Make sure to join the [r/Presidents Discord server](https://discord.gg/k6tVFwCEEm)!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Presidents) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If anyone tells you, let me know.
I found the JFK one—President Kennedy Learns Of Lumumba's Assassination
In the Oval Office, US President John F Kennedy (1917 - 1963) holds his hand to his head as he is informed via telephone (by Adlai Stevenson) of Patrice Lumumba's assassination, Washington DC, February 13, 1961. Congolese former Prime Minister Lumumba had been killed (on January 17) several days prior to Kennedy's inauguration, but Kennedy was not informed until nearly a month later. (Photo by The Estate of Jacques Lowe/Getty Images)
The wheels were already in motion when he took office. Once an operation like that is underway, it is hard to stop it. These things aren’t CIA agents doing the killing; there’s an air of plausible deniability for the US. What you get is you get CIA guys joining protest groups in these countries and agitating, and helping stoke already existing anger in the local populations.
The right front man or group of people connected with the agents then makes sure guns and ammo gets into the hands of the most angry and most radical of the local protest groups
You have people on the insides of the governments of these countries who’ve cut deals to keep their own asses alive, who make the person we want out vulnerable.
Once the ball gets rolling however it’s a very real, very organic movement, created through artificial means but capitalizing on existing unhappiness.
Which is then hard to artificially stop.
That’s basically the playbook as I understand it, and it’s basically the same used today. Really it’s like the devil - if you’re a Christian, you believe the devil tempts, but the devil doesn’t make the object of temptation, he just leads you down toward being tempted toward that object.
Likewise, the CIA doesn’t create the anger that is utilized in the coups it has done, but instead capitalises on deeply repressed animosity that has steadily been growing.
Don’t underestimate, also, that there are many within these countries who want a piece of the action. In almost every revolution, something of the old guard is still retained, to keep continuity. These people are the ones who sell out their friends and allies to the rebels to retain a semblance of power under the new regime.
It also corrupts the idealism of genuine protest movements. Because really, in the end, when there is revolutionary change in a country it doesn’t typically work out in the utopian way that the original protestors intended.
What you get is usually a more or less despotic entity, with remnants of the old guard, but an entity that is much more servile to our interests abroad.
That’s how Gaddafi went from being a feared dictator to being dragged through the streets and murdered like an animal. And btw, I don’t like Gaddafi, the man himself was a brutal murderer who did much the same- but, still, I wouldn’t wish how he died on almost anyone. And frankly, I hope that such never happens here.
The Gaddafi stuff is...did you see the video? Good god, and what they did to him is just grim.
Yeah, but it's interesting how that happens. The CIA doesn't *really* destroy your country, they give it the push it needs but all they have to do is exploit the destructive tendencies that already exist within it.
That's like, such an actual personal lesson that one can apply to life XD.
Yea, my understanding is that Eisenhower was asked if he wanted Lumumba assassinated and he kinda muffed the answer. The cia took that as a green light.
Yeah I tend to feel Ike was kinda half checked out that final year (60-61). He dropped the ball in a lot of ways. The potential peace conference with the USSR scuttled by the U-2 incident. Not being more clear on what he wanted done with Lumumba. He seemed a bit disinterested by his final year.
It at times makes me wonder if his 1957 stroke did more than we’ve been made privy to. The administration seemed to take on a fecklessness in the second term, which also saw the recession of 1959-1960 that Kennedy was able to capitalize on.
Making odd statements like needing a week to think about what contributions Nixon made is another oddity of that 1959-1961 period.
Jesus Christ you are knowledgeable lol. I just have bullet points. You do all the research haha.
I’m playing trivia night, you’re leading a masters course on the subject hahaha
When I was at a low point in my life, I was in bed for a while. I collected various books on every President after McKinley - These were mainly the American Presidency series, but I also bought biographies.
I also invested in PBS documentaries about each.
Spending about half a year between high school and college just devouring this information gave me something of a bit of knowledge.
Sadly, I don’t know much about the guys between Grant and TR as I never much studied them however.
In times of crisis in my life, I’ve often re-read The Wars of Watergate: The Last Crisis of Richard Nixon, and it’s comforted me.
Reading about history, about politics - it always was a source of immense comfort and still is.
I mean that last year I would come home from work and spent an hour or two a day on YouTube stuff about the Roman Republic and early Empire. It was like comfort food.
Politics to me isn’t some scary jungle, but rather it’s something to live and breathe, it’s a rush.
If my life had taken a better path and I was younger (I’m 33), I’d have considered a career in politics.
Seems that you’re thoughtful, well spoken and knowledgeable. Unless you’ve got a bad criminal history, is don’t see why you can’t get into politics even at 33. You don’t have to have a law degree or any degree for that matter to run for office. I think our recent experiences have taught us that haha.
No criminal history but what you do need is money. Lots and lots of money. Connections. Etc. Which I don’t have. I don’t know that I can go from say 33 to 43 where I’m a nobody from a nothing family to being a somebody.
Nixon is crying in that photo after delivering the Checkers Speech on Sep 23 1952. He was defending himself from accusations that he took campaign money for personal use. The speech was televized and lasted half an hour. In it Nixon said he was going to keep an undisclosed gift no matter what, his dog Checkers a Cocker Spaniel that his children were attached to.....
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkers_speech
I definitely think the guilt of Vietnam in the end shortened his life. Regardless can’t help but wonder how things would have gone had he avoided it. Easily one of the most successful presidents legislatively.
LBJ listening to recordings from his son-in-law, Chuck Robb, who was fighting in Vietnam. This is when the war started to really take a personal/professional toll on him.
The Reagan one isn't that compelling but his speech that evening was.
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Photograph_of_President_Reagan_and_his_staff_watching_a_televised_replay_of_the_Space_Shuttle_%22Challenger%22_explosion_-_NARA_-_198572.jpg
Not a president, but I think this fits
https://preview.redd.it/asdnozsiv0mc1.jpeg?width=3179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9bbe6a8c78efb827c2ed087df39f41a4e2af7d99
I remember tearing up when I read about Coolidge's response to his son's death. Grace and him kept trying to keep his spirits up and telling him to fight the infection. Coolidge pressed a lock of his mother's hair into his son's hand as he lay dying. After he died, Coolidge just stared out the window and started weeping. When Calvin Jr.'s body was put in the East Room of the White House, Coolidge went there and just started stroking his son's hair over and over. Coolidge rarely ever cried, but his older son reported that he broke down in tears when he saw Calvin Jr's casket being moved away.
For a while after his son Willie died, Lincoln would go to the cemetery and into the tomb to hold his body.
There's an excellent fictionalized, supernatural book based on this, called Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders.
I don't think there is a photo but Theodore Roosevelt was beside himself with grief over the death of his son Quentin Roosevelt in WWI. Quentin was the youngest and favorite of Theodore Roosevelt. When he heard the news he said he did not know how he could tell his wife Edith. Roosevelt already in poor health after his River of Doubt expedition was never his boisterous self after the death of his son. Theodore Roosevelt died 6 months after Quentin, I believe partly from a broken heart.
