence against President Trump and reflects on the security failures at the Washington Hilton.
3 (08:45) **Defining the Mental Illness: Erotomania and Psychosis** - Hinckley describes the delusional thinking that drove his obsession with Jodie Foster.
4 (10:03) **The Origin of the Obsession** - Hinckley traces the fixation back to the 1976 film *Taxi Driver* and his deepening psychosis.
5 (14:44) **The Stalking of Jodie Foster** - Hinckley details his real-world pursuit of Foster at Yale, including phone calls and a face-to-face encounter.
6 (18:23) **Hearing the Phone Transcripts** - Megan reads a transcript of Hinckley's phone calls with Foster, revealing her fear and discomfort.
7 (22:40) **The Path to Violence: From Carter to Reagan** - Hinckley describes stalking President Carter and his fixation on Reagan.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Megyn Kelly

Show Notes

Megyn Kelly is joined by John Hinckley Jr., musician, artist, and author of "John Hinckley Jr.: Who I Really Am," to talk about what he thought when he saw another Trump assassination attempt at the "Hinckley Hilton," the rise of political violence in America today, people reaching out to him on X to commit further violence against Trump, what an "erotomaniac" actually is, Hinckley's delusion that led to his Jodie Foster obsession, what happened when he actually saw Foster in person at Yale, what led him to start thinking about hurting someone to impress Jodie Foster, his initial targets of Jimmy Carter and even Ted Kennedy, the circumstances that led to his assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, how easy it was to get close to Reagan to take the shots, his reaction to Reagan and James Brady's comments about him, what he'd say to their family members now, his communication with Ted Bundy, what life was like in the psychiatric facility, getting released and what life is like now, and more.

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