 Two nights later, after being joined by the destroyer "C. Turner Joy", the "Maddox" again reported that both vessels were under attack.Regardless, President Johnson addressed Congress asking for more political power to utilize American military forces in South Vietnam, using the attack on the "Maddox" as cause to get what he wanted.There was rampant confusion in Washington, but the incident was seen by the administration as the perfect opportunity to present Congress with "a pre-dated declaration of war" in order to strengthen weakening morale in South Vietnam through reprisal attacks by the U.S. on the North.