21. The Night Before Nixon Resigned He Asked Henry Kissinger To Kneel Down And Pray With Him... Then Burst Into Tears
Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, but the evening before he invited his loyal and trusted National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger to the Lincoln Sitting Room upstairs in the White House. Kissinger did not actually like Nixon, however, yet over a drink and after reminiscing his time in office the President said to his National Security Advisor through tear-filled eyes: "Will history treat me more kindly than my contemporaries?" With Kissinger trying to console the weeping President, Nixon got down on his knees and said: "Henry, you are not a very orthodox Jew, and I am not an orthodox Quaker, but we need to pray." Both were on their knees, with Nixon praying out loud asking for peace, help, rest and love - before striking his firsts on the carpet, weeping and yelling: "What have I done? What has happened?" As Kissinger tells it, he then dragged the President of the United States to his feet and sat him back in a chair. This was Nixon at his very weakest - showing a human side rarely associated with a usually cold figure.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
