Most Americans coming of age or into the work force today know only one thing about their country’s 37th president — that he resigned in disgrace after his operatives were caught stealing private information from Democratic Party rivals in what is known as the Watergate Scandal.
For millennials born the late 80s or early 1990s, this is all that is taught about Richard Nixon in schools — and they have no personal experience beyond that. The truth about this truly iconic politician is much more complicated. The fact that his legacy has been boiled down to a single moment by overzealous aids is not an accident.
Like Donald Trump today, Nixon was the bane of the liberal elite during his time. Living through both world wars and the most turbulent times of the Cold War, Nixon was a rigid anti-communist. But he was much more than that. He was a foreign policy shark, and even his Democratic rivals were known to admit as much at the time. The man was anything but a pushover. To that point, he was adored by the American public during his time as Vice President under Dwight D. Eisenhower and as the 37th commander-in-chief.
The truth is that Nixon did a lot of things that your typical centrist/liberal would whole-heartedly approve of, as you’ll soon see in the video below. He was considered to be the most environmentally-friendly president since Teddy Roosevelt, and famously ended America’s involvement in the Vietnam War.
Don’t mistake this to be an endorsement of all of Nixon’s policies. Looking back today, opening relations with the communists in China might not have been the best idea. Then again, this is a hindsight perspective. You could be forgiven at the time for thinking that Beijing could be brought to heel at a time when countering communist aggression was seen as a top priority.
Here’s PragerU to tell you everything the left wants you to forget about one of the most controversial presidents in modern American history.
