| Richard Nixon |
| ||| HOME ||| JFK ||| ASSASSINATION |
 Nixon said that he first heard about Kennedy's death during a taxi ride in New York City. However, a United Press International photo taken that day tells a different story. The photo shows a "shocked Richard Nixon" having already learned of Kennedy's assassination upon his arrival at New York's Idlewild Airport - in other words, before his alleged taxi ride. Perhaps Nixon was trying to deflect attention from the fact that the plane he had arrived on had originated from Dallas, Texas.
Nixon had been in Dallas from November 20 to the 22 attending meetings with right-wing politicians and executives from the Pepsi-Cola company. While in town he garnered much ink after a few death threats, but, in true macho Republican style, he refused to add any new bodyguards to his entourage. Some believe Nixon's bravado was a setup, goading the self-consciously virile Kennedy into eschewing simple security measures while riding through Dallas. The ploy also diverted the attention of the Secret Service. |