Watergate Scandal: Nixon

Watergate was a major scandal in the 1970’s where President Richard Nixon was involved in a burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate building in Washington D.C (Ritchie 50). Nixon initially denied having any involvement and it was due to secret recording tapes in the White House that exposed the truth. An example of the recordings can be heard below:



Nixon's main tactic to regain his image was through speeches and interviews to the public so that it was told through his perspective rather than the biased press. In an address to the Nation Announcing Answer to the House Judiciary Committee Subpoena for Additional Presidential Tape Recordings, Nixon says, “If read with an open and a fair mind and read together with the record of the actions I took, these transcripts will show that what I have stated from the beginning to be the truth has been the truth: that I personally had no knowledge of the break-in before it occurred, that I had no knowledge of the cover-up until I was informed of it by John Dean on March 21, that I never offered clemency for the defendants, and that after March 21, my actions were directed toward finding the facts and seeing that justice was done, fairly and according to the law” (PBS). Instead of making a personal connection with the audience by apologizing, Nixon uses the strategy of staying professional and justifying what he did through his “good intentions.” Aside from his many speeches, his most controversial interview was the Frost v. Nixon interviews in 1977. Nixon never apologizes during his Presidency, and the Frost v. Nixon interview was the first time he apologized to the public, even though he initially doesn't intend to in the beginning.

Here are some brief clips from the original interviews:

President Nixon was faced with the challenge of preserving his desirability for the people after the scandal with Watergate. Although the press exposed his wrongdoings and was what destroyed him, Nixon also knew that press and publicity was the only way he could rebuild his once respectable authority. Power was flipped from the side of the political executors to the people and organizations that operated as a check on power, and Nixon needed to turn it back around so that the influence was in his hands (Thomas, Murr & Clift). Thus, it was public relations that was going to help him win back public opinion.