How Kennedy Narrowly Defeated Nixon — and Why the Alternative History Would Have Been Devastating The 1960 election was closer than you think. And had Nixon won, it might have meant nuclear war.

Getty Images Presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon shake hands after their televised debate on Oct. 7, 1960.

Vice President Richard Nixon and Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy faced off in the first televised presidential debate in U.S. history on this day in history, Sept. 26, 1960.

During the 1960 Presidential election, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon faced off in their first head to head debate.

Kennedy-Nixon Debate John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon discuss education during the first presidential debate in 1960.

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. delivers a speech outlining his foreign policy vision at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Wednesday, June 12, 2024.

Sen. John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard M. Nixon participated the first ever televised debate on Sept. 26, 1960 at the old CBS Chicago studios. Bill Kurtis reports on the history of ...

One photo shows the Sept. 26, 1960, debate between then-Vice President Richard Nixon and then-Sen. John F. Kennedy from behind the cameras and lights used in the first-ever televised clash.

Who Played Kennedy in An Evening With Richard Nixon and... POPULAR 1 Voting Open For The 2024 BroadwayWorld Regional Awards Worldwide ...

Veteran journalist Chris Wallace joins "CBS Mornings" to talk about his new book, "Countdown 1960," which gives an inside look at the campaigns of John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon are seen here in Chicago in this September 26, 1960 file photo during one of their infamous television debates of the 1960 Presidential campaign.