Aug. 1, 1963 - Following are some highlights of President Kennedy’s news conference today:
Nuclear Testing — The President expressed confidence today that the Senate will ratify the nuclear test ban treaty after thorough debate. He said the U.S. planned to continue underground testing.
Civil Rights — Mr. Kennedy said he was pleased with the diminishing intensity of civil rights demonstrations around the nation. Some demonstrations had been “self-defeating,” he observed. But, he emphasized, there must be no relaxation in the efforts to assure Negroes of their rights as citizens in what he described as “a national crisis of great proportions.”
China — The President described Communist China as a potential “menace” worse than any other since World War II. He cited Communist China’s huge and growing population and its aggressive “Stalinist” policies.
Cuba — The President said that students who had traveled to Cuba despite the Government’s prohibitions against such travel would have their passports lifted when they returned. He said that some involved were not students but Communists who would be subject to additional action.
