New York University
Tim Naftali is a clinical associate professor of history and public service at New York University and co-director of its Center for the United States and the Cold War. A presidential historian, he is the author of several books on John F. Kennedy.
Naftali is a former senior research fellow at the New America Foundation and former director of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library.
National Archives to release JFK assassination files Picture of President Kennedy in the limousine in Dallas, Texas, on Main Street, minutes before the assassination, November 22, 1963. Photo by Walt Cisco/Dallas Morning News It's been fifty-three years and 11 months since President John F. Kennedy was gunned down in Dallas, but not all the relevant documents have been released. Oliver Stone's film JFK, released in 1991, is among the reasons conspiracy theories have been kept alive. Tim Naftali is a presidential historian and professor at New York University today is at the Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. Naftali says that the release of documents will tell us more about our fascination with conspiracies than any "Oswald conspiracy."
President Trump's consolation tour In the aftermath of disaster, the President of the United States is traditionally the "Uniter-in-Chief." But Donald Trump is often called "The Divider." His Administration stepped up after Hurricanes hit Texas and Florida. Today, the President is mourning victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. But yesterday in Puerto Rico, he continued to minimize the damage and loss of life after Hurricane Maria devastated the home of 3.4 million American citizens. Are officials keeping the death toll artificially low? Why has the US military been so late to arrive?
Republican Convention Wrap-Up Donald Trump's vision of America is a major departure from the traditional sunniness of the GOP. The Republican Party may be sharply divided, but delegates on the convention floor last night were enthusiastic about Trump's dark vision of contemporary America. After indulging in a bit of fear-mongering, Trump declared, "I have joined the political arena so that the powerful can no longer beat up on people that cannot defend themselves. Nobody knows the system better than me, which is why I alone can fix it." We get perspective from Tim Naftali, a former director of the Nixon Library who teaches history and public service at New York University, and from Walter Shapiro, a columnist for Roll Call and a lecturer at Yale University who is covering his tenth presidential campaign.
History's Worst Vice Presidents From Aaron Burr to Spiro Agnew, presidents and presidential nominees have made some really bad choices for running mate in the past. Now that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are carefully weighing their options for VP, we thought we’d help them by going back to look at some of the worst vice presidents in U.S. history.
A Nation On the Edge President Obama will be in Dallas tomorrow, to memorialize the five police officers gunned down by a sniper last week during a protest against police violence. Today, Police Chief David Brown said protesters deserve protection.
Acting "Presidential": Is That What Voters Want From Candidates? The question of what is "presidential" has become a topic in the presidential race. Donald Trump, responding to calls from his wife and others that he should act more "presidential," mocked the notion that he should adopt a more "presidential" manner this week, saying that he’s the most "presidential-looking" candidate. So, what does it mean to be "presidential"? Is it looks, as Trump would have voters believe? Is it dignity? What do voters want from their presidential candidates?
The Commander in Chief and the Evolution of Terrorism In a rare speech from the oval office last night, President Obama tried to bolster the morale of Americans. He did not outline any new plan to defeat the Islamic State, and Republican reaction ranged from House Speaker Paul Ryan, calling the speech "nothing new," to presidential candidates -- unanimous in saying the president's strategy isn’t working. Nobody has offered a strategy to prevent another San Bernardino with lone wolves acting alone, without any known confederates or Internet presence. Despite the power of military force and electronic surveillance, will the next national nightmare also be revealed only in hindsight?
Who Would Want to Be President? There was another Republican presidential debate last night. What does it take to be up there, and who would want to put themselves through it? And who would think they are qualified to be the leader of the most powerful country on earth?.
Fifty Years Later: The Legacy of JFK Much of America will stop for a moment today to observe the 50th anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination . Tens of thousands turned out for a moment of silence in Dallas, and the media hype is unavoidable. The President was gunned down in Dealey Plaza in the midst of the Cold War, at the beginning of the civil rights revolution. His presidency of less than three years had its ups and downs, but polls consistently show most Americans call it one of the greatest. Historians aren't so sure. So why is JFK so highly regarded? Why haven't negative revelations tarnished his image? We separate the man from the myth and look at how the memories of presidents are shaped by symbolism as well as historical facts.
Remembering Nixon on His 100th Birthday One of America’s most controversial presidents—the only one to resign from office—was born 100 years ago today. All this year, the Nixon Foundation has been running Centennial observances, including a gala this week in Washington and a gathering last weekend at the farmhouse in Whittier where Nixon was born. Tim Naftali is a former director of the Nixon Library and Museum, who says we should remember his faults as well as his achievements…
The Nixon Library is Official…Finally For years the Richard Nixon library and birthplace foundation in Yorba Linda was a freak in the national Presidential library system. It paid homage to the country’s 37th President but it was missing one thing, the President’s papers. After being forced to resign in 1974, most of Nixon’s papers were seized by the federal government because of ongoing investigations, and it took thirty years of negotiations to free them up. Finally, the opening of the official Nixon library was celebrated today .
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.