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FACT BRIEF

Did Nikita Khrushchev say in a 1959 speech, 'Your children's children will live under communism'?

By Sarah Thompson
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A viral text claims Nikita Khrushchev made a speech stating, "Your children's children will live under communism. You Americans are so gullible..." on September 29, 1959. There is no record Khrushchev ever said this in a public speech.

The Soviet leader did visit the United States, September 15-27, 1959. He was back in Moscow by September 28.

A possible source for the purported quote was the first-hand recollection of Ezra Taft Benson, secretary of agriculture in 1959.

In a 1966 speech, Benson attributed a similar quote to Khrushchev. But it seems unlikely that Khrushchev said something so momentous to Benson with no one else overhearing, and that Benson didn't repeat for seven years -- and then 41 minutes into a 48-minute speech.

A translated copy of the book, "Khrushchev in America," which chronicles his 1959 trip to the USA and all of the speeches, does not mention that quote.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Jeremy Goff Ezra Taft Benson, 'Our Immediate Responsibility,' speech recorded Oct 25, 1966
Internet Archive Full text of "KHRUSHCHEV IN AMERICA"
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.