Uniquely among the broadcast network evening newscasts, on Tuesday's NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams noted that today is the 25th anniversary of President Reagan calling on Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev to demolish the Berlin Wall, as Reagan stood in Berlin on June 12, 1987, and delivered his famous "Tear down this wall" speech. Williams read the brief item:
Hard to believe it's been 25 years, but it was one of the signature moments of the Reagan presidency in the waning months of the Cold War with the old Eastern Block. June 12, 1987, when Ronald Reagan stood in Berlin and said, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." It eventually did come down just over two years later.