General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: For DU'ers old enough to remember 'compare & contrast' Trump with Nixon [View all]The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,673 posts)that didn't get as much attention as the break-in and the tapes. There was also the Chennault matter, using Anna Chennault as an intermediary, which prevented negotiations for a peace treaty with Vietnam until after the 1968 election. I can't really think of anything nice to say about Nixon, except that he was fundamentally an institutionalist who tried to use and pervert government institutions, but not destroy them, to maintain political power. But Nixon probably believed he was doing the right thing for the country and that the ends justified the means. Trump, however, is a political nihilist. He doesn't give a rat's patoot about the established institutions and norms of the government, including the Constitution itself, but only wants to aggregate power to himself for the gratification of his black hole of an ego. Nixon had some boundaries; Trump has none.