The paradox of Richard Nixon has returned as the president scorned as a pariah in his lifetime — while simultaneously being hailed as a sagacious elder statesman — has become a popular leader once again, this time among young online conservatives.
In probing the trend, The Wall Street Journal called it “Nixonmaxxing.”
Nixon was a contrast in his own day — for example, appearing during the 1968 presidential race on the TV show “Laugh-In” that mocked virtually every policy he supported.
Richard Nixon does a cameo appearance on “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In”, uttering the memorable line, “Sock it to me?”, 1968.
A presidential candidate appearing on the hippest, most countercultural show on TV two months before the election likely won him a lot of votes. pic.twitter.com/TiHMV1ornI
— Time Capsule Tales (@timecaptales) June 21, 2026
In 1962, after California voters rejected him, he capped eight years as vice president and a hair-breadth loss to John F. Kennedy by declaring to the media, “You won’t have Nixon to kick around anymore.”
Yet six years later, he served triumphant and controversial years as president before his coverup of the Watergate scandal and a few political dirty tricks, which seem childlike compared to the hate-filled politics of 2026, forced him out of office in 1974.
Yet months before his 1994 death, Nixon was back at the White House, advising Bill Clinton on how to deal with post-Cold War Russia.
Today he is becoming repopularized in many conservative political circles, with slogans such as “Pretty Girls for Nixon” and “Nixon Now More Than Ever” appearing on merchandise, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Wall Street Journal reports that young conservatives are embracing Richard Nixon as an icon. pic.twitter.com/URJf8n4P0L
— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) July 18, 2026
The outlet noted that the hard-edged president appeals to a new “generation of conservatives: a combative president loathed by the press and besieged by investigators who was brought down by the same establishment they believe targeted President Trump.”
“I think that his historical legacy is enjoying a bit of a renaissance,” Vice President J.D. Vance said last month at an event at the Nixon Presidential Library. “And I think deservedly so.”
“If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story,” Vance said. “The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy.”
The Nixon Foundation has been a force in putting Nixon before young Americans in short social media videos.
Nixon is a “heterodox middle finger to the establishment,” Shashank Tripathi, a conservative commentator, said. “That’s the entry for the young folks.”
The kids are “Nixonmaxxing.” https://t.co/h30TatGerl
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) July 18, 2026
Conservative activist Christopher Rufo had a different theory.
“The reason Nixon is important for the right is that America has been essentially stuck in the year 1968,” he said.
President Donald Trump has noted that Nixon once encouraged him to pursue a political career, and the Trump White House supports Nixon’s rehabilitation.
Richard Nixon’s brutal truth on happiness that hits harder in 2026:
“The unhappiest people in the world are those in the watering places—south coast of France, Newport, Palm Springs, Palm Beach—parties every night, golf every afternoon, bridge, too much drinking, too much… pic.twitter.com/MDDH4Vs2n2
— Teddy – PolyBackTest.com (@Bitcoin_Teddy) July 16, 2026
“President Nixon exposed the treachery of the Deep State and Fake News media,” White House representative Kush Desai said. “Decades later, President Trump has consistently, and successfully, fought against these same entrenched interests for the American people and put our country first every single day.”
In summing up Nixon’s resurgence, Tim Rice wrote in the Daily Wire: “Richard Nixon always seemed like something from a bygone age, always just a few steps behind where America was trending. But perhaps, like so much else about Nixon, we got it wrong. Maybe Nixon wasn’t a relic come too late, but a visionary come too early. Maybe his time is now.”
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