I can almost definitively say that Nixon would have not been impeached for these charges today for two reasons. Firstly, media reporting of the events was far different during Nixons impeachment than Trumps. Secondly, increased partisanship in America would make impeachment in a Republican controlled senate virtually impossible. Hamilton made the case for impeachment in Federalist 65 and he explains that presidents can be impeached for perfectly legal actions that bring harm to society in some way.
But the problem with political crimes is that they get politicized.
A crime for one man is a brave strong act and this can often be influenced by which party you associate with and your previously held views about the president.
Additionally, media plays a great role in this. During the Nixon era, there were a total of 3 news channels and Americans had trust in their news networks believing that the information was accurate. That meant that regardless of political party Americans were getting the same news. There was conservative media but it was nothing like Fox News and the hyper polarization that we see today. Many conservatives actually view channels like CNN as “liberal propaganda” or part of the “deep state” (Sean Hannity).
Nixon did last out at the news and condemn their coverage referring to the trial as a witch hunt (hmm sounds familiar), and conservative media at the time did come to his defense. One radio show said “the press had turned a prosecution into a persecution” similar to the kinds of things you heard on Fox News during the Trump trials. Rather than discuss the substance of the proceedings they attacked the “left wing media”. However, conservative media during Nixons time didnt have the power to drive the conversation or shape peoples minds the way that Fox News does today. Today, people can exist within a closed ecosystem where they never even hear the other side of important issues, which explains the hyper polarization we see in politics today. Because people were hearing one story and being presented with subjective facts most everyone was in agreement that Nixon should be impeached for these charges.
During Nixons presidency, both the house and the senate were controlled by Democrats which played a huge role in his ultimate design to resign. Impeachment requires a 2/3 super majority and once Nixon lost the support of his party it was likely that he would be convicted.
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