# How many people knew FDR could not walk? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 7, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-knew-fdr-could-not-walk/655075 "2013-04-07T14:41:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 12
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-knew-fdr-could-not-walk/655075/12 "2013-04-07T17:17:38Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Did people know about his illness before his first election in 1932? Or did they find out while he was in office? The ‘beating polio’ theme was part of his 1932 campaign. There was a widely seen newsreel shot that purported to show him walking out of a clinic. In actuality he was supported by others and only took a single step with his braces on. His campaign was carefully crafted to show him as a vital man. He was often portrayed wearing a hat with the front brim folded up as if he was facing into the wind, and the cigarette holder clenched in his teeth was an obvious phallic symbol. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-people-knew-fdr-could-not-walk/655075)._