In 1939, Lindbergh began publicly opposing any US intervention in Europe. He spoke at massive antiwar rallies and attacked Roosevelt. Crowds flocked to Lindbergh, shouting, “Our next president!” Roosevelt, who had a long memory, began a campaign to undermine Lindbergh. Publicly, he called Lindbergh a “defeatist and appeaser.” Privately, he vowed, “I’ll clip that young man’s wings.” Lindbergh was soon shunned: the press crucified him as a Nazi sympathizer and traitor; streets that had been named in his honor were renamed. One city threatened to burn Lindbergh’s books in a public square.
