🔒 The Economist – Nudity, drinking, smoking: Winston Churchill’s unusual diplomacy

Winston Churchill’s visits to the White House showcase his mastery of political “soft skills.” His charm, strategic diplomacy, and savvy public relations endeared him to American presidents and the public, cementing his legacy as a formidable leader on both sides of the Atlantic.

Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.

The Economist

His time at the White House serves as a case study in getting what you want ___STEADY_PAYWALL___

Some questions of diplomatic protocol are tricky. Others are not. For instance, should one meet a head of state clothed or nude? Winston Churchill, Britain’s former prime minister and the puckish hero of a new history, often chose to grin—and bare it.

He made quite an impression during his time as the White House guest of two presidents. The chief usher at the White House recalled that “In his room, Mr Churchill wore no clothes at all most of the time during the day.” Churchill’s bodyguard remarked how President Franklin Roosevelt knocked on the door of the prime minister’s suite during Churchill’s first White House visit in December 1941, only to find that “Winston Churchill was stark naked, a drink in one hand, a cigar in the other.” Roosevelt, clearly flustered, offered to leave, but Churchill demurred: “You see, Mr President, I have nothing to hide.” The two leaders then spoke for an hour.

Read more: Churchill’s most-hated portrait is up for auction, set to fetch up to £800k

Born to an American mother and possessing lifelong Atlanticist instincts, Churchill stayed at the White House four times during Roosevelt’s three terms in office (along with another four visits to Hyde Park, Roosevelt’s redoubt in upstate New York) and once during Dwight Eisenhower’s presidency. Even allowing for the time and trouble of a long sea crossing, his visits were often protracted; the first lasted from December 22nd 1941 to January 14th 1942. It is doubtful that any foreign leader since has spent more time as a guest at the White House.

Churchill stayed in what is today known as the Queens’ bedroom. He was not the easiest houseguest, keeping odd hours and working and talking into the early hours of the morning. Eleanor Roosevelt said it “always took” her husband “several days to catch up on sleep after Mr Churchill left.” Padding around the White House halls barefoot in his “siren suit” (a romper that he began wearing during air raids on London), Churchill earned the admiration of the White House staff for his prodigious appetite. A Secret Service officer said that he “consumed brandy and scotch with a grace and enthusiasm that left us all open-mouthed in awe”.

Roosevelt and Churchill worked differently: the president was circumspect, restrained and cagey, while the prime minister was effusive, commanding and had far more experience in military affairs. Nonetheless, their meetings were productive: Churchill’s first visit laid the groundwork for a unified Allied command; his second, after the crushing defeat at Tobruk, for future operations in Europe; and the third for the landings at Normandy.

Read more: Churchill’s message for those in ivory towers – no substitute for listening to common folk

The fourth visit with Roosevelt was brief, lasting just 32 hours. Roosevelt had been sidelining—and at least once openly mocked—Churchill in an effort to get closer to Josef Stalin. Churchill’s last visit,with Eisenhower, had a funereal cast. He was starting to show his age, and both the British Empire and Britain’s place in the world were much diminished. Churchilltried and failed to arrange a summit between himself, the president and Stalin. Despite Eisenhower’s respect for Churchill, he was yesterday’s man.

Yet Churchill still had his personal magnetism, and in essence this book is a case study in the savvy deployment of political “soft skills”. Churchill knew when to push and when to flatter, when to lead and when to follow (or at least give the impression of following), how to charm and how to inspire. He also knew the value of good publicity: whatever he actually felt about Roosevelt and Eisenhower, it suited him to have the world believe they were great friends, so that was the story he promulgated to the press and in public.

That not only kept the presidents onside and ensured he was kept in the loop, but it also made “the chubby little man with the fat black cigar”, as one newspaper described him, deeply popular across America. Such popularity has endured: American historians are still writing books about him nearly 80 years after his last White House visit.

Read also:

• 🔒 RW Johnson – Labour’s “landslide” – how Farage’s poison pill slammed Tories
• 🔒 80th anniversary of D-day: Honoring courage and sacrifice
• Keir Starmer’s early test: Far-right violence in UK surges after Southport attack – Martin Ivens