It’s the classic story of the 1920 election, but it’s probably not true, not in the way it’s told at least – that Warren Harding was chosen in a smoke-filled room. Sure, there was probably smoking in a Chicago hotel room in 1920, somewhere. Sure, there was some Presidential -picking chatter going on. But the story of a single, smoke-filled room in Chicago’s Blackstone Hotel that picked a President appears to be more of a legend.
Not only that it may be a legend on purpose, or as we now say, fake news. And that may be on purpose, as it originated from a tall tale told to a reporter to make a candidate look good.
This and how another fake news story was created to bring down Martin Van Buren’s Presidency and other stories of politics, leftovers from a 2020 cast.
My History Can Beat Up Your Politics 