How a mistake spread from the White House to the New York Times and the JFK Library

Jacqueline Kennedy, Plucky Pierre and the tending of history

Aug 10, 2026

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Press Secretary Pierre Salinger holds cigar as he and President John F. Kennedy look over documents in 1962. (White House photo by Cecil Stoughton)

Soon after John F. Kennedy took office as president in 1961, the first lady’s press secretary sent a draft news release to Jacqueline Kennedy for approval.

“If this is o.k….would you send it back to me, so tha…

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