Canada’s greatest diplomat, Lester B. Pearson, was anything but diplomatic on a visit to Temple University in the United States on this date in 1965.
Pearson, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, was at the university to deliver a major address. With the Vietnam War raging, Canada’s Prime Minister suggested strongly to his U.S. audience that America consider a bombing pause over the skies of the war-torn Asian country. President Lyndon Johnson was, shall we say diplomatically, far from pleased. He invited Pearson to lunch at Camp David for an explosive meeting. “You pissed on my rug,” he reportedly shouted at the Prime Minister. Then the Texan grabbed the PM by the lapels in anger and lifted him. It was a terrible moment, perhaps the worst to have ever taken place in the long history of Canadian-American relations.Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist.
The views, opinions and analyses expressed in the articles on National Newswatch are those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the publishers.