His private campaign headquarters was an elegant suite on New York’s Fifth Avenue. Elected with 43.4 percent of the vote, he claimed the mandate of a silent majority. A secret liaison with a foreign government helped him win. America’s spies detected this stratagem; the sitting president called it treason.
His slogan was “Bring Us Together.” In time, he tore us apart.
His cabinet nominees, especially his attorney general, scared some Senate Democrats half to death. His inaugural parade to the White House was met with fierce protests. His inner circle – young, loyal, clean-cut, ruthless – protected him like a palace guard. He hated the press. Once in power, he did all he could to rip out the architecture of government built by his Democratic predecessor.
When the White House felt confining, he flew off to his well-appointed retreat in Florida to relax with his rich cronies. He had few real friends in American politics. He made alliances with the Russians instead.
A framed fan letter from Richard M. Nixon to Donald J. Trump will reportedly hang on the wall of the Oval Office on Jan. 20. It is a warm note conveying a prophecy that Trump would be a winner if he ever ran for office. If there are ghosts at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, perhaps a spook with a five o’clock shadow will skulk through the corridors late one night, insisting in a whisper that he is not a crook.