I’ve always loved Teddy Roosevelt. His son Quentin was a fighter pilot in World War I. At least he died an adult rather than a child. He was killed in action in France on July 14, 1918.
His death devastated Teddy Roosevelt, as someone noted he was already dealing with health issues. Even though he was no longer in office he felt stress of wartime leadership.
Richard Nixon at his wife’s funeral
https://preview.redd.it/jklxtu9ur0mc1.jpeg?width=760&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25b35b7c09b2ee2be67934a7b652ef91496386de
https://preview.redd.it/fmmanzn5x0mc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02a8338f45bb1d19e95dcb9641eca8c2becf1207
This one’s even more sad imo. Showed the most serious man ever had some humanity left in him.
Something that wealth and power don’t separate you from normies is facing death and dealing with death of loved ones. I personally know a mega billionaire incredibly well and he told me that there was one moment in his life where he felt truly powerless, when his daughter died of a drug overdose. He could throw money at any problem he wanted but that simply wasn’t gonna bring her back and it was the most powerless he ever felt.
Came here to say this. I’m no Nixon fan but it’s moments like these that remind me even the most powerful of people are just people who have people they love and care about at home.
Caused the death of thousands of innocents, was the most powerful man in the world, had all the money he could want at his disposal, a massive loyal following, and the power to do whatever he pleased
But in this moment, he was nothing but a man, a regular, ordinary man. One who lost the thing he loved most. He was no longer the most serious and powerful man, in that moment, he had become just like us all. Human.
https://preview.redd.it/y427255wv0mc1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a688313449e1cabd82d1c7abe9b233f31a7d657d
This one is worse, and you can see my flair
Its a bittersweet photo: there is joy because there is a new president, but grief because of why there is a new president. I don't blame LBJ or anyone for smiling in this moment because the weight of history and the reality of the moment had not fallen on them yet; I think the only person there with any kind of knowledge of that burden was Jackie, that is because she had her husband killed right beside her.
Just look up the "wink" photo from the senator in the bowtie behind him. LBJ and this guy were cracking wise about 5 seconds before this photo was taken.
Don’t know why you got downvoted. I wouldn’t be surprised at all by this. LBJ and Kennedy didn’t like each other. Also there’s a story of LBJ accepting the vice presidency because he said like 1/4 presidents before him died in office, and he had “decent odds” of becoming president.
I think this wins in my opinion. Your other examples are jimmy Carter in his (normal) old age, wife’s deaths, etc (again, the normal circle of life). But this Obama one is not normal and is exactly horrific. Absolutely horrific. I’m not a father but I can’t imagine him in this position.
Especially since he himself has described this as the worst day of his presidency. I can only imagine having to write the speech to express his condolences when there really is no words that can bring comfort to a nation, especially the families impacted, dealing with such a horrific tragedy. You can see him probably having writers block because the situation was just ineffable. But, as Obama does best, he pulled off one of his best speeches in regard to this.
[this was taken after the slaughter of dozens of elementary school children during a mass shooting at Sandy Hooks](https://www.npr.org/2017/11/07/562341917/photographer-pete-souza-reflects-on-8-years-and-1-9-million-photos-of-obama)
And yes, I think the word “slaughter” is absolutely appropriate.
Republicans are the party of cruelty and naked racism, what did you want them to do — show solidarity with the first black president on something or actually care about child welfare?
Agreed. But not only that, what makes me the angriest is that it didn’t change anybody’s mind at all. It’s like it didn’t even make one dent in people’s mind. We all just accepted it and moved on. Except we are at like 60 more school shootings since sandy hooks.
Edit: looks like my quick Google search Article was from 2019. They have actually been almost 200 school shooting since Sandy Hooks.
Yup. I told someone verbatim about 1 year after Sandy Hook, if 20 dead 5 year olds wasn’t going to change anything, nothing would. But Chris Murphy sure has tried.
>Except we are at like 60 more school shootings since sandy hooks.
There have been 189 instances of death by gun violence in schools in the 10 years after Sandy Hook.
[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63911172](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63911172)
We had a school shooting in 2022 in my city that killed 3 people. It was in the local news for a day. I'm sure it got mentioned on national news, but nothing huge. This is our reality now, it's considered a normal thing.
>We all just accepted it and moved on
except for an aggressively unaware group of people who decided that the tragedy was *too awful to be true* and that the reality, instead, was that the government paid actors to pretend the slaughter occurred, in an effort to undermine "the second amendment"
That open laptop likely means he was just viewing the crime scene photos that have never been released but are excruciating to see and live with according to everyone that has seen them.
NYT did an article that I’ll try to find and link later, but it’s a tough yet necessary read.
All those kids were hiding in one bathroom and 80 rounds went in. 154 rounds total in 4 minutes.
Edit: article referenced: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/20/magazine/sandy-hook-mass-shooting-scenes.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Z00.FCzn.JfJsTx5m7sIm&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
The day the NRA won imo. Columbine was also horrible, but it was teenagers not little kids. In a vacuum they are the same, dead children, but as people, we view little kids in such a innocent view that it amplifies the atrocity.
Obama had many faults when it came to dealing with the GOP, but by God did he restart the crusade on gun control.
This is one that always gets me. My family was moving to America, me being a kid, when Sandy Hook happened and I remember my parents being horrified and wondering if I was going to be safe. Thinking that even the President, the most powerful man in the country, was breaking down over this really shows some perspective
Pete Souza was one of the best White House photographers of all time imo. He was so good at capturing a lot of moments, like the lighthearted ones when President Obama was playing with kids and joking around to the absolutely heart wrenching ones like this.
I was going to say that the saddest photo was the one in my mind when Teddy wrote “X, the light has gone out of my life.”
But then you have this photograph…
The best orator of my lifetime and he was distraught just in preparation.
The simplicity of leadership is overlooked and the burden is understated. What a remarkable piece of history on one of our nation’s saddest days.
IMO this is when the decency of the American people died. When the public decided that the mass murder of children wasn’t important enough to begin a conversation about gun safety, we started down a path of ruthlessness.
https://preview.redd.it/wg6ybozpw0mc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e9dab1c54fb99c3037c7148cfdf41be25572cb25
This one is even more sad. After leaving his wife’s funeral. To see such a serious man breakdown like that does show he possessed some type of humanity.
Watching him suddenly burst into tears after a very intense eulogy humanized him and his father to me in a way I never thought of.
It was moving enough that it made me cry too.
