Before the Tet Offensive, President Johnson used a technique called the "success offensive." This was designed to trick people into believing the war had been won. Johnson, in a sense, needed to “sell the war” and convince people to support it. The war administration was told to withhold information that might turn people against it. For example, “until 1967, the U.S. Army did not release a total count of American soldiers killed and missing.” Johnson intentionally lied to the public by saying things like, “the enemy has been defeated battle after battle” and “our patience and perseverance will match our might. Aggression will never prevail." The truth could only be hidden until a journalist named Walter Cronkite witnessed some battles firsthand and was completely shocked by the violence and desperation of the Viet Cong. He exclaimed, "What the hell is going on? I thought we were winning the war." When he returned from Vietnam on February 27, he made a news program telling the world the horrors of the Vietnam War. Americans were shocked by the disturbing images in the press that told a completely different story than the government's, people were disappointed in the government. This new reality overstretches the already growing credibility gap to a breaking point. Even the press no longer believed the information that the army and government conveyed to them after receiving this news. The Tet Offensive horrified all Americans, convincing them that there would never be an end