Nixon and Trump: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall I of 3
By
Jenny Deason Copeland
Jenny Deason Copeland
Lately comparisons to Nixon and Trump just will not cease. And for good reason. As a student of the Nixon administration the comparisons between these two leaders have both stark similarities and some glaring departures.
My daily internet news sources, LBN (Levine Briefing Notes), Detroit Free Press. Toledo Blade and the Washington Post are favorites, all have had articles comparing Trump to Nixon. The nightly newscasters and political pundits have held a mirror up to Trump and found Nixon staring back at them.
The first comparison that comes to mind between these two presidencies is a review of each man’s negotiating techniques.
Trump negotiates from a bully stance. He starts with stating his idea and the other side is worn down until they agree with him or there is no deal. (The Art of the Deal published in 1987 outlines Trumps ways of doing business in the best light possible.) He is proud of the fact that he plays King on the Hill better than most.
In the TV show The Apprentice, the contestants competed for a job within the Trump dynasty which would garner major influence in the world of the Trump holdings. There was a monetary as well as an esteem gain to the win. Some of the winners hold celebrity status. There were some obvious perks associated with not hearing, “You’re Fired,” erupt from his countenance. In the game show environment there was a win-win set up between the Trump family businesses and the winner of the show. This type of win-win negotiation or methodology has not been his choice in working with the branches of government. He has reverted back to the childhood game of King on the Hill. He has tried bully techniques rather than negotiating skills so far with his presidency.
In the Nixon administration, the negotiating style, if you choose to call it that, was most similar to comedian Jeff Dunham’s Muslim puppet character, Achmed. If you heckle, disagree or annoy Achmed he shouts, “I keeel you.” While this is hysterically funny in Jeff’s comedy routine, it is not humorous at all in real life. Yet, this was how Nixon chose to silence those who disagreed with him. The infamous “Enemies List” was used to collect the names of those who had offended the president. Nixon would tell his minions who had upset or blocked the president’s political agendas and those names might swiftly become number one on the Nixon hit list. (Not at all the same as a radio station’s top 40 hit list.) The actions taken by the Nixon minions were usually illegal and often deadly.
This is the basic difference between these two men, and it is a huge delineation. So far making Trump angry has not ended in a list, as far as we know, of individuals targeted for intimidation using death threats or murders.
Could the Trump administration, given enough time, descend to the murderous state reached by the Nixon era?
A second more glaring parallel is the man behind the campaigns for both these presidents. In the movie documentary Get Me Roger Stone, it is pointed out that the history of Roger Stone’s involvement with Republican presidential elections started with Richard Nixon. Roger even has the head of Richard Nixon tattooed between his shoulder blades.
Both Trump and Nixon used this man to manage their campaigns to some measure. Trump asked that Roger tone down his involvement when the spotlight was starting to focus on Roger as the star of the campaign not Trump. Stone’s replacement was Manafort, a Stone business partner. Manafort had the managerial abilities without the need to be the star of the show, which probably suited Trump’s ego better. Trump is the star of the American political show. He is not so much interested in governing. Was part of the reason Comey was sidelined was because he was taking up too much camera time? Camera time Trump wanted?
While Trump needs to be the star, Nixon needed to be seen as the mastermind behind the administration. Nixon was the one in complete control of what was done in his administration. Nixon was, to use Bush terms, the “Decider” of all matters.
These two presidents are in no way mental equals.
While Nixon had a bright mind, his was murderously twisted. The psychiatrists who wrote books on the mind of Richard Nixon said that Nixon was unable to separate disagreement from disloyalty. That same flaw has been mentioned for Trump but with a less brilliant mind behind the distinctions. Trump is more volatile. Nixon on the other hand plotted and planned mostly serving his revenge as a cool dish. After losing the 1962 California Gubernatorial election to Pat Brown, Nixon did become a bit unglued with his, “You don’t have Nixon to kick around anymore” comment. We should pay close attention and maybe, be a bit afraid of how a vengeful platform might develop in the Trump administration?
Nixon was unable to determine truth. Whatever seemed to push his political and personal agendas forward would be embraced as truth even in the face of facts that disagreed with his beliefs. Trump has this same affliction. Here the parallels between the two men seem to be fairly equal. Eisenhower was quoted as saying he didn’t think Nixon knew how not to lie. Trump’s tweets have shown that he is fond of splashing out statements that others would say are mistruths. Trump doesn’t seem to care. There has not been one claim of an erratum as yet made, to my knowledge, by Trump. When a retraction is overwhelmingly required, it falls to Sean Spicer to handle.