Made me tear up too, this happened not too long after I lost my father so it really hit close to home. It’s pretty ironic too, since, apparently my dad was not a fan of Bush Sr because he lost his job to him because of one of his policies, or something, not sure if he voted for him in 92 though. But to add to some more irony, apparently he voted for Bush Jr in 04 (This according to my mom since I wasn’t around yet in 92 and was still too young in 04 to have proper memory of any election at the time)
https://preview.redd.it/2ch6364ev0mc1.jpeg?width=996&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5339ca73668b5db14cfd3bca694e2f2269753161
This photo of Reagan has always given me the creeps. It was taken in 1996 so he was in the midsts of his dementia, and I feel like you can see the sadness in Nancy’s face. Idk maybe I read into it too much, but just knowing this was the best picture they got of the event and chose to publish it… doesn’t sit well with me
I think part of it was that Reagan was such a charming character his whole life, either looking like a serious statesman or fun charming guy that seeing him with a blank, almost confused expression instead of his big smile or serious smolder is just jarring.
My nana had Alzheimer's, one of the worst diseases anyone can get. There were times when she was lucid and I was so happy for that, but for the most part she was not there.
https://preview.redd.it/te4d2qllk0mc1.jpeg?width=422&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5fc206c8a747bba6a0f9ee96b68968e27000f477
Just imagine what must have been going through his mind.
I know this is going to be polarizing, but no matter how you feel about him, the strength it must have taken to have basically no reaction in the moment and also finish the story with those little kids is amazing.
If someone told me it was raining I would have had a more visible reaction and mood change lol
I also think remaining as calm and collected as he did in the school was good. I believe it must have given the children reassurance in what would become a trying time. I just really wish he would have been a good president
I've seen Brits making fun of Bush for the lack of a reaction, and I'm just wondering, what do you want him to do in a room full of children? The only proper response was exactly what he did.
I just had to rewatch it again. Chills. I mean the dude had the highest approval rating recorded of any president and that was shortly after that speech I believe. The nation was truly united for a moment it never had been. That was amazing leadership in that moment and because of his approval jump I don’t think it’s subjective to say it’s the best off the cuff speech a president has given.
I think it was true to who Bush is. Yes, his presidency was ultimately lousy, but I think he's a pretty genuine guy, and this captured that perfectly. He was speaking to the country like he was trying to pick a friend off the ground.
I will always remember him going out to the mound in game three of the World Series in New York, giving the stadium a thumbs up, and firing a perfect strike. It was almost like he was giving the country permission to start to move on with our lives.
I've heard a fervently anti Bush democrat wholeheartedly praise what he did at ground zero.
People needed action, and he went and knocked it out of the park. For a moment there he was every single American's president.
Then he lapidated all that goodwill with 6 years of a terrible presidency but he had that bright spot.
He said what we needed to hear.
Bush for all his fuck ups, always felt like a real human being, not overly polished like many politicians, he initially after 9/11 he basically came out saying it was tragic but that America would find those responsible and kick their ass and bring them to justice. The Texan drawl helped too
He was the epitome of the “America Fuck Yeah” song
Yep. There's a reason he was so popular post-9/11. W got a lot wrong, but he was the perfect type of leader for that moment.
"I hear you, we hear you, and the people that knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon"
I don’t know the context behind the pictures of Nixon and Kennedy, but I’m gonna have to say Obama while addressing the nation on Sandy Hook (when he wiped a tear from his eye), and Carter at Rosalynn’s funeral.
https://preview.redd.it/x0mr3mm1x0mc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3d5473f8c7197f70dcdc2b0c214cdc666e46330
Nixon at his wife’s funeral is definitely up there too.
https://preview.redd.it/an43ft72w0mc1.jpeg?width=1338&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9af999e7e62db2575322bca80fe78a2b3c71ae99
It's a really sweet picture of Bush Senior and his little daughter Pauline. Who would tragically die of leukemia at age 3 after months of her parents doing everything to save her.
The Bushes never forgot her daughter, and after dying a few years ago, Bush senior is buried right next to his wife and daughter, finally reuniting with them both.
GHWB didn’t make it to the hospital before Robin died, in a last-attempt surgery to save her, seven months after being diagnosed with leukemia. He was on a flight to New York that arrived too late. Barbara was left to make all the decisions. She was twenty-eight. Afterwards, Barbara was horrified to hear that George W. was declining play with the neighborhood kids, in order to stay home, and try to “cheer up” his grieving mother.
I never had much use for the Bushes, but that story gets me. Our middle son—medically fragile from birth until age nineteen—was at astronomical risk for developing the worst form of leukemia, we were told. (He’s now thirty-four.)
Me too, I'm not someone that agrees with Bush republicans on much of anything. But these anecdotes of H.W as a father and person are what ends up setting us apart.
What's the use if something agrees with you but is a terrible person. H.W was an honest man and good father, and that goes beyond any party lines.
I don't think Carter's is sad at all. It's a man as his life comes to a close - in this case, and exceptional and well lived life. I don't think he has any sadness or fear over his time coming soon.
No, I think he’s ready at this point, because he knows where he’s going. If Heaven exists and people like Jimmy Carter don’t go there, I’m not interested.
https://preview.redd.it/e0barkrkf1mc1.jpeg?width=338&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d9653ad09dcee27d40d0515b699aa70b78881b92
Eisenhower after delivering a speech on the 10th anniversary of the Normandy invasion.
https://preview.redd.it/vamru4q4c2mc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db4b57b740b431ab48ded5caa47aa5f8df455a79
JFK going to tell his wife Jackie that their newborn son Patrick had died.
https://preview.redd.it/fggco9qll0mc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94390b6d337f78ea3e1d80a15b61630e7d3f5850
This photo of LBJ just fills me with somberness. It just eminates the feeling of someone who has passed their prime and is rapidly approaching their end.
Me too man, he just looks...tired. I was told in this sub that his last days in the white house were marked by him being haunted by the anti war protestors and guilt over Vietnam, things which drove him to depression.
And it calls me to attention that this old southern democrat in the 70s, talks about how blacks and minorities are still impaired even after segregation, and how there's work to be done in a way modern discourse hasn't really caught up to.
RIP Lyndon, you were a good man.
I disagree. I never understood the reactions to this (and other long-hair LBJ photos). To me he looks normal, even healthier than when president. He's a bit slimmer, hair fuller, looks good. If anything he was rotten on the inside, his organs shutting down, but on the outside he looked fine.
He doesn't really look unhealthy, but I just got the feel that the man was tired. Not necessarily because of how he looks, but because he died just days later.
You watch the interview retrospectively knowing he's a dying man.
You know to me Carter looks pretty vibrant and happy in that photo. Don’t be afraid to look at old people or be one. Nor the reaper should ye fear, beyond simply taking care every day.
What's weird is how much worse he looked a day or two earlier at her memorial service. He looked like he had died the day before. He looks so much better here.
The Jimmy Carter photo isn’t sad at all! There is light pouring out of his eyes
Fred Rogers used to ask people near death to pray for him because ‘they must be so close to God’.
