From the Desk of Harry S. Truman: Presidential Debate Advice | September 26, 2016
![From the Desk of Harry S. Truman: Presidential Debate Advice](https://www.trumanlibraryinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/HST-and-JFK.jpg)
From the Desk of Harry S. Truman: Presidential Debate Advice
Fifty-six years ago today, Democratic Presidential nominee John F. Kennedy debated then-Vice President and Republican nominee Richard M. Nixon in the first-ever televised debate. More than 65 million people viewed the debate. Harry and Bess Truman were two of those viewers. Two days later, President Truman sent a telegram to Senator Kennedy with a single piece of advice for future debates. What did the former president write to the future president?
Keep him on the defensive.
![truman-to-kennedy](http://trumanlibraryinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Truman-to-Kennedy.jpg)
For more on Harry Truman’s engagement with national political campaigns after his presidency, see the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum’s online collection, “The President As Campaigner, 1952-1972.” The collection includes 132 documents totaling 538 pages covering the years 1952 through 1972. Supporting materials include photographs, oral history transcripts, public papers, audio recordings and museum objects.