#OTD #Unpresidented*

In an unprecedented act in American history, Richard Nixon, the 37th president of the United States, abdicated his office 44 years ago today, on August 9, 1974. On the evening of August 8, he made a nationally-televised speech laying out his decision, noting at the outset that it was the weakening of his political base that motivated his resignation rather than any particular moral, ethical, or legal concerns related to Watergate and other matters:

Throughout the long and difficult period of Watergate, I have felt it was my duty to persevere, to make every effort possible to complete the term of office to which you elected me. In the past few days, however, it has become evident to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Congress to justify continuing that effort. As long as there was such a base, I felt strongly that it was necessary to see the constitutional process through to its conclusion, that to do otherwise would be unfaithful to the spirit of that deliberately difficult process and a dangerously destabilizing precedent for the future. But with the disappearance of that base, I now believe that the constitutional purpose has been served, and there is no longer a need for the process to be prolonged. [full transcript]

As for the 45th president, Donald Trump, articles of impeachment have already twice been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives: H. Res. 438 (July 12, 2017) and H. Res. 621 (November 15, 2017).

* Noted for his innumerable Twitterisms, president-elect Trump tweeted the misspelled "unpresidented" rather than "unprecedented" in a bellicose tweet directed at China on December 17, 2016, well before assuming office. In contrast, it was a diplomatic highlight of Nixon's tenure [1969-1974] that he pursued rapprochement with the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.), lifting a trade embargo in 1971, and in February 1972, engaging in direct talks with Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong during the first trip by an American president to the P.R.C. At the conclusion of the seven-day visit, both parties jointly issued the Shanghai Communiqué, which laid the groundwork for the subsequent establishment of diplomatic relations.