"If Nixon Stayed" Episode 1 - When Nixon Left

[00:00:00] She often wrote me notes, and she'd leave them around. She said, Daddy, I love you. Whatever you do, I will support. I'm very proud of you. Please wait a week or even ten days before you make this decision. Go through the fire just a little bit longer. You are so strong. I love you. Signed, Julie. And then a P.S. Millions support you.

[00:00:27] If anything would have changed my mind, believe me, that would have done it. But it was too late. It's August 1974, and the nation is on edge. President Richard Nixon is about to address the American people in what many believe will be the most significant speech of his life.

[00:00:51] For months, the Watergate scandal has consumed Washington. But behind the headlines, Nixon is weighing his future, reflecting on both his presidency and his legacy. I woke up with a start the last day, wondering if I'd overslept. And I looked at my watch. It was only 4 o'clock.

[00:01:14] It's one of those watches, you know, with a battery in, that's supposed to run for two years. The battery had run out, worn out, at 4 o'clock the last day I was in office. By that time, I was worn out, too.

[00:01:32] 50 years after President Nixon's historic resignation, it's time to challenge assumptions about the past, explore what could have been, and contemplate how the ripples of history shape the future. This is a reimagining of history, guided by experts. In this series, we explore the pivotal moments that Nixon could have influenced.

[00:01:56] Using newly released archival materials, AI recreations, expert interviews, and historical analysis, this podcast takes a deep dive to explore what could have been. What if August 8, 1974 was just another summer day in Washington, D.C.? What if the word Watergate wasn't synonymous with scandal?

[00:02:20] Presented by the Richard Nixon Foundation and Foundwave Productions, what if Nixon stayed? This five-part series envisions how world history could have been altered with a completed second term of Nixon's presidency.

[00:02:41] But, before we do that, in this episode, we will remind you of what really did happen surrounding Nixon's resignation through archival recordings and Nixon's rarely heard personal reflections. All of what you are about to hear is true. The Watergate scandal. The Watergate break-in. The Watergate. Watergate. Watergate. The break-in team was caught. That so-called cape. And the White House launched the cover-up that ruined Nixon's.

[00:03:10] Secretary Ron Ziegler called it. A third-rate burglary. It was nothing the president would ever be concerned with. They've got a trial of the accused in that case, and that's going to be tried in due course, and I think that's probably the end of the story. Some thought it would blow away. Some thought it would go away. The result was that it didn't. It was all falling apart. The tapes, the testimonies, the relentless press coverage. It all led to this moment.

[00:03:38] What began as a simple burglary had snowballed into a crisis that President Nixon could not escape. Watergate. Watergate. Watergate. Watergate. Watergate. Watergate. Central to the problems faced by President Nixon is the Watergate tapes and their tangled history. A White House official named Alexander Butterfield. Here as a surprise witness before the Senate Watergate committee. I was aware, listening devices. By refusing to believe that nobody higher up than the original seven Watergate defendants had been involved.

[00:04:05] I'm sure there must have been some discussion of the Watergate with the President. A swarm of opinion erupted against this. Public opinion swinging against his position. Shortly critical of Mr. Nixon's conduct on Watergate. Well, I think it's a shame that it has to come. Poor judgment on Nixon's part. His choice of people surrounding him. I voted for Nixon and unfortunately his political credibility is just completely gone. The ultimate victim of the Watergate scandal that destroyed his administration.

[00:04:32] From CBS News headquarters in Washington, this is the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. Good evening. Six years ago today at Miami Beach, Richard Milhouse Nixon accomplished perhaps the most remarkable political comeback in American history.

[00:04:58] After campaigns in 1960 and 62 had branded him a loser, Nixon won the Republican presidential nomination and was on his way to the White House. And on this night, August 8th... The President had requested television time for tonight. That television time nearly upon us now. He does plan to announce his intention. Around the White House gates, the President's supporters and detractors gather. There are people here supporting the President, singing hymns, and then there are those people who are saying jail to the chief.

