Richard Nixon, when accused of corruption and highly questionable moral ethics, became the first and only U.S. president to resign in disgrace. When Trump aides floated a similar idea to Donald Trump, he reportedly banned the mention of Nixon’s name.
Trump aides have reportedly floated the idea of quitting before Congress can officially impeach Trump again, but the president shot it down, saying he couldn’t depend on Vice President Mike Pence to grant him a pardon, according to CNN. President Gerald Ford, Nixon’s vice president, pardoned his predecessor in September 1974, two months after Nixon left office to avoid an impeachment vote.
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The mention of Nixon’s name reportedly so angered Trump that he cursed out one advisor and told him to never bring up Nixon’s name again, according to the outlet.
It appears the Trump administration is now fully concerned with the optics of how Trump will exit the White House, though he has publicly acknowledged his defeat. Trump will not attend Joe Biden’s inauguration, but Pence has said he will. Instead, the White House is planning a farewell event for Trump at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Inauguration Day, Reuters reported Friday.
If the Senate votes to impeach Trump, he would likely also be banned from future office.
Despite all of his troubles, including becoming the first president ever impeached twice, Trump has not officially ruled out a third run for president in 2024, when he’ll be 78 years old. However, Trump has reportedly cooled to the idea in recent weeks, according to Politico.
Although it appeared Trump’s 2024 hopes would be severely damaged by the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, a Politico poll released earlier this week found that Trump still topped the field of potential Republican candidates in 2024, with support from 40 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents. By comparison, only 18 percent of respondents said they would vote for Mike Pence.
