Presidents in Retirement: Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon is the only President to have resigned the office. Nixon realized that he would not only be impeached as the result of the Watergate scandal and his attempted cover-up of it, but that he would be convicted in a likely impeachment trial. Seeing the writing on the wall, Nixon resigned the Presidency on August 9, 1974 after addressing the nation on television the previous evening.
Following his resignation, the Nixons flew to their home known as La Casa Pacifica in San Clemente, California. Congress had funded Nixon's transition costs, including some salary expenses, but they reduced the appropriation from $850,000 to $200,000. Nixon showed up in his office every morning at 7:00 a.m., but had little to do. His former press secretary Ron Ziegler sat with him alone for hours each day.
Even though Nixon had escaped impeachment, criminal prosecution was still a strong possibility and there were many who wanted to see that happen. The Ford White House considered a pardon of Nixon, even though it would be unpopular in the country. President Gerald Ford insisted on a statement by Nixon admitting wrongdoing, but Nixon felt he had not committed any crimes. Ford eventually agreed, and on September 8, 1974, he granted Nixon a "full, free, and absolute pardon", which ended any possibility of an indictment. Nixon then released a statement: in which the only responsibility he accepted was for "not acting more decisively and more forthrightly in dealing with Watergate, particularly when it reached the stage of judicial proceedings and grew from a political scandal into a national tragedy." He added "No words can express the depth of my regret and pain at the anguish my mistakes over Watergate have caused the nation and the Presidency, a nation I so deeply love and an institution I so greatly respect."
In October of 1974, Nixon fell ill with phlebitis. He was told by his doctors that he could either be operated on or die. Nixon chose surgery, and President Ford visited him in the hospital. Nixon was under subpoena for the trial of three of his former aides-Dean, Haldeman, and John Ehrlichman. The Washington Post was skeptical about Nixon's illness and they printed a cartoon showing Nixon with a cast on the "wrong foot".
Congress instructed President Ford to retain Nixon's presidential papers. This led to the beginning of a three-decade legal battle over who the documents belonged to It was eventually won by Nixon and his estate. Nixon was in the hospital when the 1974 mid-term elections were held, and Watergate and the pardon were issues that led to the Republican loss of 49 seats in the House and four in the Senate.
In December 1974, Nixon wrote in his diary how he was planning a comeback. By early 1975, his health was improving. He worked on his memoirs. Nixon was in need of money because his assets were being eaten away by legal expenses. His transition allowance ended in February, and he was unable to afford his staff. In August of that year, he met with British talk-show host and producer David Frost, who paid Nixon $600,000 (equivalent to $3.4 million in 2023) for a series of televised interviews which were filmed and aired in 1977. The most remembered section of the interviews was that on Watergate. Nixon admitted he had "let down the country" and that "I brought myself down. I gave them a sword and they stuck it in. And they twisted it with relish. And, I guess, if I'd been in their position, I'd have done the same thing." The interviews were seen by between 45 and 50 million viewers. They were the most-watched programs of their kind in television history.
The interviews helped improve Nixon's financial position, along with the sale of his Key Biscayne property. In February 1976, Nixon visited China at the personal invitation of Chairman Mao. Nixon had wanted to return to China but chose to wait until after Ford's own visit in 1975.
When Jimmy Carter won the Presidential election of 1976, the Carter administration blocked Nixon's planned trip to Australia, pressuring the Australian government to withhold its official invitation.
In 1976, the New York State Bar Association disbarred Nixon for obstruction of justice. Nixon did not contest the proceedings.
In early 1978, Nixon visited Great Britain. He was shunned by American diplomats, and most British political leaders, but was welcomed by Margaret Thatcher, who was then Leader of the Opposition. Nixon spoke at Oxford Union on subjects including Watergate.
In 1978, Nixon published his memoirs, RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon. This was the first of nine books he was to author in his retirement. Nixon visited the White House in 1979, when he was invited by Carter for the state dinner for Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping. Carter had not wanted to invite Nixon, but Deng had said he would visit Nixon in California if the Nixon was not invited. Nixon had a private meeting with Deng and visited Beijing again in mid-1979.
On August 10, 1979, the Nixons purchased a 12‐room condominium at 817 Fifth Avenue in New York City. They had been rejected by two other Manhattan co-ops. When the deposed Shah of Iran died in Egypt in July 1980, Nixon defied the State Department, by attending the funeral. Nixon supported Ronald Reagan for president in 1980, making television appearances for Reagan. He wrote guest articles for many publications both during the campaign and after Reagan's victory.
After eighteen months in the New York City townhouse, Nixon and his wife moved in 1981 to Saddle River, New Jersey. Throughout the 1980s, Nixon maintained an ambitious schedule of speaking engagements and writing. He traveled, and met with many foreign leaders, including those of Third World countries. He joined former Presidents Ford and Carter as representatives of the United States at the funeral of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Nixon visited the Soviet Union in 1986 and on his return sent President Reagan a lengthy memorandum containing foreign policy suggestions and his personal impressions of Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. Following this trip, it appeared that Nixon had rehabilitated his reputation, as he was ranked in a Gallup poll as one of the ten most admired men in the world. Newsweek ran a story on "Nixon's comeback" with the headline "He's back".
On July 19, 1990, the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorna Linda, California opened as a private institution with the Nixons in attendance. They were joined by a large crowd of people, including Presidents Ford, Reagan, and George H. W. Bush, as well as their wives. In January 1994, the former president founded the Nixon Center, a Washington policy think tank and conference center.
First Lady Pat Nixon died on June 22, 1993, from emphysema and lung cancer. Her funeral services were held on the grounds of the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace. Former President Nixon was distraught throughout the interment and delivered a tribute to her inside the library building.
The last photo ever taken of Nixon
Nixon suffered a severe stroke on April 18, 1994, while preparing to eat dinner in his home at Park Ridge, New Jersey. He suffered from a blood clot in his upper heart, which resulted from the arterial fibrillation he had suffered for many years broke off and traveled to his brain. He was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan and was alert, but unable to speak or to move his right arm or leg. Damage to the brain caused swelling (known as cerebtal edema), and Nixon slipped into a deep coma. He died at 9:08 p.m. on April 22, 1994, with his daughters at his bedside. He was 81 years old.
Nixon's funeral took place on April 27, 1994, in Yorba Linda, California. Eulogists at the Nixon Library ceremony included President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and the Reverend Billy Graham. Also in attendance were former Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and their wives.
Nixon was buried beside his wife Pat on the grounds of the Nixon Library.