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Break from the Grind October 4, 2010
TRIVIAL PURSUITS: Who Was the First President to Broadcast a Paid Political Ad on TV?
October 5, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Who was the first American Presidential candidate to broadcast a paid political ad on television?
Reported by Nevin E. Adams
Answer: Harry Truman
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the first American president to appear on TV–from the World’s Fair in New York City on April 30, 1939.
However, it was Harry Truman who not only made the first-ever televised presidential address from the White House (On October 5, 1947), but was also the first presidential candidate, in 1948, to broadcast a paid political ad on the medium.