Presidents' Children: Julie Nixon Eisenhower
When Richard Nixon was Vice-President during the administration of President Dwight Eisenhower, Nixon showed considerable loyalty to his leader, something not always reciprocated. It would be natural for Nixon to feel some resentment towards Eisenhower when, during the 1960 election campaign, Eisenhower was asked by reporter Charles Mohr of Time Magazine if Eisenhower could give an example of a major idea of Nixon's that he had heeded. Eisenhower responded with the flip comment, "If you give me a week, I might think of one." Although both Eisenhower and Nixon later claimed that he was merely joking with the reporter, the remark hurt Nixon during the campaign. But despite this tension, the Eisenhower and Nixon families were joined together on December 22, 1968, when Nixon's daughter Julie married Eisenhower's grandson David.
Julie Nixon was born on July 5, 1948 in Washington, DC, while her father Richard Nixon was a Congressman. During her childhood, her father served as Dwight Eisenhower's Vice-President from 1953 to 1961. She described her parents differently, calling her father a "romantic", while her mother was "practical and down to earth". Her mother, first lady Pat Nixon, tried to shelter her and her sister Tricia from media scrutiny. Pat Nixon recalled a cute story about Julie crying during the celebration for her father's and President Eisenhower's second inauguration, because the child thought it was not fair that the grandchildren of the President could play in the White House while she and her sister could not. After Mamie Eisenhower learned of this, the First Lady invited the two Nixon daughters to play with her grandchildren. At the second inauguration, Julie was sporting a black eye she had acquired in a sledding accident.To hide her eye in a photograph that was being taken, she turned her head towards her future husband David, which made it appear that he had been staring directly at her.
Julie's grandmother Hannah Nixon would look after her and her sister whenever her parents traveled. As a child, one of her favorite pets was a small dog named Checkers, given to the family as a gift. During the 1952 election campaign, Checkers became the subject of her father's most famous vice-presidential speech. As a teenager, she attended the private Sidwell Friends School in Washington along with her sister, Tricia. Julie left school in 1961, after her father lost his presidential bid in 1960, and the family returned to California where her father ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1962. At her father spoke to reporters at what was supposed to be his "last press conference", she was waiting in a hallway with her mother and sister.
The Nixons moved to New York after the 1962 election, and Julie attended Brown University after her graduation from the Chapin School. She received a master's degree from New York University in 1972. David Eisenhower attended Amherst College nearby. Julie and David, who knew one another as children, rekindled their friendship when David visited Julie with his roommate from Amherst and took her and a friend out to get some ice cream. David later recalled: "I was broke, my roommate forgot his wallet. The girls paid."
The couple began dating in 1966, and became engaged a year later. Both Julie and David later said that Mamie Eisenhower played a major part in their relationship. In 1966 Julie mentioned to Mrs. Eisenhower that she would be attending Brown University. Mamie told her of David's plans to go to Amherst College, and began some behind the scenes match-making. On Julie's nineteenth birthday, David flew to Key Biscayne, Florida, the home of her father during his stay in office, to be with her and her family. David did not tell his grandfather, former president Eisenhower, about the trip nor about the time when Julie visited him in Chicago, Illinois while he was working as a trainee at Sears.
During the United States presidential election of 1968, Julie was concerned that she was not active enough in her father's campaign. She took an active role in his campaign, and shook hands for hours while greeting people. Although she disliked the publicity and hated to answer personal questions, she was committed to her father's election.
On December 22, 1968, after her father was elected president but before he took office, the couple were married. The Reverend Norman Vincent Peale officiated in the non-denominational ceremony at the Marble Collegiate Church in New York City. The couple left from Massachusetts in 1970 and their classes there were canceled after the Kent State shootings. After her father resigned from office, the two lived in California near Julie's parents. Later they moved to a suburb of Philadelphia.
The couple have three children: 1) Jennie Elizabeth (born in San Clemente, California on August 15, 1978), an actress; 2) Alex Richard (born in 1980) and Melanie Catherine (born in 1984).
