On August 8, just before a press conference, Hagerty advised Eisenhower that black voters in the North were likely to fall in line behind the Democrats anyway, and too much pressure on civil rights would alienate white southerners. Ike agreed. When asked by reporters later that day if the GOP platform should explicitly embrace the Brown decision, Eisenhower dodged the question. “I don’t know how the Republican plank on this particular point is going to be stated,” he said.
