John F. Kennedy

Press Statement in Response to Remarks on His Candidacy by Harry S. Truman

delivered 4 July 1960, Hotel Roosevelt, Los Angeles, California

[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed from a private screener video courtesy of the JFK Library]

Last Saturday, one of our most dedicated and courageous Presidents gave the nation his views on the forthcoming Democratic [national] Convention. In as much as Mr. Truman’s remarks were directed at me, I am taking this opportunity to respond to his statement.

First, Mr. Truman suggested that I step aside as a [Presidential] candidate in 1960. In response, let me say: I do not intend to step aside at anyone’s request. I was -- I was the only candidate to risk my chances in all the primaries, the only one to visit every state. I have encountered and survived every kind of hazard and opposition, and I do not intend to withdraw my name now on the eve of the Convention.

Secondly, Mr. Truman asserted that the Convention would be "controlled" or "pre-arranged."¹ In response, let me say, to the extent that I have anything to do with it, it will be an open Convention -- as every Convention of our broadly-based Party is open -- even though our candidate has been selected on the first ballot in every single Convention but one since 1932, including the 1948 Convention which nominated Mr. Truman.

To me, an open Convention means one reflecting the free will of delegates freely elected in contested primaries and in state conventions. But based on my observations of him in 1952, and in 1956, and last Saturday, Mr. Truman regards an open convention as one which studies all the candidates, reviews their records, and then takes his advice.

Nevertheless, I share his hope that our Convention will consider all prospective nominees, including all those he named and some he did not name. And I hope -- And I hope that Mr. Truman will attend the Convention; and should I be the nominee, I hope he will support me in the fall.

Third, Mr. Truman accused my supporters of using improper "pressure"² on the delegates. Not one concrete example has ever been named! I do not want any votes that have been pressured. And the facts of the matter are that my votes come from the primaries, where I entered all that were open, and from rank and file Democratic voters who voted for me in state conventions.

The perspective [prospective] candidates Mr. Truman named could have entered those primaries. Some of them were traveling widely all year and supporting my primary opponent, but not one of them entered a primary on his own.

The other candidates also had the same opportunity as I to present their record and views to the individual delegates and state conventions. Many of them have already been "properly sized up"³ -- to use Mr. Truman's words -- and they have their own backers who are not, I am told, without influence and the opportunity to pressure delegates.

Fourth and finally, the heart of Mr. Truman’s objection, it seems, is his question as to whether I am ready for the country, or the country is ready for me, in terms of maturity and experience. Let me say this as
objectively as I can: I did not undertake lightly to seek the presidency. It is not a prize or a normal object of ambition. It is the greatest office in the world.

And I came to that conclusion that I could best serve the United States in that Office after 18 years in the service of this country -- first as a Naval Officer in World War II, and for the past 14 years as a Member of the Congress. In the last 20 years, I have traveled in nearly every continent and country; and in the last few years, in every state of the Union -- more than any other active candidate, more than any active contender, now or in history, to the best of my knowledge. My writings, addresses, and activities in foreign and domestic affairs speak for themselves; and I am willing to let our Party and nation be the judge of my experience and ability.

But this much ought to be understood: If we are to establish a test for the Presidency whereby 14 years in major elective office is insufficient experience, then all but three of the ten possibilities mentioned by Mr.
Truman last Saturday must be ruled out; all but a handful of our Presidents since the very founding of this nation should be ruled out; and every President elevated to that Office in the 20th century should have been ruled out, including the three great Democratic Presidents: Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, and Harry Truman himself.

And if we are to establish a so-called maturity test which finds men 43 years of age or younger unfit for leadership, a test, by the way, not met by all those listed by Mr. Truman, and not in keeping with the Constitutional test of [age] 35 -- then -- which is prescribed in the Constitution -- then history has repeatedly violated this principle in the lives of President Theodore Roosevelt, Prime Minister William Pitt, and a whole host of other leaders stretching back through Napoleon to Alexander the Great. To exclude from positions of trust and command all those below the age of 44 would have kept Jefferson from writing the Declaration of Independence, Washington from commanding the Continental Army, Madison from fathering the Constitution, Hamilton from serving as Secretary of the Treasury, Clay from being elected Speaker of the House, and Christopher Columbus from even discovering America.

But I do not believe -- I do not believe the American people are willing to impose any such test. For this is still a young country, founded by young men, a hundred and eighty four years ago today; and it is still young in heart, youthful in spirit, and blessed with new young leaders in both Parties in both Houses of Congress and Governor’s chairs throughout the country.

