Reagan did a lot of this during the ReykjavÃk Summit with Gorbachev, but it was part of his strategy.
He was TRYING to make Gorby and the Russians think he was a maniac. Hell, maybe he would launch the nukes — he was that crazy. Though this did cause a breakdown of the talks at Reykjavik, mostly because Gorbachev had a panic attack, and just couldn’t face the ‘mentally deranged’ (Gorbachev’s description, not mine) President. Eventually, they signed SALT II.
Of course, nobody knew this except Reagan. He was convincing. I was convinced. My friends were convinced. We were pretty sure this was likely:
Oh well, it’s helped me write at least one novel.