President Johnson's Gulf of Tonkin 'Midnight Address'
President Johnson at the podium for his late-night televised address of 4 August 1964, telling Americans that North Vietnamese boats had attacked U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin for a second time and announcing retaliatory air strikes. Three days later Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. The second attack did not take place, and the intercepts cited as proof had been selected and presented as confirmation.
- Date
- August 4, 1964
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- U.S. government (President Lyndon B. Johnson)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Broadcast
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Johnson Administration
- Leader
- Lyndon B. Johnson
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Media and information
- Event
- Vietnam War
- Techniques
- Card stacking
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Wikimedia Commons, retrieved September 27, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
White House Photo Office, LBJ Presidential Library (NARA).
Text on the object
...OF THE UNITED STATES [visible arc of the Presidential Seal on the front of the lectern] / ...UNUM [fragment of the eagle's beak banner, the rest hidden behind the eagle's head]
The visible 'UNUM' is part of the Seal's Latin motto banner (E Pluribus Unum, 'Out of many, one'); only 'one' is legible here. The rim text is already English.
This is the fixed Seal of the President of the United States affixed to the lectern, not a message written for this speech. Only its lower-left arc and part of the eagle's beak banner are lit/in frame; the seal's top ('SEAL OF THE PRESIDENT') is in shadow or outside the crop and was not read. No other text (e.g. on the flag, microphones, or wall) is visible.