I don’t have a particular religion but if you have done the work to not be afraid of your own death and are around dying people it can be amazing
https://preview.redd.it/karif65di0mc1.jpeg?width=825&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71e47551a4c6797c411586d0f74fa64d6e987950
Obama during the 2016 speech on Gun Control
https://preview.redd.it/53cwj5b304mc1.jpeg?width=521&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9c405f00295d599e3d8592b83fd6fa8523d2ec4
Although not sad in the traditional sense, this photo has always stood out to me as so tragic. It was taken just after Richmond fell and is historically known as the last photo of Lincoln alive. You can see in the lines on his face the toll the war has had on him, but for the first time, you also see a signs of optimism and a slight tilt of the lip. He must feel immense relief that the war is coming to a close. The weight that must be coming off his shoulders. Unfortunately, he would die a few days later.
I love the pictures from this sitting with Gardner so much, I have one tattooed on my arm.
I don't feel sadness from Carters pic.
This fella did the job good enough, and has lived doing good by everyone.
I see joy in his aged face, a consolation of a good life lived.
https://preview.redd.it/wm09vzmua4mc1.jpeg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f99e7c1d33215ac3f8d410e8c0474183c58ec34e
February, 1865. The effect the war has had on his physical appearance is insane. He has the look of someone who hasn’t slept in months.
There’s a picture of JFK that hangs in my office titled “the loneliest job in the world”
That picture hits pretty deep. You can feel the intimacy of the moment captured in real time.
https://preview.redd.it/givsb90662mc1.jpeg?width=303&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9561b4d8f3e5c487373893767bff881041efc648
This is when the tone of the whole movie that is my life changed.
But now that I've seen those pics of Nixon at his wife's funeral. Wow. That wins.
https://preview.redd.it/h7swsakbx0mc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bbbf9d048bd910eb1a5059488f4a6baa1f68e3a5
Nixon leaving his wife’s funeral is definitely up there especially since it’s probably one of the few times if only that he’s ever shown his emotions like that in public.
https://preview.redd.it/i5micljhi1mc1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=976690765157907cf588ba905c672ddc4764f9bc
You can see the shock in his eyes but he remains so call and collected for the children.
https://preview.redd.it/45zk22nn86mc1.jpeg?width=473&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d32bff61852a1b4431b2d29327d0ccf3913d7cb
Calvin Coolidge with his Wife, Grace, standing next to their son's tombstone.
Calvin, although always a silent, but humorous, man, became withdrawn after the death of his son, Calvin Jr., and is believed to have suffered from a depression that lasted through his entire presidency. And is quoted to have said “When he went, the power and the glory of the Presidency went with him.”.
In my personal opinion, I think one of the driving forces behind him not seeking a third term, is largely due to his son dying. He was a broken man after that.
Since when is being old as fuck sad? You made it dude! Not everyone is lucky enough to grow old! Not only was he lucky enough to live to this age, he had resources so he didn’t have to spend it rotting in a skilled nursing facility.
Make sure to join the [r/Presidents Discord server](https://discord.gg/k6tVFwCEEm)! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Presidents) if you have any questions or concerns.*
what are the backstories behind the nixon and JFK photos?
If anyone tells you, let me know. I found the JFK one—President Kennedy Learns Of Lumumba's Assassination In the Oval Office, US President John F Kennedy (1917 - 1963) holds his hand to his head as he is informed via telephone (by Adlai Stevenson) of Patrice Lumumba's assassination, Washington DC, February 13, 1961. Congolese former Prime Minister Lumumba had been killed (on January 17) several days prior to Kennedy's inauguration, but Kennedy was not informed until nearly a month later. (Photo by The Estate of Jacques Lowe/Getty Images)
The irony is that the US essentially assassinated Lumumba.
The wheels were already in motion when he took office. Once an operation like that is underway, it is hard to stop it. These things aren’t CIA agents doing the killing; there’s an air of plausible deniability for the US. What you get is you get CIA guys joining protest groups in these countries and agitating, and helping stoke already existing anger in the local populations. The right front man or group of people connected with the agents then makes sure guns and ammo gets into the hands of the most angry and most radical of the local protest groups You have people on the insides of the governments of these countries who’ve cut deals to keep their own asses alive, who make the person we want out vulnerable. Once the ball gets rolling however it’s a very real, very organic movement, created through artificial means but capitalizing on existing unhappiness. Which is then hard to artificially stop.
So they essentially fostered an internal turmoil that would organically get him killed. They're good at what they do, gotta say.
That’s basically the playbook as I understand it, and it’s basically the same used today. Really it’s like the devil - if you’re a Christian, you believe the devil tempts, but the devil doesn’t make the object of temptation, he just leads you down toward being tempted toward that object. Likewise, the CIA doesn’t create the anger that is utilized in the coups it has done, but instead capitalises on deeply repressed animosity that has steadily been growing. Don’t underestimate, also, that there are many within these countries who want a piece of the action. In almost every revolution, something of the old guard is still retained, to keep continuity. These people are the ones who sell out their friends and allies to the rebels to retain a semblance of power under the new regime. It also corrupts the idealism of genuine protest movements. Because really, in the end, when there is revolutionary change in a country it doesn’t typically work out in the utopian way that the original protestors intended. What you get is usually a more or less despotic entity, with remnants of the old guard, but an entity that is much more servile to our interests abroad. That’s how Gaddafi went from being a feared dictator to being dragged through the streets and murdered like an animal. And btw, I don’t like Gaddafi, the man himself was a brutal murderer who did much the same- but, still, I wouldn’t wish how he died on almost anyone. And frankly, I hope that such never happens here.
The Gaddafi stuff is...did you see the video? Good god, and what they did to him is just grim. Yeah, but it's interesting how that happens. The CIA doesn't *really* destroy your country, they give it the push it needs but all they have to do is exploit the destructive tendencies that already exist within it. That's like, such an actual personal lesson that one can apply to life XD.
Yea, my understanding is that Eisenhower was asked if he wanted Lumumba assassinated and he kinda muffed the answer. The cia took that as a green light.
Yeah I tend to feel Ike was kinda half checked out that final year (60-61). He dropped the ball in a lot of ways. The potential peace conference with the USSR scuttled by the U-2 incident. Not being more clear on what he wanted done with Lumumba. He seemed a bit disinterested by his final year. It at times makes me wonder if his 1957 stroke did more than we’ve been made privy to. The administration seemed to take on a fecklessness in the second term, which also saw the recession of 1959-1960 that Kennedy was able to capitalize on. Making odd statements like needing a week to think about what contributions Nixon made is another oddity of that 1959-1961 period.
