Video: Oct. 16, 1972 (1:40)

(Monday, October 16, 1972, during the Vietnam War, part of the Cold War) — U.S. President Richard Nixon, in a surprise appearance before a Washington gathering of wives and families of prisoners of war and men missing in action, declared today that he got “precious little support” for his Vietnam strategy from those who, he said, are supposed to be the opinion leaders of the country.

“As you recall, I made the decision to mine the harbors, to bomb military targets in North Vietnam. That decision was the right decision,” said Nixon. “Those who predicted that it would lead to the dissolution of the summit — the leaders of the media, the great editors, and publishers and television commentators and the rest — proved to be wrong.”