The strength and health and vigor of these young men is equally needed in the White House. For during my lifetime alone, four out of our seven Presidents have suffered major health setbacks that impaired, at least
temporarily, their exercise of Executive leadership. Older men may always be appointed to the Cabinet. Their wise counsel of experience will be invaluable. But then, if ill health cuts short their work, others
may replace them. But a President is selected for four or possibly eight years, and the voters deserve to know that his strength and vigor will remain at the helm.

So, if in the coming weeks both Parties in their respective Conventions should nominate candidates still in their 40s -- and Mr. Nixon and I, as a matter of fact, entered the Congress together 14 years ago -- the country will, I am confident, be ready for that choice. We have had six previous Presidents in their 40s and many presidential candidates -- some, in fact, in their 30s.

It is true, of course, that almost all of the major world world leaders today on both sides of the Iron Curtain are men past the age of 65. It is true that the world today is largely in the hands of men whose education was completed before the whole course of international events was altered by two World Wars. But who is to say how successful they have been in improving the fate of the world? And who is to replace these men as the passage of time removes them from the scene -- and removes those born in the 19th century?

The world is changing. The old ways will not do. The balance of power is shifting: There are new and more terrible weapons; new and uncertain nations; new pressures of population and automation that were never
considered before. And in many of these new countries, I have noticed, in both Africa and Asia, they are electing young men to leadership -- men who are not bound by the traditions of the past, men who are not blinded by the old fears and rivalries, men who can cast off the old slogans and illusions and suspicions.

It is time for a new generation of leadership, to cope with new problems and new opportunities. For there is a new world to be won, a world of peace and good will, a world of hope and abundance. And I want America to lead the way to that new world.

Mr. Truman asked me if I think I am ready. And I am reminded that 100 years ago, Abraham Lincoln -- not yet President, and under fire from veteran politicians, wrote these words: "I see the storm coming, and I know His Hand is in it. If He has a place and work for me...I believe that I
am ready."⁴

Today I say to you with full knowledge of the responsibilities of that high Office that if the people of the nation select me to be their President, I am ready.

¹ Relevant quotation: "As you already know, I have resigned as a delegate from Missouri to the Democratic national Convention. I did this because I have no desire whatever to be a party to proceedings that are taking on the aspects of a prearranged affair. A convention which is controlled in advance by one group and its candidate leaves the delegates no opportunity for a democratic choice, and reduces the convention to a mockery." [Emphasis added. As transcribed from the audio. Source: https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/soundrecording-records/sr60-719-press-conference-concerning-resignation-delegate-1960-national]

² Relevant quotation: "I'm speaking up at this time because I would hope that many of the delegates who have been stampeded or pressured into pre-convention commitments against their better judgment -- and I know of first-hand of such instances -- I hope those delegates will have a chance to exercise further judgment." [Emphasis added. As transcribed from the audio. Source: https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/soundrecording-records/sr60-719-press-conference-concerning-resignation-delegate-1960-national]

³ Relevant quotation: "In endorsing Senator Simington I felt that we could elect him because he would have the important advantage of a united Party. I'd like to have been at the Convention in Los Angeles to second his nomination. But since the overriding importance at this time is the necessity for an open Convention, We must be absolutely certain that all of our good men be properly sized up on the Convention floor before a final choice is made." [Emphasis added. As transcribed from the audio. Source: https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/soundrecording-records/sr60-719-press-conference-concerning-resignation-delegate-1960-national]

⁴ Extended quotation: "I know there is a God, and that He hates injustice and slavery. I see the storm coming, and I know that His hand is in it. If He has a place and work for me -- and I think He has -- I believe I am ready. I am nothing, but truth is everything. I know I am right because I know that liberty is right, for Christ teaches it, and Christ is God. I have told them that a house divided against itself cannot stand, and Christ and reason say the same; and they will find it so." [Source: https://www.mrlincolnandfriends.org/the-politicians/newton-bateman/]

Transcript Note: The transcript above reflects the entirety of Kennedy's formal remarks -- there is a Q&A session that followed -- as transcribed directly from a private video obtained courtesy of the JFK Library. A non-screener video containing President Kennedy's remarks above, along with the Q&A, is available for licensing at IP@jfklfoundation.org

Original Text Source: jfklibrary.org

Page Updated: 9/16/24

U.S. Copyright Status: Text = Uncertain.