re: #121 Dark_Falcon

What I was saying is that Khrushchev had already faced off with Nixon in the ‘Kitchen Debate’ and he would have known Nixon was unlikely to be pushed around, whereas a shaky performance at a summit had convinced Khrushchev he could in fact bully Kennedy.

It’s plausible that Khrushchev might not have gone toe to toe in such a fashion. It’s likewise possible that the two might have butted heads in some other way, one that would have been less conducive to a negotiated settlement. Hell, it’s very plausible that Nixon would have gone ahead with the Bay of Pigs invasion with massive military support, such that we’d have retaken Cuba but done so in a way as to embolden the Soviets to stage their own invasion elsewhere.

Thing about alternate timelines is that you can only speculate so far before you’re effectively pulling things out of your ass.