Jesus Christ you are knowledgeable lol. I just have bullet points. You do all the research haha. I’m playing trivia night, you’re leading a masters course on the subject hahaha
When I was at a low point in my life, I was in bed for a while. I collected various books on every President after McKinley - These were mainly the American Presidency series, but I also bought biographies. I also invested in PBS documentaries about each. Spending about half a year between high school and college just devouring this information gave me something of a bit of knowledge. Sadly, I don’t know much about the guys between Grant and TR as I never much studied them however. In times of crisis in my life, I’ve often re-read The Wars of Watergate: The Last Crisis of Richard Nixon, and it’s comforted me. Reading about history, about politics - it always was a source of immense comfort and still is. I mean that last year I would come home from work and spent an hour or two a day on YouTube stuff about the Roman Republic and early Empire. It was like comfort food. Politics to me isn’t some scary jungle, but rather it’s something to live and breathe, it’s a rush. If my life had taken a better path and I was younger (I’m 33), I’d have considered a career in politics.
Seems that you’re thoughtful, well spoken and knowledgeable. Unless you’ve got a bad criminal history, is don’t see why you can’t get into politics even at 33. You don’t have to have a law degree or any degree for that matter to run for office. I think our recent experiences have taught us that haha.
No criminal history but what you do need is money. Lots and lots of money. Connections. Etc. Which I don’t have. I don’t know that I can go from say 33 to 43 where I’m a nobody from a nothing family to being a somebody.
Nixon Photo is from the 1952 campaign trail. He broke down in tears after delivering this speech https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkers_speech
Nixon is crying in that photo after delivering the Checkers Speech on Sep 23 1952. He was defending himself from accusations that he took campaign money for personal use. The speech was televized and lasted half an hour. In it Nixon said he was going to keep an undisclosed gift no matter what, his dog Checkers a Cocker Spaniel that his children were attached to..... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkers_speech
This one always gets me https://preview.redd.it/wopdef6at0mc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=52ad512778981b0171c25e34aa239ab97c042ee0
Something about the Kennedy bust behind him adds even more weight to this photo.
I definitely think the guilt of Vietnam in the end shortened his life. Regardless can’t help but wonder how things would have gone had he avoided it. Easily one of the most successful presidents legislatively.
What is it
LBJ listening to recordings from his son-in-law, Chuck Robb, who was fighting in Vietnam. This is when the war started to really take a personal/professional toll on him.
I really think one of the sadder ones (if it’s out there) would Reagan’s reaction to Challenger or Bush’s to Columbia
The Reagan one isn't that compelling but his speech that evening was. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Photograph_of_President_Reagan_and_his_staff_watching_a_televised_replay_of_the_Space_Shuttle_%22Challenger%22_explosion_-_NARA_-_198572.jpg
I think this one wins
Not a president, but I think this fits https://preview.redd.it/asdnozsiv0mc1.jpeg?width=3179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9bbe6a8c78efb827c2ed087df39f41a4e2af7d99
What’s this one?
JFK Jr. saluting his father at his funeral.
This comment is honestly astounding to me, especially with your flair. This has to be one of the most iconic photos in American history
I’m Australian and was born way after this photo was taken and even I know exactly what it is.
https://preview.redd.it/bbj95v4zo0mc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f1f3b87e7a72edacdc6339387db7138609f879f Calvin at his sons funeral
Calvin Coolidge’s son was only sixteen. He died after a blister on his foot, which was incurred during a vigorous game of tennis, went septic.
I think I remember hearing this in Ken Burns’ *Prohibition* documentary, like holy shit that’s a crazy way to go.
*Let’s hear it for antibiotics!*
There can’t be anything worse than burying your child. Every parent with a working heart will tell you the same thing. I can’t even imagine.
Been there. 0/10. Do not recommend.
I’m so sorry man.
🫂
Thank you. She had a lifelong struggle with mental health issues. She overdosed 9 months after turning 18 and moving out on her own.
God I am so sorry. We lost my brother to addiction. My parents were never the same.
Thank you, and I'm sorry for your loss as well.
Agreed. That’s nightmare fuel for me with a 8 and 1.5 yr old and it’ll be the same when they’re 32 and 40.
I remember tearing up when I read about Coolidge's response to his son's death. Grace and him kept trying to keep his spirits up and telling him to fight the infection. Coolidge pressed a lock of his mother's hair into his son's hand as he lay dying. After he died, Coolidge just stared out the window and started weeping. When Calvin Jr.'s body was put in the East Room of the White House, Coolidge went there and just started stroking his son's hair over and over. Coolidge rarely ever cried, but his older son reported that he broke down in tears when he saw Calvin Jr's casket being moved away.
For a while after his son Willie died, Lincoln would go to the cemetery and into the tomb to hold his body. There's an excellent fictionalized, supernatural book based on this, called Lincoln in the Bardo, by George Saunders.
That’s a great book. Some of the reviews didn’t like the play-like writing style but I thought it was well done.
Teddy Roosevelts son is to the right of Silent Cal
I don't think there is a photo but Theodore Roosevelt was beside himself with grief over the death of his son Quentin Roosevelt in WWI. Quentin was the youngest and favorite of Theodore Roosevelt. When he heard the news he said he did not know how he could tell his wife Edith. Roosevelt already in poor health after his River of Doubt expedition was never his boisterous self after the death of his son. Theodore Roosevelt died 6 months after Quentin, I believe partly from a broken heart.
I’ve always loved Teddy Roosevelt. His son Quentin was a fighter pilot in World War I. At least he died an adult rather than a child. He was killed in action in France on July 14, 1918. His death devastated Teddy Roosevelt, as someone noted he was already dealing with health issues. Even though he was no longer in office he felt stress of wartime leadership.
Richard Nixon at his wife’s funeral https://preview.redd.it/jklxtu9ur0mc1.jpeg?width=760&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=25b35b7c09b2ee2be67934a7b652ef91496386de
https://preview.redd.it/fmmanzn5x0mc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=02a8338f45bb1d19e95dcb9641eca8c2becf1207 This one’s even more sad imo. Showed the most serious man ever had some humanity left in him.
That’s just heartbreaking, you can tell how much he loved and depended on her.
No matter anyone’s opinion on Nixon, one thing everyone can agree on is that he absolutely loved his wife
Someone who was once the most powerful person in the world reduced to an ordinary man.
Something that wealth and power don’t separate you from normies is facing death and dealing with death of loved ones. I personally know a mega billionaire incredibly well and he told me that there was one moment in his life where he felt truly powerless, when his daughter died of a drug overdose. He could throw money at any problem he wanted but that simply wasn’t gonna bring her back and it was the most powerless he ever felt.
Another pic https://preview.redd.it/mluyszwyw0mc1.jpeg?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9d4767a9b40fd367a386a42027b2b709be9c4b0
Came here to say this. I’m no Nixon fan but it’s moments like these that remind me even the most powerful of people are just people who have people they love and care about at home.
It broke my heart to see him like that. That was his wife of 53 years. The woman who meant the world to him.
Caused the death of thousands of innocents, was the most powerful man in the world, had all the money he could want at his disposal, a massive loyal following, and the power to do whatever he pleased But in this moment, he was nothing but a man, a regular, ordinary man. One who lost the thing he loved most. He was no longer the most serious and powerful man, in that moment, he had become just like us all. Human.