As developments continue during this fresh administration, maybe even more parallels will come to light.
Word Count = 955
My daily internet news sources, LBN (Levine Briefing Notes), Detroit Free Press. Toledo Blade and the Washington Post are favorites, all have had articles comparing Trump to Nixon. The nightly newscasters and political pundits have held a mirror up to Trump and found Nixon staring back at them.
The first comparison that comes to mind between these two presidencies is a review of each man’s negotiating techniques.
Trump negotiates from a bully stance. He starts with stating his idea and the other side is worn down until they agree with him or there is no deal. (The Art of the Deal published in 1987 outlines Trumps ways of doing business in the best light possible.) He is proud of the fact that he plays King on the Hill better than most.
In the TV show The Apprentice, the contestants competed for a job within the Trump dynasty which would garner major influence in the world of the Trump holdings. There was a monetary as well as an esteem gain to the win. Some of the winners hold celebrity status. There were some obvious perks associated with not hearing, “You’re Fired,” erupt from his countenance. In the game show environment there was a win-win set up between the Trump family businesses and the winner of the show. This type of win-win negotiation or methodology has not been his choice in working with the branches of government. He has reverted back to the childhood game of King on the Hill. He has tried bully techniques rather than negotiating skills so far with his presidency.
In the Nixon administration, the negotiating style, if you choose to call it that, was most similar to comedian Jeff Dunham’s Muslim puppet character, Achmed. If you heckle, disagree or annoy Achmed he shouts, “I keeel you.” While this is hysterically funny in Jeff’s comedy routine, it is not humorous at all in real life. Yet, this was how Nixon chose to silence those who disagreed with him. The infamous “Enemies List” was used to collect the names of those who had offended the president. Nixon would tell his minions who had upset or blocked the president’s political agendas and those names might swiftly become number one on the Nixon hit list. (Not at all the same as a radio station’s top 40 hit list.) The actions taken by the Nixon minions were usually illegal and often deadly.
This is the basic difference between these two men, and it is a huge delineation. So far making Trump angry has not ended in a list, as far as we know, of individuals targeted for intimidation using death threats or murders.
Could the Trump administration, given enough time, descend to the murderous state reached by the Nixon era?
A second more glaring parallel is the man behind the campaigns for both these presidents. In the movie documentary Get Me Roger Stone, it is pointed out that the history of Roger Stone’s involvement with Republican presidential elections started with Richard Nixon. Roger even has the head of Richard Nixon tattooed between his shoulder blades.
Both Trump and Nixon used this man to manage their campaigns to some measure. Trump asked that Roger tone down his involvement when the spotlight was starting to focus on Roger as the star of the campaign not Trump. Stone’s replacement was Manafort, a Stone business partner. Manafort had the managerial abilities without the need to be the star of the show, which probably suited Trump’s ego better. Trump is the star of the American political show. He is not so much interested in governing. Was part of the reason Comey was sidelined was because he was taking up too much camera time? Camera time Trump wanted?
While Trump needs to be the star, Nixon needed to be seen as the mastermind behind the administration. Nixon was the one in complete control of what was done in his administration. Nixon was, to use Bush terms, the “Decider” of all matters.
These two presidents are in no way mental equals.
While Nixon had a bright mind, his was murderously twisted. The psychiatrists who wrote books on the mind of Richard Nixon said that Nixon was unable to separate disagreement from disloyalty. That same flaw has been mentioned for Trump but with a less brilliant mind behind the distinctions. Trump is more volatile. Nixon on the other hand plotted and planned mostly serving his revenge as a cool dish. After losing the 1962 California Gubernatorial election to Pat Brown, Nixon did become a bit unglued with his, “You don’t have Nixon to kick around anymore” comment. We should pay close attention and maybe, be a bit afraid of how a vengeful platform might develop in the Trump administration?