[00:05:27] Heard the chanting outside. Reminded me of the Vietnam days, except this time the chant was jail to the chief. Jail to the chief. Throughout his political life, President Nixon had faced criticism. Public discontent and verbal harassment were nothing new to him. But this time, it wasn't just the usual noise. This time, he knew his options were dwindling. Within the White House compound itself, sadness... Some of the family was in tears.

[00:05:56] The secretary's wept. He reached a tentative decision on Monday. We're waiting to hear from his own lips as he explains why he's making that decision. People will be at television sets and radios tonight to hear what the President has to say. I knew that we could not survive. In my usual methodical way, I decided I should put down the pros and cons of what options I had.

[00:06:26] One, I could resign now. Two, wait until the House voted impeachment and resign then. Or three, go to trial in the Senate. Inside the White House, close around President Nixon, who are still saying as of this hour, quote, I'll believe it when I hear it. And now, well, less than ten minutes before the President is doing the main... In just a moment now, the President of the United States will begin his speech. Very emotional speech.

[00:06:55] I recall speaking from the heart. And he is going to speak to us now from the Oval Office in the White House in Washington. President Richard M. Nixon. Good evening. This is the 37th time I have spoken to you from this office, where so many decisions have been made that shape the history of this nation. I have never been a quitter.

[00:07:21] To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as President, I must put the interests of America first. In this moment, Nixon knew he was speaking not just to the country, but to history. He had always been a fighter, yet here he was, preparing to resign from the office he had fought so hard to attain. It was a moment that would define him in the eyes of future generations.

[00:07:51] I have concluded that because of the Watergate matter, I might not have the support of the Congress that I would consider necessary to back the very difficult decisions and carry out the duties of this office in the way the interests of the nation will require. Resigning was the option I didn't want to do above everything else, personally.

[00:08:19] I'm a fighter. I just didn't want to quit. In all the decisions I have made in my public life, I have always tried to do what was best for the nation. Therefore, I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow. By taking this action, I hope that I will have hastened the start of that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America.

[00:08:52] To have served in this office is to have felt a very personal sense of kinship with each and every American. In leaving it, I do so with this prayer. May God's grace be with you in all the days ahead. So, Richard Milhouse Nixon has resigned as the 37th President of the United States.

[00:09:22] The President seemed calm but controlling, obviously, very deep emotions. On the whole, it seemed to me as effective, magnanimous a speech as Mr. Nixon has ever made. Walter, I think it may very well go down when history takes a look at it as one of Richard Nixon's, if not his finest hour.

[00:09:45] He gave to this moment a touch of class, more than that a touch of majesty, touching that nerve in most people that says to their brain, we revere the presidency, we respect the president, the republic and the country comes first. Trisha later in her diary, which she let me see, wrote that for the first time she was glad people were able to see daddy as he really was. Trying to make peace in this world.

[00:10:15] Obviously, that is how he wishes to be remembered. And perhaps that will be the positive side of his record even for many years to come. There is here in Washington a great sense of relief. A certain sense of relief. A sigh of relief. And hope that the turmoil of the last two years is over at last.

[00:10:42] Nixon didn't have many to trust or confide in at this trying time. But he had a Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. The Nixon I encountered had a capacity for making extremely courageous decisions and was a great patriot. That's Kissinger in one of his last recorded interviews in 2021.

[00:11:08] In the big decisions, he made the right decision. From what I saw, he was a strong president with a big flaw which destroyed him. After the speech, I went over to the residents. Henry was very, very thoughtful. He came up to me and he said, I'd like to walk to the residents with me.

[00:11:37] He said, I've always done this after the big, the important speeches. And as we got to the door of the residents, he said, Mr. President, history is going to record that you were a great president. I said, Henry, that'll depend on who writes the history.

[00:11:56] All of that happened. But what if none of it did? What if Nixon had stayed in office? What if the Watergate scandal had blown over?

[00:12:25] How would the course of American history have changed? This is a reimagining of history. It's an exploration of how one man's unrealized vision could have changed everything.