On Aug. 9, 1974, former President Richard Nixon officially resigned from the presidency. Gerald Ford, who had been the first vice president chosen under the 25th Amendment, assumed the presidency.
“I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as president, I must put the interest of America first. America needs a full-time president and a full-time Congress, particularly at this time with problems we face at home and abroad,” Nixon said in his resignation speech. “To continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the president and the Congress in a period when our entire focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperity without inflation at home.”
“Therefore, I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. Vice President Ford will be sworn in as president at that hour in this office,” he added. A day before, Nixon had expressed his intention to resign from the office of president as a result of the near certainty that Congress would impeach and likely convict him.
The president was involved in the Watergate scandal, which was a high-profile case involving five burglars — several of whom were Cuban — who entered the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., to try and find some dirt on then-Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern.
Why Nixon even bothered to associate himself with such a scandal is beyond the minds of many.
The Watergate scandal infamously took place around June 17, 1972, a few months before the presidential election would take place. Of course, Nixon ended up wiping out McGovern in that election, marking one of the most significant landslide elections in the history of politics — only Ronald Reagan achieved a larger landslide.
Everything changed for Nixon when the Watergate hearings began. It was revealed that Nixon began recording his conversations in the Oval Office —perhaps out of superstition — and when the Supreme Court demanded that he turn over his tapes to Congress, he did so, but in fragments.
Amid congressional investigations and dwindling support, Nixon resigned on Aug. 9, 1974. The president who had won two landslide elections back-to-back was no more. In came Gerald Ford.
“I assume the presidency under extraordinary circumstances… This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts,” Ford said as he took office.
Like Joe Biden, Ford’s gaffes and inability to be normal summed up his presidency. He fell off the stairs of Air Force One, and it was not pretty, to say the least.
Ford also accidentally hit a spectator in the face while playing golf.
If there is a defining moment of Ford’s presidency, it’s the fact that he pardoned Nixon on Sept. 8, 1974. He did so knowing he would likely lose the upcoming presidential election against Jimmy Carter — one of the worst presidents in history.
Upon pardoning Nixon, Ford explained that it was in the country’s best interest to do so, adding that Nixon’s situation was “a tragedy in which we all have played a part.” Ford did what few other presidents had done. He put America ahead of his personal power, which is something today’s politicians know nothing about.
The 2024 presidential election is right around the corner and there is one candidate who is being politically persecuted: former President Donald Trump.
Like Nixon, Trump is facing congressional investigations and could likely be convicted on charges stemming from three different indictments. The next president — if not Trump — should pledge to pardon Trump like Ford did to Nixon. That would put America first, pardoning an ex-president who is being politically persecuted and prosecuted by his opponents. Ford set the example, and now every presidential candidate has the opportunity to follow it.
