FDR: Fala Campaign Speech 1944 :)

[appalachiablue]

- Pres. Roosevelt responds to Republican attacks & Dewey in reelection campaign speech, Sept. 23, 1944.

- 'FDR Defends His Dog, Fala.' On Sept. 23, 1944, during a campaign dinner with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, President Franklin D. Roosevelt makes a reference to his small dog, Fala, who had recently been the subject of a Republican political attack. The offense prompted Roosevelt to defend his dog’s honor and his own reputation. After addressing pertinent labor issues and America’s status in World War II, FDR explained that Republican critics had circulated a story claiming that Roosevelt had accidentally left Fala behind while visiting the Aleutian Islands earlier that year. They went on to accuse the president of sending a Navy destroyer, at a taxpayer expense of up to $20 million, to go back and pick up the dog.

Roosevelt said that though he and his family had “suffered malicious falsehoods” in the past, he claimed the right to “object to libelous statements about my dog.” Roosevelt went on to say that the desperate Republican opposition knew it could not win the upcoming presidential election and used Fala as an excuse to attack the president. He half-jokingly declared that his critics sullied the reputation of a defenseless dog just to distract Americans from more pressing issues facing the country...https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-defends-his-dog

[Deuxcents]

1. Ty..I have seen this before

But never tire of it. Good reminder that humor can sting better than most anything. The delivery was priceless..

[appalachiablue]

3. A wonderful example of his genius and wit

[empedocles]

2. FDR's sense of timing; for a joke, a campaign, or a war, was astounding.

[dflprincess]

4. "Republican fiction writers"

We can only wonder what he would have said about Fox.

[Scottie Mom]

5. My Scottie Abigail applauded all the way thru!

❤️ Scotties!!!