As presidential historian Douglas Brinkley explained to CNN’s Dana Bash on “Inside Politics,” Truman — at the nadir of his popularity — tried to turn his image around with a similar grand statement on the Fourth of July. And he ultimately decided not to run for re-election at all.
“Very different time back July 4th, 1951,” said Bash. “A big birthday for the president then. And that president was Harry Truman, and he gave a speech on the Mall talking about self-control, patriotism, faith and institutions. Meaning he gave a pretty political statement and speech at that time.”
“Yeah,” said Brinkley. “And Truman only had about 150,000 people there … this was in the middle of the Korean War. Election cycle was coming up in 1952. They used to say he had a 27 percent approval rating. He thought by speaking at the Mall it might bring him up a little bit. It didn’t, and Truman couldn’t run for re-election.”
”- From a report about when President Harry Truman inserted himself into a July 4 celebration
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