President Diem, my friend.:
Americans everywhere, I am sure, feel honored that they may welcome to this country--to this Capital--indeed to this house, one who has in a very short space of time established himself as an inspirational leader in his own country.
More than this, by his courage, his fortitude and his statesmanship, he has become an example for people everywhere who hate tyranny and love freedom.
I know that all of you will consider it a high privilege to rise with me and to drink a Toast to the President of the Viet-Namese Republic.
President Diem!
Note: The President proposed this toast at a dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House. President Diem responded as follows:
Mr. President, I wish to thank you for your gracious Toast. It is the unselfish act of the American people and your own moral support which after the general armistice have revived and inflamed the courage of the Viet-Namese people and helped us to survive against almost incredible odds.
This has shown the world that moral forces are always stronger than brutal terror, that good will prevail over evil. It is this fact which inspires my unflagging faith in the free world--our free world.
In the spirit of this faith and with all my heart, I wish to propose a Toast to this great country, the United States, and to its people and its great President, President Eisenhower.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Toasts of the President and President Diem of Viet-Nam Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/233271
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