Trump told aides to never mention Nixon again as advisers discuss resignation

US president has faced calls to resign in recent days

Donald Trump has reportedly told his advisers to never bring up former President Richard Nixon’s name again, as he faces calls to resign before his presidency ends on 20 January.

CNN reported on Thursday that some of President Trump’s advisers had a casual discussion recently about whether he should resign before the end of his presidency.

President Trump reportedly shut down the idea immediately, telling several of his aides that mentioning Nixon’s name is banned, while warning in a separate expletive-filled rant to never bring up the former president in conversation again.

Nixon was the last US president to resign when he left office in 1974, as the House voted to start impeachment proceedings on him after he refused to hand over taped calls that prosecutors believed tied him to a break-in at the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters.

The former president was later pardoned by his successor Gerald Ford, who served as his vice president before taking office after Nixon resigned.

Earlier this week, President Trump became the first ever president to be impeached twice, as the House brought forward an article of impeachment, which charged him with “incitement of insurrection,” relating to his actions prior to the Capitol riots.

Impeachment proceedings were started after a mob of pro-Trump rioters breached the Capitol building on Wednesday 6 January, which was incited by Mr Trump at a rally he held nearby. Five people died as numerous others were injured in the riots.

President Trump incited the riot by urging his supporters in the crowd to “walk down to the Capitol”, adding: “You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”

He was previously impeached in 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice, related to his dealings with Ukraine. The Senate acquitted Mr Trump in early 2020.

President Trump has faced calls to resign from office in recent days, following his role in the Capitol riots and his second impeachment by the House. Several of his cabinet members have resigned in the wake of the riots.

However, CNN reported that Mr Trump dismissed suggestions by his aides to resign, as he did not think that he could count on vice president Mike Pence to pardon him, like Nixon could with Ford.

President Trump faces a Senate impeachment trial in the early days of president-elect Joe Biden’s administration, following the House vote to impeach him on Wednesday.

He could be barred from running for president again if senators vote to convict him for his role in the Capitol riots and his repeated false claims of widespread election fraud.