In the age of Trump, the verified social media pages of government departments and corporations are getting more and more outspoken when it comes to social issues and the politics of the day. Now that President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey is being called “Nixonian,” the administrators of the official Twitter account for the Nixon Library felt compelled to speak up.
Nixon, who was drowning in the Watergate scandal at the time, did fire a government employee who was in charge of investigating him, but it wasn’t the FBI Director. It was the special prosecutor appointed to investigate Watergate, Archibald Cox.
Using the hashtag, #notNixonian, the Nixon Library’s tweet this Tuesday alluded to the difference:
FUN FACT: President Nixon never fired the Director of the FBI #FBIDirector #notNixonian pic.twitter.com/PatArKOZlk
— RichardNixonLibrary (@NixonLibrary) May 9, 2017
One could definitely argue that Nixon’s firing of a special prosecutor charged with investigating him was worse than Trump’s action, so it’s an interesting way for them to attempt to differentiate the two administrations. One Twitter user pointed this out, and the Nixon Library actually acknowleged it:
@NixonLibrary @RonBrownstein no- but he fired Arch. Cox, who was leading the investigation into him at the time, ala James Comey. now not the right moment to pick a nit.
— Dennis Herring (@dcherring) May 9, 2017
@justamusicprof @dcherring @RonBrownstein True. #SaturdayNightmassacre
— RichardNixonLibrary (@NixonLibrary) May 9, 2017
Either way, Twitter got a kick out of it:
When you’re getting trolled by the Nixon library after a few months in office, your presidency isn’t going well. https://t.co/TN7e5AQ6u6
— Brian Klaas (@brianklaas) May 9, 2017
Somewhere, Richard Nixon is smiling….
At long last, Donald Trump is going to replace me as the most scandalous US President ever… pic.twitter.com/3s47rYWs8l
— The Fighting Liberal (@texyellowdogdem) May 10, 2017
[H/T A.V. Club]
