Sputnik Declassified

See the documentary here: DefenceDog: Sputnik Declassified

Author mentions that US can outrun the Soviets in satellite race by more than a decade but the then President vetoed all such space ambitions; as he didn’t want US to set a predicament for a Space race or more still space warfare…Is this documentary made to save the face of US technical inferiority is the respective field as compared to Soviets..or is it true. Comment on it..