Is History Repeating Itself: Trump on the Path as Nixon to Resignation and Dishonor

This scenario leaves a lot to imagine but little wiggle room

Introduction: Timely topic for this moment in history with the Trump White House similar to that described below in the Nixon White House as Watergate came to a final chapter in 1974 when on that Richard M. Nixon resigned and left office – this historical reference comes from Politico (August 11, 2017).

The scene from the White House south lawn on August 9, 1974, is vivid in the nation’s memory. That morning, President Richard M. Nixon famously boarded Marine One for the final time, put on a wide grin and fired off a final double-V to the assembled crowd.

But one of the most interesting aspects of that day is what didn’t happen on the south lawn: Even though Nixon had more than two hours left in his tenure, the most critical tool of the modern presidency had already been taken away from him. He never noticed it, but the nuclear “football” didn’t travel with him as he boarded the helicopter, and later, Air Force One for his flight back to California.

In a democratic country without hereditary power, royal crowns or bejeweled thrones, the nuclear football is in some ways the only physical manifestation of our nation’s head of state.

Yet, on that August day, it had been quietly removed from Nixon’s hands – remaining behind at the White House with the incoming new Commander-in-Chief, Vice President Gerald Ford.

The key to this came from Defense Secretary James Schlesinger, who recalled years later that in the final days of the Nixon presidency he had issued an unprecedented set of orders this way, in part that said: That if the president gave any nuclear launch order, military commanders should check with either him or Secretary of State Henry Kissinger before executing them. 

Seems that Schlesinger feared that the president, who seemed depressed and was drinking heavily, might order Armageddon. Nixon himself had stoked official fears during a meeting with congressmen earlier in which he reportedly said, “I can go in my office and pick up a telephone, and in 25 minutes, millions of people will be dead.” 

Senator Alan Cranston then phoned Schlesinger, warning about: “The need for keeping a berserk president from plunging us into a holocaust.”

My 2 cents: So, would Donald J. Trump under that kind of pressure even consider or pull a stunt like that now?

Yes, I think he would, and would in the blink of a tweet. Why do I say that? 

These key points illustrate my view:

— Such an act would keep Trump in the #1 spot on the world stage as the man who triggered nuclear Armageddon — the place he hungers to stand daily.

— It would put and keep Trump in the historical spotlight ever since the world entered the nuclear age.

— It would keep that spotlight on Trump in whatever history were to follow, and that assumes anyone would be left to even write any more history.

— It would be right up Trump's alley.

— Trump probably would announce it in his usual way: via a series of tweets, once cleared by Fox and Friends.

Something to ponder isn't it? Thanks for stopping by.