Nixon was unable to determine truth. Whatever seemed to push his political and personal agendas forward would be embraced as truth even in the face of facts that disagreed with his beliefs. Trump has this same affliction. Here the parallels between the two men seem to be fairly equal. Eisenhower was quoted as saying he didn’t think Nixon knew how not to lie. Trump’s tweets have shown that he is fond of splashing out statements that others would say are mistruths. Trump doesn’t seem to care. There has not been one claim of an erratum as yet made, to my knowledge, by Trump. When a retraction is overwhelmingly required, it falls to Sean Spicer to handle.
As developments continue during this fresh administration, maybe even more parallels will come to light.
Word Count = 955
By reflecting on the presidency of Richard Nixon, which ended up going down the road towards impeachment, we may be watching the current president take that same path. And history has proven, it was no yellow brick road for the Nixon administration.
One glaring similarity is that neither POTUS #37 nor #45 like the press. Many of the names on Nixon’s “Enemies List” were journalist and or editors and authors. Jack Anderson’s name was at the top of that list during most of the Nixon era. Jack had crossed Nixon by being a newspaper columnists who investigated and exposed issues during the Nixon years. Nixon’s minions, Gordon Liddy and Howard Hunt had developed plans to off Anderson with Nixon’s blessing, but they never pulled it off. Anderson passed away in 2005 of natural causes, it is believed.
Trump is also at war with the press. One term is new as “Fake news” was not used during the Nixon administration. Both presidencies seem to be embattled with leaks to the press. The concept that, as president, actions of the West Wing might be kept secret is just silliness. The whole role of the press, the Fourth Estate, “The people and organizations who report the news”, is to investigate what might be going on in the Oval Office so that the people who elected these officials can see what their vote has bought them.
The Nixon administration developed a whole group of minions whose sole responsibility was to stop the leaks to the press. A humorous name for these folks was the “plumbers”. By trade plumbers are to stop leaks in your house. If your house is the White House, then stopping leaks of news stories that expose the lies that you feed Congress and the American people would be an important job. The Nixon White House employed ex-CIA men known to Nixon since his vice-presidential years. This was the Liddy, Hunt, Colson group. They were supposed to stop further leaks. Asking black ops trained CIA men to do that work for the White House on American soil was a new way of doing Presidential business. That new way backfired terribly, ending up in the Watergate debacle that eventually pulled the curtain on Nixon.
The Trump administration has already started to use the “leaks to the press” phrase which is disturbing. The presidency should be transparent to the public that elected the Executive Branch leaders. If that presidency is not transparent then the press must do their job to share what is being hidden. That is the press’s raison d’tre.
POTUS # 45 and # 37 have both shown themselves to be adverse to our democratic system of checks and balances.
Nixon took on the Judicial Department on October 20, 1973. First Nixon asked the then Attorney General Richardson to fire independent Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox (appointed to investigate the Watergate event of June 17, 1972). Richardson resigned in protest. That made the head of the Judicial Department the Deputy Attorney General Ruckelshaus. Ruckelshaus also refused and resigned. That placed the third in power at the department as the now head. Solicitor General of the United States, Robert Bork was asked by Nixon to do the dirty dead. Bork finally accepted the president’s order and fired Cox. Subsequently a federal district judge declared the firing of Cox illegal and without necessary cause. This was seen as a gross abuse of presidential power which became evidence for the second article of impeachment.
The recent firing of FBI Director Comey by Donald Trump has already started the path to impeachment for POTUS # 45. The current president will probably have “Abuse of Power” stand as his first article of impeachment. The investigation into the Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election will now be handled by former FBI Director Robert Mueller. The reason for the firing of Comey, in case you have not heard, was to attempt to stop the investigation of the FBI into the possibility of Russian influences that may have been instrumental in the Trump election win. And now, for Trump, his son has helped that case along substantially. But time will tell.
Areas where the men are quite different are:
Trump has no military experience. Nixon served in the Navy during WWII.
Trump had no political experience. Nixon was a U.S. Representative, a U.S. senator and a vice-president before becoming president.
One area where the men are total opposites is on the topic of alcohol. Trump saw his brother die of alcoholism and maintains a teetotaler existence as does his family. But Nixon was referred to by Kissinger as “Our Drunk”. Kissinger and Haldeman had made sure the military knew that any Nixon orders to launch any missiles would have to also be confirmed by one of them since Nixon’s alcohol use was out of control. Nixon was always talking about going nuclear. The way he was going to convince the North to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the Vietnam War was a threat that if they didn’t agree to negotiation, Nixon would go nuclear. This was what he dubbed his Madman Theory. At least Trump can be expected to bomb things when he is sober. But with Trump the worry is his psychological volatility. With Trump we should worry about even the slightest provocations setting off a need to use the nuclear launch codes. Is there anyone in the White House now, like a Kissinger, who is acting as that stop gap? Can anyone in the West Wing say “No” to Trump? Is Kissinger available?
