Comparing Donald Trump and Richard Nixon

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart

Okay, you know me, and if you read most of my rants, you know that I believe without a doubt that Trump is the worst president in history,  for the second time, and no one will ever take that title from him.

You may also know that although Richard Nixon made a huge mistake, and deserved to be punished for his crime, I consider him one of the best Republican presidents in modern history. Now I’m going to tell you why.

First, I offer you one fact which is irrefutable. Between 2017 and 2021, Trump failed to record a single positive accomplishment. In 2025 he has become more destructive and dictatorial than before. Unlike Nixon, Trump has not been forced to pay for his many, many crimes.

That said, let’s compare Mr. Nixon’s accomplishments and how Trump has addressed the same issues today, or if he has simply ignored them.

Although Trump expressed his feelings about our military personnel, calling them “suckers and losers,” what a draft dodger would say, he has no interest in them at all.

However, in 1973, then President Nixon signed a bill ending the draft and creating an all-volunteer military.

Nixon also lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. He had long believed that if our young men and women could fight in America’s wars, they should have the right to vote for the men and women who lead our country and send them to war.

In 1970, President Nixon founded the Environmental Protection Agency. He strongly supported protections for our air, water, and land from pollution by big business.

Trump’s first Director of the EPA in 2017 was Scott Pruitt, who attempted to destroy the agency forever. In 2025, he chose Lee Zeldin. Zeldin’s first actions were to repeal regulations to protect our air, water, and land. Profits before people and the planet.

[Nixon ushered in a new era of judicial restraint by appointing four Supreme Court Justices: Chief Justice Burger, Chief Justice Harry Blackmun, Chief Justice Lewis Powell and William Rehnquist, who was later appointed to Chief Justice by Ronald Reagan.]

Trump nominated and appointed three justices whose only qualifications were a promise to support his party’s fascist and unconstitutional agenda. Their most egregious offense to the American people was the repeal of Roe v Wade, a 49-year-old decision by a legitimate Court which protected a woman’s right to decide her own physical and mental health.

Nixon approved a 100 million dollar allotment to begin cancer research, which led the creation of national cancer centers dedicated to research and finding a cure.

Trump is closing down all research centers designed to find cures for multiple cancers and other life-threatening diseases. Why? He will give additional tax cuts to his oligarchs from the money saved by ending research which would save thousands of lives.

Nixon signed Title IX which gave women equal rights to women related to expenditures in our colleges and universities, including sports.

Trump is preventing transgender women from an opportunity to participate in collegiate sports.

I was Nixon who began the desegregation of public schools in the south.

Trump promised to end public education and support private, for-profit educational institutions by removing a cabinet position, Secretary of Education.

Nixon was tough on crime. He organized joint efforts between the FBI and Special Task Forces to halt the spread of organized crime. By 1973, more than 2,500 convictions were recorded.

One of Trump’s first actions in January was to pardon more than 1,500 convicted felons who committed treason on January 6, 2021 as they attempted to halt the proceedings on Capitol Hill to certify the vote of the Electoral College. The insurrection was planned, organized, and executed by Donald John Trump.

In 1972, Nixon participated in discussions with Soviet Premier Brezhnev to limit the production of nuclear weapons known as SALT: the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. In addition, he signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, ending tension between the two nuclear powers.

Trump is supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of a democratic nation, Ukraine. Putin continues to threaten the beginning of WWIII with the use of nuclear weapons against the people of Ukraine. Trump continues to praise and approve Putin’s evil and fascist plans.

President Nixon was the first President to establish relations with the leaders of Communist China.

Trump claims that China is our nation’s enemy. The truth is, he is jealous of the nation’s growing economic power, surpassing that of the once richest nation in the world. He is attempting to mislead the American people about the truth. Russia has been and always will be America’s greatest enemy.

Nixon signed the Paris Peace Accords in 1973 signaling an end to the war in South Vietnam. Nixon also established new relationships between the U.S. and all Middle East nations, eliminating Russia’s dominant influence in the area.

Five nights ago, Trump placed the United States in another possible war in the Middle East when he ordered the launch of 12 giant bombs on Iran’s nuclear facilities, at a cost to taxpayers of more than six billion dollars, and unauthorized by Congress.

In 1970, Nixon avoided a second Cuban Missile Crisis. When Russia deployed submarines off the coast of Cuba, he aggressively reinstated America’s position of détente.

Trump continues to blame Ukraine for the invasion of its own nation. Remember, he stated multiple times the following: “I love wars, even the nuclear kind.”

These are the highlights of a real Republican President, as opposed to a would-be dictator who supports the establishment of a fascist regime.

Nixon committed a serious crime when he approved the Watergate Hotel break-in.

Trump is a convicted felon, and committed treason on January 6, 2021. I watched all three hours and I have no doubt about the truth. He also violated the Espionage Act, a crime punishable by death, when he stole at least 14 boxes of national secrets from the White House on January 20, 201. His corrupt and illegitimate, stacked Supreme Court gave him “absolute immunity” in 2024, protecting him from further prosecution and spending the remainder of his sad and pitiful life in a federal prison.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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Source: https://www.nixonfoundation.org/richard-nixons-top-domestic-and-foreign-policy-achievements/