Presidential taping systems are the political history gifts that keep on giving. U.S. Presidents dating back to FDR and on through Richard Nixon taped many of their phone calls. And Jack Kennedy was no different.So it was on this date in 1963 that an angry President Kennedy called Canadian PM John Diefenbaker a “liar,” as he discussed a news story -- written by Parliamentary Press Gallery legend Charles Lynch -- that had gotten under JFK’s skin. Upon reading the news article, Kennedy phoned his Assistant Secretary of State, William R. Tyler, to discuss the American response to Dief.You can listen to JFK’s call at this link.[caption id="attachment_611046" align="alignleft" width="572"]
Prime Minister John Diefenbaker is seen here with U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Ottawa in 1961. (CP PHOTOS)[/caption]Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.
Prime Minister John Diefenbaker is seen here with U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Ottawa in 1961. (CP PHOTOS)[/caption]Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.