"The press is the enemy."
"It's always the son-of-a-bitch that leaks."
"The American people are entitled to see the president and to hear his views directly, and not to see him only through the press."
These are all quotes from the president of the United States, but they were not uttered by the current leader of the free world. All of these comments were made by Richard Nixon, the first and only U.S. president who resigned his office in disgrace.
Since taking the oath of office less than a month ago, President Donald Trump has been channeling Nixon, railing against the press and leaks from within his own administration.
Trump says any poll that casts his performance in a negative light should not be believed, calling them "fake news."
When The Washington Post revealed Trump's national security adviser, Michael Flynn, had held policy-related discussions with a top Russian official before Inauguration Day, the billionaire businessman claimed the biggest concern was leaks from his administration not the undermining of President Barack Obama while he was still in office.
Flynn apparently discussed American sanctions against Russia with the Russian ambassador to the United States, which the FBI concluded made the national security adviser prone to blackmail from the Kremlin. Trump knew about the blackmail threat for at least two weeks, according to U.S. officials. But he kept Flynn as his national security adviser and only fired the retired general after the Post story was published.
The depth and breadth of the Flynn cover-up is a mystery, for now. The truth will come out eventually.
One of the truths that came out of Nixon's disastrous second term as president is a cover-up is almost always worse than the original crime.
There are many troubling similarities between Nixon and Trump. Just one month into the 45th president's first term, the scariest potentiality is that Trump is even worse.
