President John F. Kennedy at his 1961 meeting with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev. “By accident,” The Post reported, “President Kennedy almost sat in Mrs. Khrushchev’s lap tonight.” The article described how Kennedy had been perched on a sofa talking to the Austrian president and Soviet premier when several women joined them. Kennedy tried to charm Khrushchev with self-deprecation, but he wasn’t able to persuade his counterpart to admit mistakes, according to Beschloss. As for the United States’ interest in overthrowing Fidel Castro, Khrushchev scoffed at Kennedy. By the end of the second day of meetings — when Khrushchev demanded that the United States agree to Communist control over access to Berlin — Kennedy was spent.

Source: Washington Post July 07, 2017 00:53 UTC