Another fun comparison, look at Nixon’s willingness to be on Laugh In versus Trump’s negative response to his portrayal on SNL. Nixon agreeing to be on the show was quite out of character and won him some positive points. The attempt to make a stiff old politician seem human worked to some degree. Currently the SNL and Colbert shows are faring well because of the Trump antics. While Trump was not fond of the Baldwin role, it does make for good comedy. The ability to laugh at one’s self, tends to water down the hubris that a president could develop easily. Trump might want to stop taking himself so seriously.
Then there is the command of the American English language. Nixon was a well-schooled and articulate president. Trump needs a thesaurus.
While there are many parallels between these two presidents, they are very different in many respects. They may share the distinction someday leaving the office under a cloud of impeachment articles. I am looking forward to what the next weeks of the Trump administration will bring. We all need a good laugh. Reportedly it is the best medicine.
The parallels between these two are many and seem to be increasing. If you need to get your Nixon on, you might want to look at, Tiananmen West: Why Nixon Ordered the Kent State Massacre, as it does a deep dive into the mind of Richard Nixon and highlights some of the seedier actions taken by the oval office during those years.
Word Count = 1178
One glaring similarity is that neither POTUS #37 nor #45 like the press. Many of the names on Nixon’s “Enemies List” were journalist and or editors and authors. Jack Anderson’s name was at the top of that list during most of the Nixon era. Jack had crossed Nixon by being a newspaper columnists who investigated and exposed issues during the Nixon years. Nixon’s minions, Gordon Liddy and Howard Hunt had developed plans to off Anderson with Nixon’s blessing, but they never pulled it off. Anderson passed away in 2005 of natural causes, it is believed.
Trump is also at war with the press. One term is new as “Fake news” was not used during the Nixon administration. Both presidencies seem to be embattled with leaks to the press. The concept that, as president, actions of the West Wing might be kept secret is just silliness. The whole role of the press, the Fourth Estate, “The people and organizations who report the news”, is to investigate what might be going on in the Oval Office so that the people who elected these officials can see what their vote has bought them.
The Nixon administration developed a whole group of minions whose sole responsibility was to stop the leaks to the press. A humorous name for these folks was the “plumbers”. By trade plumbers are to stop leaks in your house. If your house is the White House, then stopping leaks of news stories that expose the lies that you feed Congress and the American people would be an important job. The Nixon White House employed ex-CIA men known to Nixon since his vice-presidential years. This was the Liddy, Hunt, Colson group. They were supposed to stop further leaks. Asking black ops trained CIA men to do that work for the White House on American soil was a new way of doing Presidential business. That new way backfired terribly, ending up in the Watergate debacle that eventually pulled the curtain on Nixon.
The Trump administration has already started to use the “leaks to the press” phrase which is disturbing. The presidency should be transparent to the public that elected the Executive Branch leaders. If that presidency is not transparent then the press must do their job to share what is being hidden. That is the press’s raison d’tre.
POTUS # 45 and # 37 have both shown themselves to be adverse to our democratic system of checks and balances.
Nixon took on the Judicial Department on October 20, 1973. First Nixon asked the then Attorney General Richardson to fire independent Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox (appointed to investigate the Watergate event of June 17, 1972). Richardson resigned in protest. That made the head of the Judicial Department the Deputy Attorney General Ruckelshaus. Ruckelshaus also refused and resigned. That placed the third in power at the department as the now head. Solicitor General of the United States, Robert Bork was asked by Nixon to do the dirty dead. Bork finally accepted the president’s order and fired Cox. Subsequently a federal district judge declared the firing of Cox illegal and without necessary cause. This was seen as a gross abuse of presidential power which became evidence for the second article of impeachment.
The recent firing of FBI Director Comey by Donald Trump has already started the path to impeachment for POTUS # 45. The current president will probably have “Abuse of Power” stand as his first article of impeachment. The investigation into the Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election will now be handled by former FBI Director Robert Mueller. The reason for the firing of Comey, in case you have not heard, was to attempt to stop the investigation of the FBI into the possibility of Russian influences that may have been instrumental in the Trump election win. And now, for Trump, his son has helped that case along substantially. But time will tell.