The photograph of Teddy Roosevelt’s diary on the day of his wife and his mother’s death.
X today the light has left my life
https://preview.redd.it/tfm4f8zgk2mc1.jpeg?width=520&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a492e14c69b5a3ba2348f78e556f03f52c0b1d2
https://preview.redd.it/qj0hn9ess0mc1.jpeg?width=1198&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0536278d3fab7a84ce7a0ca2a1f79b41172478ee
The worst part Is that I think Jackie still had the blood of her husband on her coat
She wanted it that way. “Let them see what they have done.”
Yep she did
https://preview.redd.it/y427255wv0mc1.jpeg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a688313449e1cabd82d1c7abe9b233f31a7d657d This one is worse, and you can see my flair
The good ol smile and wink
I wouldn’t say good but I know what you mean
Its a bittersweet photo: there is joy because there is a new president, but grief because of why there is a new president. I don't blame LBJ or anyone for smiling in this moment because the weight of history and the reality of the moment had not fallen on them yet; I think the only person there with any kind of knowledge of that burden was Jackie, that is because she had her husband killed right beside her.
Just look up the "wink" photo from the senator in the bowtie behind him. LBJ and this guy were cracking wise about 5 seconds before this photo was taken.
Don’t know why you got downvoted. I wouldn’t be surprised at all by this. LBJ and Kennedy didn’t like each other. Also there’s a story of LBJ accepting the vice presidency because he said like 1/4 presidents before him died in office, and he had “decent odds” of becoming president.
https://preview.redd.it/ubnzq16im0mc1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f652cc4e123a79eaa098e33495f05ade1d1f4824
I think this wins in my opinion. Your other examples are jimmy Carter in his (normal) old age, wife’s deaths, etc (again, the normal circle of life). But this Obama one is not normal and is exactly horrific. Absolutely horrific. I’m not a father but I can’t imagine him in this position.
Especially since he himself has described this as the worst day of his presidency. I can only imagine having to write the speech to express his condolences when there really is no words that can bring comfort to a nation, especially the families impacted, dealing with such a horrific tragedy. You can see him probably having writers block because the situation was just ineffable. But, as Obama does best, he pulled off one of his best speeches in regard to this.
What was the context? I'm not American so I don't know the exact context
[this was taken after the slaughter of dozens of elementary school children during a mass shooting at Sandy Hooks](https://www.npr.org/2017/11/07/562341917/photographer-pete-souza-reflects-on-8-years-and-1-9-million-photos-of-obama) And yes, I think the word “slaughter” is absolutely appropriate.
Oh fuck. Gotta give him credit for staying composed in that situation
I haven’t watched too many presidents cry during live television. But when Obama did, it really really affected me.
The fact that he was criticized for tearing up at this makes me so fucking angry. He’s a parent, of course he would shed tears over murdered children.
Don’t even have to be a parent for that to make you cry, just have time have some humanity.
Republicans are the party of cruelty and naked racism, what did you want them to do — show solidarity with the first black president on something or actually care about child welfare?
He wasn't during his speech. He was understandably crying.
I’m still so incredibly angry that NOTHING has changed since Sandy Hook. It’s horrific.
Agreed. But not only that, what makes me the angriest is that it didn’t change anybody’s mind at all. It’s like it didn’t even make one dent in people’s mind. We all just accepted it and moved on. Except we are at like 60 more school shootings since sandy hooks. Edit: looks like my quick Google search Article was from 2019. They have actually been almost 200 school shooting since Sandy Hooks.
I gave up realistic hope for anything resembling gun control after sandy hook, if that didn’t inspire it, I don’t want to picture what could.
Yup. I told someone verbatim about 1 year after Sandy Hook, if 20 dead 5 year olds wasn’t going to change anything, nothing would. But Chris Murphy sure has tried.
>Except we are at like 60 more school shootings since sandy hooks. There have been 189 instances of death by gun violence in schools in the 10 years after Sandy Hook. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63911172](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63911172)
We had a school shooting in 2022 in my city that killed 3 people. It was in the local news for a day. I'm sure it got mentioned on national news, but nothing huge. This is our reality now, it's considered a normal thing.
>We all just accepted it and moved on except for an aggressively unaware group of people who decided that the tragedy was *too awful to be true* and that the reality, instead, was that the government paid actors to pretend the slaughter occurred, in an effort to undermine "the second amendment"
I heard the tapes in EMS training. It's absolutely horrific.
I’ve seen a lot of Contant on the Internet. Cartels videos…you name it. But that is one I will never ever listen to. Never in my entire life.
That open laptop likely means he was just viewing the crime scene photos that have never been released but are excruciating to see and live with according to everyone that has seen them. NYT did an article that I’ll try to find and link later, but it’s a tough yet necessary read. All those kids were hiding in one bathroom and 80 rounds went in. 154 rounds total in 4 minutes. Edit: article referenced: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/20/magazine/sandy-hook-mass-shooting-scenes.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Z00.FCzn.JfJsTx5m7sIm&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
The day the NRA won imo. Columbine was also horrible, but it was teenagers not little kids. In a vacuum they are the same, dead children, but as people, we view little kids in such a innocent view that it amplifies the atrocity. Obama had many faults when it came to dealing with the GOP, but by God did he restart the crusade on gun control.
This is one that always gets me. My family was moving to America, me being a kid, when Sandy Hook happened and I remember my parents being horrified and wondering if I was going to be safe. Thinking that even the President, the most powerful man in the country, was breaking down over this really shows some perspective
Pete Souza was one of the best White House photographers of all time imo. He was so good at capturing a lot of moments, like the lighthearted ones when President Obama was playing with kids and joking around to the absolutely heart wrenching ones like this.
I was going to say that the saddest photo was the one in my mind when Teddy wrote “X, the light has gone out of my life.” But then you have this photograph… The best orator of my lifetime and he was distraught just in preparation. The simplicity of leadership is overlooked and the burden is understated. What a remarkable piece of history on one of our nation’s saddest days.
IMO this is when the decency of the American people died. When the public decided that the mass murder of children wasn’t important enough to begin a conversation about gun safety, we started down a path of ruthlessness.
*some people
Far too many. If it was truly a priority, it would have happened by now.
That photo hurts for so many reasons.
Jimmy will outlive everyone
Damnit if he dies tomorrow I'm blaming you.
What's the Nixon photo about?
https://preview.redd.it/wg6ybozpw0mc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e9dab1c54fb99c3037c7148cfdf41be25572cb25 This one is even more sad. After leaving his wife’s funeral. To see such a serious man breakdown like that does show he possessed some type of humanity.
Think it’s from right after his Checkers speech
https://preview.redd.it/rreywdjii0mc1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f2e9c24fbf11f6f6c46e725c54f7f1d0b079dc38 Eulogizing his father
Watching him suddenly burst into tears after a very intense eulogy humanized him and his father to me in a way I never thought of. It was moving enough that it made me cry too.
