JFK Aide Robert McNamara ‘May Have Offered an Escape’ to Jackie Kennedy, Book Claims

Jackie Kennedy had a close bond with John F. Kennedy’s Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.

In a new book, McNamara At War: A New History, written by Philip and William Taubman, personal letters between McNamara — who played a significant role in the Vietnam War — and Jackie were published for the first time, according to The Daily Mail.

According to the book, “Both McNamara and Jackie seemed to yearn for companionship outside their marriages, even intimacy, if more of the soul than the body.”

“For Jackie, an offstage friendship with McNamara may have offered an escape from the glare of the White House and the intensity of the Kennedy clan and its preoccupation with politics and competitive sports,” the book stated. “Here was a confident, powerful, and reliable man, yet in her company a surprisingly vulnerable and empathetic figure who could be trusted to keep secrets and favored some of the same books and music that she did.”

The pair’s tight bond reportedly kicked off on February 9, 1962, when they danced the Twist together at a White House party.

Afterward, Jackie put together a sweet Valentine’s Day collage for McNamara of newspaper clippings about them doing the Twist, and a few days later, she sent him photos of them from the event and a note that joked she would “invoke executive privilege” if Republicans saw the snaps, per The Daily Mail.

In October 1962, Jackie reportedly sent him a note expressing her appreciation for his efforts during the Cuban Missile Crisis and empathizing with the stress of the situation.

“Please know that this is not said as Jack’s wife – but just as a plain person,” she allegedly wrote.

Then, in 1963, McNamara made Jackie a Valentine’s Day card, which she responded to with her own card featuring a heart and an arrow through it.

The pair seemingly maintained their relationship through various notes and outings, with McNamara serving as a support system for Jackie after JFK was assassinated. However, their relationship weakened after Jackie married Aristotle Onassis in 1968.