Areas where the men are quite different are:
Trump has no military experience. Nixon served in the Navy during WWII.
Trump had no political experience. Nixon was a U.S. Representative, a U.S. senator and a vice-president before becoming president.
One area where the men are total opposites is on the topic of alcohol. Trump saw his brother die of alcoholism and maintains a teetotaler existence as does his family. But Nixon was referred to by Kissinger as “Our Drunk”. Kissinger and Haldeman had made sure the military knew that any Nixon orders to launch any missiles would have to also be confirmed by one of them since Nixon’s alcohol use was out of control. Nixon was always talking about going nuclear. The way he was going to convince the North to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the Vietnam War was a threat that if they didn’t agree to negotiation, Nixon would go nuclear. This was what he dubbed his Madman Theory. At least Trump can be expected to bomb things when he is sober. But with Trump the worry is his psychological volatility. With Trump we should worry about even the slightest provocations setting off a need to use the nuclear launch codes. Is there anyone in the White House now, like a Kissinger, who is acting as that stop gap? Can anyone in the West Wing say “No” to Trump? Is Kissinger available?
Another fun comparison, look at Nixon’s willingness to be on Laugh In versus Trump’s negative response to his portrayal on SNL. Nixon agreeing to be on the show was quite out of character and won him some positive points. The attempt to make a stiff old politician seem human worked to some degree. Currently the SNL and Colbert shows are faring well because of the Trump antics. While Trump was not fond of the Baldwin role, it does make for good comedy. The ability to laugh at one’s self, tends to water down the hubris that a president could develop easily. Trump might want to stop taking himself so seriously.
Then there is the command of the American English language. Nixon was a well-schooled and articulate president. Trump needs a thesaurus.
While there are many parallels between these two presidents, they are very different in many respects. They may share the distinction someday leaving the office under a cloud of impeachment articles. I am looking forward to what the next weeks of the Trump administration will bring. We all need a good laugh. Reportedly it is the best medicine.
The parallels between these two are many and seem to be increasing. If you need to get your Nixon on, you might want to look at, Tiananmen West: Why Nixon Ordered the Kent State Massacre, as it does a deep dive into the mind of Richard Nixon and highlights some of the seedier actions taken by the oval office during those years.
Word Count = 1178
As even more comparisons between Trump and Nixon are made in the press, it seems we need to look again into that mirror and see what else might be observed.
Again, my daily internet news sources, LBN (Levine Briefing Notes) and the Washington Post are two favorites, make these comparisons as do the newscasters and political pundits. This time as we put a mirror up to Nixon’s face do we find a future Trump?
The articles of impeachment for Nixon, drawn up by the House of Representatives committee chair Rodino, listed first, lying to the American public. This article was moved to the fourth article when the final vote was taken of the committee. The Republicans just could not support the article even with the overwhelming evidence that Nixon had lied about bombing a neutral country, Cambodia. Nixon had repeatedly lied about the bombings to both Congress and the public. But he thought it was best and did so anyway violating the Geneva Convention rules of warfare signed in 1864 and 1949. If the impeachment process for the Nixon administration is a topic of interest, reading the work by Fields, High Crimes and Misdemeanors, is highly recommended.
The first article of impeachment became Obstruction of Justice, the second, Abuse of Power and the third one, with enough votes to be passed by this House committee, was on “acting in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.” This was about his refusal to turn over the subpoenaed evidence and other actions that showed a disrespect of the laws of the country.
The two articles that were not passed were the one on the Cambodia bombing and on Taxes and Emoluments.
One possible accusation that was not present in these articles of impeachment was the charge of treason. Many students of the Nixon era have pointed to this act as maybe his most politically heinous, but it was an act done before he was president.
Let me fill in some details for you.
When Nixon was running for office in 1968, the then seated President Johnson was trying desperately to gain a negotiated peace for the Vietnam War. The successful start of these negotiations would be a huge political win for the Democrats. Nixon could not risk this happening as it might jeopardize the election win for the Republicans. This election had come at a terribly risky price for Nixon. His black ops team that he had set up while vice-president was very much in play from the Bay of Pigs in Cuba until the Watergate break-in exposed this band of thugs. Their actions, if you can believe Howard Hunt autobiographies and those of others in that group, were murderous at times. It is proposed by some that even the RFK assassination may have been part of their Game of Kings. More on that possibility at some other time. For now, let’s look at the possible treasonous actions.
