Trump Vs. Nixon: Battle of the Bastards

Is Trump a unique figure in American politics, or is he the second coming of Nixon?

In my college years, I read (most of) Arthur Schlesinger’s The Imperial Presidency and became fascinated with the most maligned and notorious president in American history: Richard Milhous Nixon.

For many on the left and in the mainstream, it’s hard to hear the name “Nixon” and not think of corruption, criminality, abuse of power, deceit, impeachment, and national shame. It wasn’t just that Nixon did evil things: He did them in unprecedented and creative ways. He even looked evil—in a cartoonish way.

I could say the same about Trump, who is more cartoonish if not more evil. On some days it’s tempting to view our current situation as unique in American history—and it no doubt is in some ways—but reading Hunter S. Thompson’s highly subjective reporting on Nixon’s downfall back in the 1970s got me thinking that Donald could be the second coming of Dick.

Here’s my case in five points:

1. Both presidents ran on strong appeals to “law and order,” which I put in quotes because both Dick and Donald have used this appeal in one form or another as a racist dog whistle: “Law and order” in their world means the aggressive policing and incarceration of black and brown people. You may recall that it was under Dick (Nixon) that the United States began its move toward mass incarceration, which then escalated under every subsequent president. For his part, Trump made it crystal clear in his new executive orders that “law and order” doesn’t apply to those who commit crimes for his sake, but it does apply to those so-called (brown) “invaders” from Latin America. More kids in cages to come.

2. Both presidents appealed to Americans who previously didn’t engage much in politics (which we now know was a good thing). Nixon called this group the “silent majority.” For Trump, it’s the “MAGA” crowd. I wish I had the power to disperse both on demand with a giant water cannon.

3. Both presidents have no respect for the independence of government agencies and institutions and will not hesitate to use executive power to their selfish advantage. Nixon notoriously leveraged the FBI and the IRS against his political opponents—maintaining an “enemies list” and illegally surveilling and persecuting anti-war and rights activists. Trump is planning to weaponize the Department of Justice by appointing McCarthyite loyalists for U.S. Attorney General and FBI Director.

4. Both presidents hate the media. Nixon called journalists “cocksuckers” and privately used antisemitic tropes in his critiques (we know this because he recorded just about every conversation he ever had in the White House), while Trump refers to news he doesn’t like as “fake news” and has called media “the enemy of the people.” It’s certainly not surprising that a wannabe dictator would distrust the news media. Of course, nowadays Trump can rely on authoritarian ass-kissers like Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson.

5. Last but not least, both presidents committed multiple impeachable offenses. Nixon was not officially impeached but resigned before the vote in the House took place—knowing he would lose. He was then pardoned by his handpicked successor, President Ford, and was thus never prosecuted. On the other hand, Trump was impeached twice in his first term in case you forgot, but nonetheless what is often referred to as the “world’s greatest democracy” was unable to hold him accountable in any significant way. (No “checks and balances” here.) He was allowed to run for office once again and win despite being impeached twice and convicted on 34 felony counts. None of Trump’s past criminality matters now because the Supreme Court granted presidents immunity for “official acts,” and it also goes against precedent to prosecute a sitting president. And we certainly wouldn’t want to go against precedent to save our democracy by prosecuting a criminal—would we, Robert Mueller?

I don’t blame you if you decided to skim through my reasoning—I’m not sure that it matters whether Trump is a unique figure in American politics or not. Either way my conclusion is the same: We’re fucked. At least at the moment, we’re fucked. We’re fucked because no one who is currently in a position to do so is going to hold Donald Dick responsible for anything. Not the Supreme Court. Not Congress. Not some special prosecutor. Not God (He’s on Trump’s side, apparently). Not even the American people, who are supposed to be sovereign.

If you disagree on that last point, though, by all means take to the streets of Washington and prove me wrong. I would love it. And I might even join you.