The one and only summit meeting between the two did not have the outcome the president might have wanted, in part because Kennedy was ill-prepared, he later revealed to a journalist.

There were no clear strategic goals for the meeting, something that historians say contributed to the nebulous result. The two leaders bickered over which country had spent more time manipulating elections, according to historical accounts of the meeting, and they argued over the merits of capitalism and communism.

“I never met a man like this,” Kennedy told Hugh Sidey of Time magazine. Kennedy said he “talked about how a nuclear exchange would kill 70 million people in 10 minutes, and he just looked at me as if to say, ‘So what?’”

Khrushchev told Kennedy it would be up to the United States to decide if there would be war or peace between the two nations.

“Then, Mr. Chairman,” Kennedy responded, “there will be war. It will be a cold winter.”

Relations quickly grew more hostile. The Berlin Wall was erected a few months later, dividing the city between communist East and capitalist West. James Reston of The New York Times wrote in his memoir, “Deadline,” that the president came out of the meeting determined to show toughness.