In order to stop the negotiated peace talks from happening under the Democrats, and letting them sail into the office of the President with that added gust in their sails, Nixon contacted a person, Anna Chennault. Anna was a widow of a Flying Tigers commander during WWII. She had Asian connections. Johnson’s presidential papers said she took actions to block a peace treaty prior to the 1968 election. Her message to the Asian combatants was that a negotiation with Nixon would get them a much better deal. This action has been seen by many as using a foreign power to influence the outcome of a U.S. election. Some have used the word treason.
To that charge may we add, murder? Seventeen thousand more lives were lost in Vietnam during the Nixon administration. If the Democrats were to have accomplished that negotiated peace in 1968 under LBJ, these numbers would not have been so large: 1969- 10,096; 1970- 5,104; 1971- 1,895; 1972- 542; 1973- 43; 1974- 2. For a total of 17,682 lives lost not to mention the wounded.
Pre-Nixon Vietnam death numbers were: 1956- 1; 1957- 1, 1959- 3; 1960- 4; 1961- 12; 1962- 41; 1963- 86; 1964- 144; 1965 1,537, 1966- 5,273; 1967- 9,046; 1968- 14,501. Post Nixon years: 1975- 54; 1984- 1. (Numbers are from the VietnamWarCausualties.org website.) For a total of 30,704 non-Nixon era deaths. The most casualties were during the Johnson years 1964-1968 with a total of 30,501. Thus the anti-war chant, “Hey, hey LBJ, How many kids did you kill today?”
The fact that Nixon used this back door to China and Asia to influence the 1968 election never really came back to haunt him. Nixon had so many more dirty deeds to his credit that this one was lost in the pile of High Crimes and Misdemeanors the House Committee had in front of them.
In the case of Donald Trump, his possible interference in the 2016 election is foremost in the attention of the intelligence organizations at this time. Depending what this research uncovers, the Nixon mirror that cracked for Tricky Dick may just be the reflection that catches the current POTUS in the impeachment net. Time will tell.
But Donald has already shown that he is willing to obstruct justice by firing Comey (Nixon’s first article of impeachment) and mismanage the job of president (Nixon’s third article of impeachment) by showing a disrespect for the balance of power with his illegal Executive Actions and disdain for the courts who have knocked some of them down. If Trump’s raison d’tre as a president is to follow in Nixon’s footsteps, then he is doing a really great job.
The parallels between these two are many and seem to be increasing with each new week of this latest administration. For those who are not familiar with the Nixon administration and how it worked its way to impeachment, you might want to look at the book, Tiananmen West: Why Nixon Ordered the Kent State Massacre, as it does a deep dive into the mind of Richard Nixon and highlights some of the seedier actions taken by the Oval Office during those years.
Let’s see what comes up next. Stay tuned.
Word Count 1049
Again, my daily internet news sources, LBN (Levine Briefing Notes) and the Washington Post are two favorites, make these comparisons as do the newscasters and political pundits. This time as we put a mirror up to Nixon’s face do we find a future Trump?
The articles of impeachment for Nixon, drawn up by the House of Representatives committee chair Rodino, listed first, lying to the American public. This article was moved to the fourth article when the final vote was taken of the committee. The Republicans just could not support the article even with the overwhelming evidence that Nixon had lied about bombing a neutral country, Cambodia. Nixon had repeatedly lied about the bombings to both Congress and the public. But he thought it was best and did so anyway violating the Geneva Convention rules of warfare signed in 1864 and 1949. If the impeachment process for the Nixon administration is a topic of interest, reading the work by Fields, High Crimes and Misdemeanors, is highly recommended.
The first article of impeachment became Obstruction of Justice, the second, Abuse of Power and the third one, with enough votes to be passed by this House committee, was on “acting in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.” This was about his refusal to turn over the subpoenaed evidence and other actions that showed a disrespect of the laws of the country.
The two articles that were not passed were the one on the Cambodia bombing and on Taxes and Emoluments.
One possible accusation that was not present in these articles of impeachment was the charge of treason. Many students of the Nixon era have pointed to this act as maybe his most politically heinous, but it was an act done before he was president.
