Nixon News & Notes
Nixon and Trump: A Decades-Long War against the Deep State
More than half a century ago, the Watergate scandal ended the White House tenure of one of the most popular presidents in American history in such catastrophic fashion that the suffix “gate” entered the Western lexicon as an indication of scandal.
Now, the former president whose name has been almost synonymous with scandal for decades is being reclaimed by young conservatives as an icon of resilience and patriotism. According to The Wall Street Journal, the “kids are ‘Nixonmaxxing,’” casting President Richard Nixon as an “America First” champion.
Nixon was, of course, a flawed figure, as have been so many American heroes, but, as conservative intellectual, activist, and author Christopher F. Rufo pointed out, “The Right’s rediscovery of Richard Nixon is not about particular policies — some good, some bad — but about the aesthetic, the attitude, and the narrative of the self-made man who won 49 states on behalf of the Silent Majority, and was taken down in a Deep State coup.”