THIS IS a time of tragedy and loss. Senator Robert Kennedy is dead.
Robert Kennedy affirmed this country-affirmed the essential decency of its people, their longing for peace, their desire to improve conditions of life for all.
During his life, he knew far more than his share of personal tragedy.
Yet he never abandoned his faith in America. He never lost his confidence in the spiritual strength of ordinary men and women. He believed in the capacity of the young for excellence--and in the right of the old and poor to a life of dignity.
Our public life is diminished by his loss. Mrs. Johnson and I extend our deepest sympathy to Mrs. Kennedy and his family. I have issued a proclamation calling upon our Nation to observe a day of mourning for Robert Kennedy.
Note: The President read the statement and portions of the proclamation for broadcast by radio and television. For the text of the proclamation, see Item 295.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President on the Death of Senator Kennedy Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/237146