Let me fill in some details for you.
When Nixon was running for office in 1968, the then seated President Johnson was trying desperately to gain a negotiated peace for the Vietnam War. The successful start of these negotiations would be a huge political win for the Democrats. Nixon could not risk this happening as it might jeopardize the election win for the Republicans. This election had come at a terribly risky price for Nixon. His black ops team that he had set up while vice-president was very much in play from the Bay of Pigs in Cuba until the Watergate break-in exposed this band of thugs. Their actions, if you can believe Howard Hunt autobiographies and those of others in that group, were murderous at times. It is proposed by some that even the RFK assassination may have been part of their Game of Kings. More on that possibility at some other time. For now, let’s look at the possible treasonous actions.
In order to stop the negotiated peace talks from happening under the Democrats, and letting them sail into the office of the President with that added gust in their sails, Nixon contacted a person, Anna Chennault. Anna was a widow of a Flying Tigers commander during WWII. She had Asian connections. Johnson’s presidential papers said she took actions to block a peace treaty prior to the 1968 election. Her message to the Asian combatants was that a negotiation with Nixon would get them a much better deal. This action has been seen by many as using a foreign power to influence the outcome of a U.S. election. Some have used the word treason.
To that charge may we add, murder? Seventeen thousand more lives were lost in Vietnam during the Nixon administration. If the Democrats were to have accomplished that negotiated peace in 1968 under LBJ, these numbers would not have been so large: 1969- 10,096; 1970- 5,104; 1971- 1,895; 1972- 542; 1973- 43; 1974- 2. For a total of 17,682 lives lost not to mention the wounded.
Pre-Nixon Vietnam death numbers were: 1956- 1; 1957- 1, 1959- 3; 1960- 4; 1961- 12; 1962- 41; 1963- 86; 1964- 144; 1965 1,537, 1966- 5,273; 1967- 9,046; 1968- 14,501. Post Nixon years: 1975- 54; 1984- 1. (Numbers are from the VietnamWarCausualties.org website.) For a total of 30,704 non-Nixon era deaths. The most casualties were during the Johnson years 1964-1968 with a total of 30,501. Thus the anti-war chant, “Hey, hey LBJ, How many kids did you kill today?”
The fact that Nixon used this back door to China and Asia to influence the 1968 election never really came back to haunt him. Nixon had so many more dirty deeds to his credit that this one was lost in the pile of High Crimes and Misdemeanors the House Committee had in front of them.
In the case of Donald Trump, his possible interference in the 2016 election is foremost in the attention of the intelligence organizations at this time. Depending what this research uncovers, the Nixon mirror that cracked for Tricky Dick may just be the reflection that catches the current POTUS in the impeachment net. Time will tell.
But Donald has already shown that he is willing to obstruct justice by firing Comey (Nixon’s first article of impeachment) and mismanage the job of president (Nixon’s third article of impeachment) by showing a disrespect for the balance of power with his illegal Executive Actions and disdain for the courts who have knocked some of them down. If Trump’s raison d’tre as a president is to follow in Nixon’s footsteps, then he is doing a really great job.
The parallels between these two are many and seem to be increasing with each new week of this latest administration. For those who are not familiar with the Nixon administration and how it worked its way to impeachment, you might want to look at the book, Tiananmen West: Why Nixon Ordered the Kent State Massacre, as it does a deep dive into the mind of Richard Nixon and highlights some of the seedier actions taken by the Oval Office during those years.
Let’s see what comes up next. Stay tuned.
Word Count 1049
Jenny Deason Copeland is an author, historian and newsletter columnist. Her most recently released book is on the Nixon Administration; Tiananmen West: Why Nixon Ordered the Kent State Massacre. This work took over three decades of research and years of FOIA requests. Her research into Trump began with the reading of The Art of the Deal back in 1987. She has four U.S. patents, is a member of the Engineering Society of Detroit, holds many certifications including PMP, LEAN, Six Sigma Black Belt, Myers-Briggs Type Inventory and graduated with a B.A. from the University of Toledo in 23 months. She is also a member of MENSA. She is on the board of the MI STEM Partnership. Her other works include two children’s books, A MouseKeeper Christmas and New Shoes for Elizabeth. She has been employed in the telecommunications industry as an engineer/Project Manager for over 39 years.