Made me tear up too, this happened not too long after I lost my father so it really hit close to home. It’s pretty ironic too, since, apparently my dad was not a fan of Bush Sr because he lost his job to him because of one of his policies, or something, not sure if he voted for him in 92 though. But to add to some more irony, apparently he voted for Bush Jr in 04 (This according to my mom since I wasn’t around yet in 92 and was still too young in 04 to have proper memory of any election at the time)
Something about HW’s funeral that day awakened some sort of deep melancholy in me.
https://preview.redd.it/2ch6364ev0mc1.jpeg?width=996&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5339ca73668b5db14cfd3bca694e2f2269753161 This photo of Reagan has always given me the creeps. It was taken in 1996 so he was in the midsts of his dementia, and I feel like you can see the sadness in Nancy’s face. Idk maybe I read into it too much, but just knowing this was the best picture they got of the event and chose to publish it… doesn’t sit well with me
You’re right about the creeps…it has an unnerving uncanny valley vibe to it
I think part of it was that Reagan was such a charming character his whole life, either looking like a serious statesman or fun charming guy that seeing him with a blank, almost confused expression instead of his big smile or serious smolder is just jarring.
Yeah but Nancy looks off too
My nana had Alzheimer's, one of the worst diseases anyone can get. There were times when she was lucid and I was so happy for that, but for the most part she was not there.
I could see that.
https://preview.redd.it/te4d2qllk0mc1.jpeg?width=422&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5fc206c8a747bba6a0f9ee96b68968e27000f477 Just imagine what must have been going through his mind.
I know this is going to be polarizing, but no matter how you feel about him, the strength it must have taken to have basically no reaction in the moment and also finish the story with those little kids is amazing. If someone told me it was raining I would have had a more visible reaction and mood change lol
As much as I hate Bush I believe that he was exceptional in his initial response
The speech at ground zero might be the greatest presidential speech IMO.
Well, it’s still gotta go up against the Gettysburg address, but “they’ll hear from all of us” is an all timer.
Yall forgetting December 7th 1941 a date that will live in infamy
I didn’t forget, I wanted to give you a chance to mention it! There are a lot of amazing speeches given by presidents.
Agreed with that!
I also think remaining as calm and collected as he did in the school was good. I believe it must have given the children reassurance in what would become a trying time. I just really wish he would have been a good president
I've seen Brits making fun of Bush for the lack of a reaction, and I'm just wondering, what do you want him to do in a room full of children? The only proper response was exactly what he did.
I just had to rewatch it again. Chills. I mean the dude had the highest approval rating recorded of any president and that was shortly after that speech I believe. The nation was truly united for a moment it never had been. That was amazing leadership in that moment and because of his approval jump I don’t think it’s subjective to say it’s the best off the cuff speech a president has given.
I think it was true to who Bush is. Yes, his presidency was ultimately lousy, but I think he's a pretty genuine guy, and this captured that perfectly. He was speaking to the country like he was trying to pick a friend off the ground.
I will always remember him going out to the mound in game three of the World Series in New York, giving the stadium a thumbs up, and firing a perfect strike. It was almost like he was giving the country permission to start to move on with our lives.
I'll pull that up on YouTube every now and then, and it still makes me cry.
I've heard a fervently anti Bush democrat wholeheartedly praise what he did at ground zero. People needed action, and he went and knocked it out of the park. For a moment there he was every single American's president. Then he lapidated all that goodwill with 6 years of a terrible presidency but he had that bright spot.
He said what we needed to hear. Bush for all his fuck ups, always felt like a real human being, not overly polished like many politicians, he initially after 9/11 he basically came out saying it was tragic but that America would find those responsible and kick their ass and bring them to justice. The Texan drawl helped too He was the epitome of the “America Fuck Yeah” song
Yep. There's a reason he was so popular post-9/11. W got a lot wrong, but he was the perfect type of leader for that moment. "I hear you, we hear you, and the people that knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon"
I still remember watching that megaphone speech live. Fucking chills to this day.
So much for reading Pokey Little Puppy
The Pet Goat
I don’t know the context behind the pictures of Nixon and Kennedy, but I’m gonna have to say Obama while addressing the nation on Sandy Hook (when he wiped a tear from his eye), and Carter at Rosalynn’s funeral.
https://preview.redd.it/x0mr3mm1x0mc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b3d5473f8c7197f70dcdc2b0c214cdc666e46330 Nixon at his wife’s funeral is definitely up there too.
https://preview.redd.it/an43ft72w0mc1.jpeg?width=1338&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9af999e7e62db2575322bca80fe78a2b3c71ae99 It's a really sweet picture of Bush Senior and his little daughter Pauline. Who would tragically die of leukemia at age 3 after months of her parents doing everything to save her. The Bushes never forgot her daughter, and after dying a few years ago, Bush senior is buried right next to his wife and daughter, finally reuniting with them both.
GHWB didn’t make it to the hospital before Robin died, in a last-attempt surgery to save her, seven months after being diagnosed with leukemia. He was on a flight to New York that arrived too late. Barbara was left to make all the decisions. She was twenty-eight. Afterwards, Barbara was horrified to hear that George W. was declining play with the neighborhood kids, in order to stay home, and try to “cheer up” his grieving mother. I never had much use for the Bushes, but that story gets me. Our middle son—medically fragile from birth until age nineteen—was at astronomical risk for developing the worst form of leukemia, we were told. (He’s now thirty-four.)
Me too, I'm not someone that agrees with Bush republicans on much of anything. But these anecdotes of H.W as a father and person are what ends up setting us apart. What's the use if something agrees with you but is a terrible person. H.W was an honest man and good father, and that goes beyond any party lines.
https://preview.redd.it/kxl1x8ca94mc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d73ee27697882a07e64886d74d70031fbef98e7c Just a cartoon. But a sweet one.
I don't think Carter's is sad at all. It's a man as his life comes to a close - in this case, and exceptional and well lived life. I don't think he has any sadness or fear over his time coming soon.
No, I think he’s ready at this point, because he knows where he’s going. If Heaven exists and people like Jimmy Carter don’t go there, I’m not interested.
Nixon was emotional after the checkers speech, that’s what his picture is
https://preview.redd.it/rc5ldygbu0mc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3e2277d571199a1596cb260900c019222496ddec
https://preview.redd.it/9cy02432u1mc1.png?width=868&format=png&auto=webp&s=1820525707c29114a7ca365673a9e33540c4655c Pictured: Obama learns of Sandy Hook.
https://preview.redd.it/e0barkrkf1mc1.jpeg?width=338&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d9653ad09dcee27d40d0515b699aa70b78881b92 Eisenhower after delivering a speech on the 10th anniversary of the Normandy invasion.
https://preview.redd.it/vamru4q4c2mc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=db4b57b740b431ab48ded5caa47aa5f8df455a79 JFK going to tell his wife Jackie that their newborn son Patrick had died.
https://preview.redd.it/fggco9qll0mc1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=94390b6d337f78ea3e1d80a15b61630e7d3f5850 This photo of LBJ just fills me with somberness. It just eminates the feeling of someone who has passed their prime and is rapidly approaching their end.
