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A new campaign launched by the JFK Foundation takes a pretty obvious shot at Donald Trump.

#WordsCount

via paal @flickr/Flickr

One of the most enduring parts of John F. Kennedy’s legacy are his powerful speeches. Although Kennedy’s time in office was tragically cut short, his words helped light the way in a time when America was steeped in the Cold War and coming to terms with its internal divisions between race, gender, and generations.


While trying to heal the fissures in America’s social fabric he also pointed to the future by proposing plans to eliminate poverty and challenging us to go to the moon and beyond.

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“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

“If not us, who? If not now, when?”

“Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly.”

“Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”

“We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or make it the last.”

In 2018, Kennedy’s thoughtful, challenging, and uplifting words seem even more important in the era of Donald Trump. Trump uses words to divide, mislead, and diminish the American people and our allies, while giving little thought to their power.

The The JFK Library Foundation has teamed up with The Martin Agency to help bring Kennedy’s words to a new generation of Americans. Its new Words Count project will post quotes from the late president on the @JohnFKennedy Twitter account under #WordsCount.

While the campaign hasn’t admitted to being anti-Trump, it’s clear its intent is underline the effect a president’s words can have on society.

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“With each call to action made by President Kennedy during his time in office, he invited Americans to help him solve problems facing our nation,” Steven Rothstein, executive director at the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, said a statement.

“Today, we see citizen activism on the rise, increased voter participation rates and a new generation that is speaking out and getting involved in the political process,” Rothstein continued. “With the launch of this effort, we hope JFK’s words will speak directly to them, with the immediacy and urgency of a modern platform, to be a guiding light as they set out to shape our future.”

Here are some of the campaigns’ best tweets:

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