Tricky Dick (2019)

Directed by: Mary Robertson | 165 minutes | documentary | Starring: Richard Nixon

This four-part documentary focuses on Richard Milhous Nixon: the 37th President of the United States who resigned ingloriously in 1974 due to the Watergate scandal. But what about that? How did it get to the point where a President had to resign to avoid impeachment? To this day, Nixon casts a dark shadow over American politics. Nixon has rightly been reviled for his crimes – obstructing justice, illegal wiretapping of political opponents and a range of money laundering and hush-money operations, including those to cover up the break-in at the Watergate complex afterwards. Political scandals in the US continue to be “-gate” and any alleged abuse of presidential power is compared to Nixon. He’s pretty much the litmus test for inappropriate behavior in a politician. A comparison with Nixon or calling someone Nixonian is never meant positively.

Without explicitly naming it, a parallel with the political situation in 2019. The documentary paints the picture of a paranoid president who declares to hate the press, but also likes to be in the spotlight, who has a polarizing effect and without using the term “fake news”, rejects the idea that large segments of the population disapprove of his policies. Rather, Nixon talks about the “silent majority” who share his views and support his policies. The comparison with the present becomes clearest when two journalists ask themselves (with the knowledge of now – rhetorically) whether a scandal like Watergate could happen again. (spoiler alert: in the opinion of the creators, the answer is “yes”).

For viewers who want a global and chronological presentation of Nixon’s political career and don’t know all the details and plot twists, this is a good documentary. The makers have chosen to portray Nixon’s rise, triumph and fall through mere archival footage. No historians, journalists or former employees who explain the events afterwards, but a continuous story without side paths and retrospectives. The person who speaks most is Richard Nixon himself. TV recordings, interviews, press conferences and a few reflective comments he made as an ex-President—and yes, also quotes from the secret tapes he had made at the White House that eventually killed him. It is not difficult to imagine how shocking the explosive statements at the time were and why they fatally undermined his authority. Not only did the tape recordings confirm that he was involved in illegal practices and a cover-up, but he also expresses himself as racist and homophobic. Nixon liked to present himself as a politician with moral authority who stood for “law and order”. Then such an unmasking is extra painful.

Back to Nixon’s own life. The first part “The Will to Win” takes a bird’s-eye view of Nixon’s youth and lightning-fast political rise within the Republican party: the deaths of two of his brothers, his naval service during World War II and an extremely sketchy account of his campaigns against Democrats Jerry Voorhis (for a congressional seat) and Helen Gagahan Douglas (for a senate seat). The documentary doesn’t mention it, but it was Douglas who nicknamed Nixon “Tricky Dick” for his brutal campaigning style, which didn’t shy away from exaggerations, lies and dirty games. What sticks is that Nixon is a dangerous politician, but a talented one: his political career starts in 1947 and in 1952 he becomes Vice President under Dwight D. Eisenhower. After eight years, he wants to succeed Eisenhower as President in 1960, but the charismatic Democratic candidate John F. Kennedy puts a stop to that.
In part two ‘Nixon’s The One’ (Nixon is the man) he loses the election to become governor of California in 1962 and his star – with two defeats in a row – seems to die out. Not least because of Nixon’s disastrous press conference in which he blames the press and declares that from then on the journalists “have no more Nixon to kick.” He is getting out of politics. The predicate “loser” hangs heavily around Nixon’s neck, but with the escalation of the Vietnam War from 1965, President Johnson’s popularity is declining. Sensing his chance, Nixon presents himself as the “law and order” candidate and promises peace in Vietnam. The pivotal year of 1968 is covered in detail (and Nixon even gets a little out of the picture): North Vietnam’s Tet offensive, President Johnson withdrawing from the election campaign, Martin Luther King being assassinated, major riots in American cities and then in June assassination of presidential candidate Robert Kennedy. One of the most controversial moments comes when Nixon appears to be trying to sabotage peace talks with the Vietnamese. While historians are still at odds as to how far Nixon’s backroom politics had an impact, we hear President Johnson’s voice on tape sighing that this is treason. In the end, it is Nixon who narrowly takes the lead in November by beating Vice President Humphrey by a small margin – and becomes President.

In part 3, ‘Storm Clouds’, it soon becomes apparent that, despite Nixon’s promises, peace in Vietnam is still a long way off, and protests against the war intensify when Nixon decides to extend the war in Southeast Asia to Cambodia and Laos. As the country continues to be torn apart by proponents and opponents of the war and along racial fault lines, Nixon won’t budge, convinced of the support of the “silent majority”. In 1972 Nixon won his reelection by a huge majority. Obsessed with his political opponents, especially the last Kennedy brother Edward, and with alleged leaks from his administration, he has eavesdropping on Democrats, journalists and employees. A break-in at the Democrats’ headquarters in the Watergate Building in Washington DC seems to be fizzling, until links to the White House and an illegal campaign fund for his reelection are found.
The demasque follows in part 4: ‘And then you destroy yourself’ (political suicide) when the makers clearly and conveniently list all the revelations, maneuvers and surprises from the Watergate scandal. This is the best part of the documentary because it conveys the sense of urgency and what was at stake here. The whole Shakespearean drama ends in the humiliating ending of a controversial President.

This documentary, originally made by CNN, makes a fairly one-sided selection from all possible angles to choose from and from all available image and audio material that sometimes tends to the tendentious. Nixon deserves little pity in itself, but the documentary largely omits why Nixon was now so successful and has played a dominant role since his appearance on the political scene in 1947. And it wasn’t just because he was a communist eater and dirty campaigner. It’s no coincidence that Nixon was nominated five times by Republicans (twice for vice president, three times for president – ​​and Nixon won four times) and he managed to persuade tens of millions of Americans to vote and support him. The successes (breakthrough in China, détente with the Soviet Union) are hardly mentioned, if at all.

‘Tricky Dick’ provides a fairly straightforward picture of a complicated President. The negative aspects of his career are highlighted without being too exhaustive and leave reflections and interpretations to the viewer. For a global overview, this is a fine introduction, but Nixon is interesting enough for a more in-depth portrait that shows his contradictions, strengths and weaknesses in a more balanced way.