148 / 230
TO SEEKVICE PRESIDENCY “WOULD ABSOLUTELY RUIN ME”
205
●
TRUMAN, HARRY S. Typed Letter Signed, “Harry,” with a 3-line holograph
postscript, to future presidential Administrative Assistant, Edward D. McKim, explaining
that his absence was due to an injury suffered by his mother, vehemently denying any
desire for a Vice President candidacy, and in the postscript, anticipating a meeting on June
22. 1 page, 4to,“United States Senate” stationery; two hole punches in upper margin, hori-
zontal folds. (TFC)
Washington, 22 May 1944
[800/1,200]
“
. . . I am supposed to speak at the meeting on the Twenty Second . . . .We can get a parlor suite at
the Coronado that will knock the eyes out of any visitors you may have. . . .
“
My West Coast trip was rather a hectic affair. I held a hearing in Seattle for two days, one in San
Francisco for a day, and then a three-day hearing in Los Angeles, after which I went to Salt Lake City
and Ogden and made political speeches. I went to Phoenix and made another one, and finally would
up in Lubbock with a fourth one, and from there I drove to Amarillo and through to Kansas City.
“
I appreciated Hayden’s mention of me for Vice President, but as I have told you time and time again
I am not a candidate and don’t expect to be. It would absolutely ruin me from the standpoint of the
Senate and throw away nine years of the hardest sort of work.”
Soon after writing the present letter,Truman accepted nomination as Vice President, and less than one
year later, he became the 33rd President of the United States.