President Barack Obama signs the Budget Control Act in the Oval Office on this day in 2011. ───────── Subscribe for free for daily historical snapshots: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

“God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes – and we must.” — Jimmy Carter ─────────── Subscribe for free for daily impactful quotes: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

The Oval Office on this day in 2014. ───────────── Subscribe for daily snapshots from the Obama presidency: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

President Harry Truman, the only president in the 20th century to not hold a college degree, was a voracious reader, once saying, “Not all readers become leaders, but all leaders must be readers.” ────────── Subscribe for free for daily historical snapshots: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela ────────────── Subscribe for daily historical quotes: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

The Oval Office on this day in 2012. ───────────── Subscribe for snapshots from the Obama presidency: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

On July 17, 2009, Walter Cronkite died at the age of 92. Known as the “most trusted man in America,” Cronkite served as anchorman of the CBS Evening News for 19 years. Subscribe for more daily history: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

On July 16, 2013, President Barack Obama met with Make-A-Wish child Suhail Zaveri, 14, in the Oval Office. Subscribe for more daily history: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

On July 13, 1973, White House aide Alexander Butterfield informed the Senate Watergate Committee that he was aware of a recording device in the Oval Office, a remark that would ultimately lead to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

On July 12, 1984, Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale announced he had selected Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate, marking the first time a woman was tapped to represent a major American political party on a presidential ticket.

On July 11, 1963, President John F. Kennedy sat for an official portrait in the Oval Office, captured by White House photographer Cecil Stoughton.

In a new interview, Mitt Romney said he would not be a candidate for president again, adding, “I basically think people who are 80 and above really should not be running the world.”

Throughout his career, President Joe Biden would often repeat the mantra that “America leads not by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.” ───────────── Subscribe for more daily history: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law, banning discrimination and segregation in public accommodations. In remarks at the White House that day, Johnson said, “Let us lay aside irrelevant differences and make our nation whole.”

🗃️ Today, Mel Brooks turns 100. In 2016, President Barack Obama awarded the legendary filmmaker and comedian the National Medal of Arts, where Brooks pretended to pull down the President’s pants. ───────────── Subscribe for daily presidential history: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

The Oval Office on this day in 2012. ────────────── Subscribe for more snapshots from the Obama presidency: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

In June 2015, the White House was illuminated in rainbow colors to celebrate the Supreme Court’s landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. ───────────── Subscribe for more daily history: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

The Oval Office on this day in 2012. ────────────── Subscribe for more snapshots from the Obama presidency: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

On the eve of the 1960 presidential election, Senator John F. Kennedy said, “I want the United States to have the best educated citizens in the world. That's the way we maintain democracy; that's the way we keep our freedom.” ─── Subscribe for daily history: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

Throughout his life, John F. Kennedy Jr. questioned the public’s fascination with his father’s assassination, saying he preferred to focus instead on his father’s life and accomplishments. ───────────── Subscribe for daily presidential history: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

In their post-presidential years, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford became such good friends that when Ford died in 2006, Ford requested that Carter accompany his casket on the plane ride to Washington, D.C.

In June 2021, President Biden signed a bill into law establishing Juneteenth as a national holiday, saying, “Great nations don't ignore their most painful moments.” ───────────── Subscribe for daily presidential history: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

Former Presidents Biden, Bush, and Clinton are in attendance at the dedication ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago today. ───────────── Subscribe for daily presidential history: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

On June 16, 2016, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden visited Orlando, Florida, to console the families of the 49 victims killed at the Pulse nightclub just days after the deadly shooting there. At the time, it was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

The Obama Presidential Center, which opens this week, has unveiled the first commissioned portrait of Barack and Michelle Obama. ────────────── Subscribe for daily presidential history: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

Speaking on the importance of journalism, Walter Cronkite once said, “Our job is only to hold up the mirror, to tell and show the public what has happened.” ───────────── Subscribe for daily historical snapshots: everythingbriefing.substack.com/subscribe

On June 13, 1967, President Lyndon Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. Two months later, the Senate confirmed the nomination in a 69 to 11 vote, making Marshall the first African American to serve on the high court.

“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country.” — Theodore Roosevelt

On June 8, 2011, White House photographer Pete Souza captured a photo of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office before their weekly lunch.

“A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.” — Edward R. Murrow