Presidential Recordings Program

At 6:01 P.M. on April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was pronounced dead at 7:05 P.M. At 9:07 P.M. that same evening, President Johnson read a short statement for radio and television broadcast from outside the entrance to the West Lobby of the White House. The statement read:

President Johnson: Hello?

Harry Truman: Hello?

President Johnson: Mr. President?

Truman: Well, how are you?

President Johnson: I read on the ticker where you were thinking about going to Israel.

Harry Truman: Yes?

Operator: It’s President Johnson, sir.

President Johnson: I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas and tell you that you are loved.