what does "the undertow of public disapproval"mean?
Once the identity of the assassin had been established elaborate attempts were made to sponge away the memory of these incidents. The Radical Right wasn't contrite. Its initial glee was confirmed and reconfirmed; during a meeting in the Cosmos Club which was brought to the attention of the FBI in Washington six months after the tragedy, a retired Marine Corps general told an admiring group of retired military officers that "It was the hand of God that pulled the trigger that killed Kennedy." But the radicals were content to leave the guilt in Oswald's grave. Their goal had been achieved, and they were anxious to avoid the undertow of public disapproval.

Question

what does "the undertow of public disapproval"mean?
Once the identity of the assassin had been established elaborate attempts were made to sponge away the memory of these incidents. The Radical Right wasn't contrite. Its initial glee was confirmed and reconfirmed; during a meeting in the Cosmos Club which was brought to the attention of the FBI in Washington six months after the tragedy, a retired Marine Corps general told an admiring group of retired military officers that "It was the hand of God that pulled the trigger that killed Kennedy."  But the radicals were content to leave the guilt in Oswald's grave. Their goal had been achieved, and they were anxious to avoid the undertow of public disapproval.

Answer

Undertow is being used as a metaphor here.

In oceanic settings, an undertow is water flowing under the surface away from the coast.  They're considered dangerous to beach goers as the person can get 'caught' in the undertow and pulled away from the coast.  Swimming against the undertow often results in exhaustion and eventually drowning.

"the undertow of public disapproval" might be visualized as, not water, but public disapproval pushing them away from the safe 'coast' and into a dangerous situation.

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