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I suppose a Richard Nixon revival was inevitable. After all, the 37th president was the modern model of the corrupt, abusive presidency that is currently being perfected by Donald Trump<\/a> and his corrupt administration. In fact, much of the legal theory of the unitary executive<\/a> under which the current administration operates sprang from the bowels of right-wing think tanks smarting from Nixon\u2019s fall from grace.\u00a0<\/p>\n Many of the norms, rules and laws that governed the executive branch until Trump and his loyalists systematically threw them in the White House dumpster originated in the aftermath of Watergate, so reimagining Nixon as the first victim of the so-called deep state serves as a perfect rationale for what is happening today. For conservatives, the long-awaited historical payback has finally come.<\/p>\n In July, the Wall Street Journal reported<\/a> that Nixon is suddenly all the rage among young conservatives who are \u201cNixonmaxxing\u201d all over social media and sporting merch with sayings like \u201cNixon now, more than ever\u201d and \u201cPretty girls for Nixon.\u201d One young fan mused, \u201cIs Nixon pulling off the greatest posthumous political comeback in history?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Maybe so. This new interest among the Gen Z crowd is actually a well-designed public relations campaign by The Nixon Foundation, which used social media in 2018 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his presidency. Short-form videos featuring Nixon saying \u201cI am not a crook\u201d over gangster rap, along with clips from \u201cMad Men\u201d showing Jon Hamm-as-Don Draper saying, \u201cKennedy, I see a silver spoon, Nixon, I see myself,\u201d went viral.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the fandom is more than just vibes. Podcasters like Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson have both recently called Watergate a setup, never mind the evidence or admissions by Nixon\u2019s accomplices like H.R. Haldeman in his diary. Even Vice President JD Vance is in on the act, comparing himself to Nixon in June during an event to promote his memoir at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum: \u201cYoung senator, vice president, writes some bestselling books, is hated by the media.\u201d (He\u2019s not wrong.)\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always liked Richard Nixon,\u201d Vance said, calling him a political genius. The vice president praised Nixon\u2019s foreign policy acumen, giving him props for the opening of China and the Vietnam peace process, while conveniently leaving out the part about bombing Cambodia. Vance also denigrated the Watergate hearings and investigations that eventually brought Nixon down, saying, \u201cIf Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be a 12-hour news story. The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n Nixon didn\u2019t have the right-wing media machinery that now excuses Trump\u2019s criminality and spreads conspiracy theories \u2014 like the trope that the \u201cdeep state\u201d is out to get the president. That alone has managed to keep the MAGA base and Republican officials on board with Trump.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sadly, he\u2019s probably right. Nixon didn\u2019t have the right-wing media machinery that now excuses Trump\u2019s criminality and spreads conspiracy theories \u2014 like the trope that the \u201cdeep state\u201d is out to get the president. That alone has managed to keep the MAGA base and Republican officials on board with Trump, which is why he was acquitted in two impeachment trials during his first term. After all, Nixon didn\u2019t resign until he was told that he had lost his base in the Senate and faced certain conviction and removal from office. That wasn\u2019t the case in February 2021, of course, when the Senate refused to convict Trump for \u201cIncitement of Insurrection<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n But there is also evidence that even Nixon had his limits. Yes, he grossly abused the office of the presidency, treating the executive branch like his private fiefdom. He ordered the FBI and the CIA to commit crimes. He bribed, blackmailed and paid off potential witnesses against him. But he didn\u2019t burn the tapes, and he dutifully turned them over when the Supreme Court ordered him to do so. And although there was that infamous \u201c19-minute gap\u201d on one of the tapes that would have sealed his fate, many of the conversations revealed a profane, corrupt president.\u00a0<\/p>\n But even as Nixon\u2019s overall approval rating sank to 24%<\/a> during the week before his resignation on Aug. 9, 1974, Republicans \u2014 62% of them \u2014 still supported him. These were undoubtedly some of the die-hards who eventually began pushing to roll back the reforms that were enacted in Nixon\u2019s wake.<\/p>\n During a post-presidency with British television presenter David Frost, Nixon famously said, \u201cWhen the president does it, it\u2019s not illegal.\u201d Those words sounded then \u2014\u00a0and sound now \u2014 like an authoritarian gaffe. But in reality, the idea was based on a very real concept popular among right-wing Republicans, who believed that the president should have unfettered power to enact policies to \u201cprotect\u201d the nation.\u00a0<\/p>\n After that interview, Nixon penned a 2,500-word essay<\/a> explaining he didn\u2019t believe the president is above the law, but that the nation\u2019s executive must be granted \u201csome faith in his judgment\u201d and given \u201croom for maneuver.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Want more sharp takes on politics? Sign up for our free newsletter<\/a>, Standing Room Only,<\/em> written by Amanda Marcotte, now also a weekly show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cHis powers are not unlimited,\u201d Nixon wrote. \u201cBut neither can be existing law \u2014 in a limited way, and at times of special need \u2014 and still meet these larger responsibilities.\u201d Apparently, \u201cspecial need\u201d could be defined as whatever the president says it is, and therein lies the unlimited power.\u00a0<\/p>\n This notion forms much of the logic of the unitary executive theory that has been growing among thinkers on the right for decades, and with court cases beginning in the early 1980s, the presidency has been granted more and more such power. This, of course, culminated in Trump v. United States, the 2024 Supreme Court ruling that gave the president near total immunity from prosecution for anything done in office. (The president had already been granted immunity from civil liability by the Court in Nixon v. Fitzgerald in 1982.) Now, the idea that presidents are above the law is gaining steam with yet another \u201cinvestigation of the investigation,\u201d this time into the special prosecutors who scrutinized Nixon back in 1974.<\/p>\n