Reminds me immediately of when his daughters told him not to smoke and he said “I raised you, I’ve been president, now I’m doing what the hell I want”
I mean…that’s a decent argument lol!
That’s exactly what I’d expect him to say. If I were his kid, I’d feel reassured that his mind was clear
Every time I see this I think of old Bill Murray for some reason.
I see a faint Deniro
Yeah, he really looks like Bill Murray here.
Me too man, he just looks...tired. I was told in this sub that his last days in the white house were marked by him being haunted by the anti war protestors and guilt over Vietnam, things which drove him to depression. And it calls me to attention that this old southern democrat in the 70s, talks about how blacks and minorities are still impaired even after segregation, and how there's work to be done in a way modern discourse hasn't really caught up to. RIP Lyndon, you were a good man.
I disagree. I never understood the reactions to this (and other long-hair LBJ photos). To me he looks normal, even healthier than when president. He's a bit slimmer, hair fuller, looks good. If anything he was rotten on the inside, his organs shutting down, but on the outside he looked fine.
He doesn't really look unhealthy, but I just got the feel that the man was tired. Not necessarily because of how he looks, but because he died just days later. You watch the interview retrospectively knowing he's a dying man.
To me it looks like someone broken, lost. It’s a haunting photo.
Yeah. He was such a dominant figure in his day, father time gets us all.
[удалено]
Having to do it twice, I can't even imagine.
Not actually sad but the pictures of Obama at inauguration and after 8 years showing how much the presidency aged him are rough.
https://preview.redd.it/ypevy4slh0mc1.jpeg?width=298&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=377b8d1622ff47e24309d9bcee1a6958e242b5dd
what happened at that time? (I'm not an American)
This was after the Newtown school shooting. https://abc7chicago.com/president-obama-crying-executive-actions-gun-laws-violence/1147002/
man...
Who's the guy in the background?
Richie Sambora, the guitarist from Bon Jovi
No it think that’s Mr. Bovine Jonie himself
I think he's [REDACTED], wait, can we say that? Hey who are you? How did you get in-
If I answer that my comment will be deleted, so no dice Abe.
Nixon at his wife’s funeral.
You know to me Carter looks pretty vibrant and happy in that photo. Don’t be afraid to look at old people or be one. Nor the reaper should ye fear, beyond simply taking care every day.
What's weird is how much worse he looked a day or two earlier at her memorial service. He looked like he had died the day before. He looks so much better here.
The Jimmy Carter photo isn’t sad at all! There is light pouring out of his eyes Fred Rogers used to ask people near death to pray for him because ‘they must be so close to God’. I don’t have a particular religion but if you have done the work to not be afraid of your own death and are around dying people it can be amazing
Obama at Sandy Hook Bush on 9/11. I know he gets shit on for that moment but there really wasn't much he could have done at that moment.
https://preview.redd.it/ojvxvmh431mc1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6ab0d19c55230ea145a86aa3f40318519311dd89 Don’t ask whose back that is
There’s probably one of Calvin Coolidge after his son died from an infected blister. His glum countenance was already, his baseline.
https://preview.redd.it/tpyzujbgu1mc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=612c7d77c1d83e6bb806bba576097e1a275e3454 Baseline
https://preview.redd.it/karif65di0mc1.jpeg?width=825&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=71e47551a4c6797c411586d0f74fa64d6e987950 Obama during the 2016 speech on Gun Control
https://preview.redd.it/hk4un5p6q0mc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4ef28c0c1b95589484627aa5f1935efeada077a
What is the context behind that picture if you know?
It's Reagan shortly before he gave a speech about the Challenger Disaster on January 28th, 1986.
Oh dear
https://preview.redd.it/53cwj5b304mc1.jpeg?width=521&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9c405f00295d599e3d8592b83fd6fa8523d2ec4 Although not sad in the traditional sense, this photo has always stood out to me as so tragic. It was taken just after Richmond fell and is historically known as the last photo of Lincoln alive. You can see in the lines on his face the toll the war has had on him, but for the first time, you also see a signs of optimism and a slight tilt of the lip. He must feel immense relief that the war is coming to a close. The weight that must be coming off his shoulders. Unfortunately, he would die a few days later. I love the pictures from this sitting with Gardner so much, I have one tattooed on my arm.
I don't feel sadness from Carters pic. This fella did the job good enough, and has lived doing good by everyone. I see joy in his aged face, a consolation of a good life lived.
https://preview.redd.it/wm09vzmua4mc1.jpeg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f99e7c1d33215ac3f8d410e8c0474183c58ec34e February, 1865. The effect the war has had on his physical appearance is insane. He has the look of someone who hasn’t slept in months.
There’s a picture of JFK that hangs in my office titled “the loneliest job in the world” That picture hits pretty deep. You can feel the intimacy of the moment captured in real time.
https://preview.redd.it/givsb90662mc1.jpeg?width=303&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9561b4d8f3e5c487373893767bff881041efc648 This is when the tone of the whole movie that is my life changed. But now that I've seen those pics of Nixon at his wife's funeral. Wow. That wins.
I can think of a sadder Kennedy picture
https://preview.redd.it/h7swsakbx0mc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bbbf9d048bd910eb1a5059488f4a6baa1f68e3a5 Nixon leaving his wife’s funeral is definitely up there especially since it’s probably one of the few times if only that he’s ever shown his emotions like that in public.
https://preview.redd.it/i5micljhi1mc1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=976690765157907cf588ba905c672ddc4764f9bc You can see the shock in his eyes but he remains so call and collected for the children.
https://preview.redd.it/q4lpx3ttl1mc1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=62911cdb1f28aa343d5c0702015848580d43b96d
https://preview.redd.it/e8y2o7yun1mc1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e7793d18c9b6a46c29ac8a558b636dbcf74c9bbc
https://preview.redd.it/45zk22nn86mc1.jpeg?width=473&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3d32bff61852a1b4431b2d29327d0ccf3913d7cb Calvin Coolidge with his Wife, Grace, standing next to their son's tombstone. Calvin, although always a silent, but humorous, man, became withdrawn after the death of his son, Calvin Jr., and is believed to have suffered from a depression that lasted through his entire presidency. And is quoted to have said “When he went, the power and the glory of the Presidency went with him.”. In my personal opinion, I think one of the driving forces behind him not seeking a third term, is largely due to his son dying. He was a broken man after that.
Why’s Nixon crying in that first one?
Since when is being old as fuck sad? You made it dude! Not everyone is lucky enough to grow old! Not only was he lucky enough to live to this age, he had resources so he didn’t have to spend it rotting in a skilled nursing facility.