Her father served as President from 1969 until his resignation in August of 1974. Julie became a spokesperson for children's issues, the environment, and on issues affecting the elderly. She gave tours to children with disabilities and filled in for her mother at events. From 1973 to 1975, she served as Assistant Managing Editor of the Saturday Evening Post and helped establish a book division for Curtis Publishing Co., its parent corporation. During this time she wrote a book entitled Eye On Nixon, full of photographs of her father. At her graduation from Brown University, President Nixon opted not to attend it given the possibility of antiwar demonstrations and violence.
She once appeared on The Mike Douglas Show in 1970, and was asked what she thought about the new fad called "streaking." She humorously responded, "I don't know how they can come off like that!"
After the news of the Watergate break-in and suspicions that it might reach as high as the oval office began to mount, Julie defended her her father to members of the media, while her mother kept silent about the scandal. Her public defense of her father began at Walt Disney World on May 2, 1973. She gave a total of 138 interviews across the country. In the summer of 1973, she and David went to London where Julie appeared on the BBC. Journalist George Will once observed: "Anyone thinking that Nixon deserved a better fate from Watergate should remember his silence as his brave daughter Julie crisscrossed the country defending him against charges he knew to be true." On July 4, 1973, she told two reporters that her father had considered resigning over Watergate, but that the family had talked him out of it.
On February 14, 1974, Julie underwent a 44-minute surgery to stop internal bleeding from an ovarian cyst. On May 7, 1974, Julie and David met with the press in the East Garden of the White House. She announced that the President planned "to take this constitutionally down to the wire." But just before noon on August 9, 1974, Julie stood behind her father while he gave his goodbye speech to the White House staff. She would later say it was the hardest moment for him.
Julie and David settled in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, where she completed several books, including a biography of her mother entitled Pat Nixon: The Untold Story. She has been very active in community organizations in the Philadelphia area and is also active with the Richard Nixon Foundation, sitting on its board, as well as that of the Center for the National Interest (formerly known as the Nixon Center).
She, along with her sister and father, was with her mother when Pat Nixon died of lung cancer on June 22, 1993. Four days later, on June 26, 1993, she attended her mother's funeral service on the grounds of the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda. Ten months later, she was by her father's bedside with her sister Patricia when he died. She attended her father's funeral on April 27, 1994.
She has been critical of a number of subsequent portrayals of her father's presidency, including Oliver Stone's film "Nixon", an adaptation of her father's presidency.
She and her sister Tricia Cox got into a legal battle over a large bequest possibly as high as $19 million, left by Nixon's friend Bebe Rebozo for the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace Foundation. Tricia wanted the money to be controlled by a group affiliated with their family, while Julie wanted it to be controlled by the library's board. The incident strained the sisters' relationship. Julie said "It's very heartbreaking because I love my sister very much". On August 6, 2002, Julie met with her sister for a court-ordered meeting. Despite the two meeting for most of the day, they failed to make an agreement.
Julie Nixon was reported to have given $2,300 to the 2008 Obama presidential campaign, despite her and her husband's and father's Republican background. Her sister Tricia Nixon Cox's gave $4,600 in 2007 to Republican Senator John McCain, who ultimately ran against then Senator Obama for the presidency in 2008. In 2012, however, she contributed to the presidential campaign of Republican Mitt Romney.
In 2010, she and her husband David co-authored Going Home to Glory: A Memoir of Life with Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961–1969, a biography of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's final years after he left the White House. On March 16, 2012, she and her sister arrived in Yorba Linda to celebrate what would have been their mother's 100th birthday. On November 23, 2013, She and her husband opened a holiday exhibit for the Nixon Library, which remained there until January 5, 2014.
Julie Nixon was born on July 5, 1948 in Washington, DC, while her father Richard Nixon was a Congressman. During her childhood, her father served as Dwight Eisenhower's Vice-President from 1953 to 1961. She described her parents differently, calling her father a "romantic", while her mother was "practical and down to earth". Her mother, first lady Pat Nixon, tried to shelter her and her sister Tricia from media scrutiny. Pat Nixon recalled a cute story about Julie crying during the celebration for her father's and President Eisenhower's second inauguration, because the child thought it was not fair that the grandchildren of the President could play in the White House while she and her sister could not. After Mamie Eisenhower learned of this, the First Lady invited the two Nixon daughters to play with her grandchildren. At the second inauguration, Julie was sporting a black eye she had acquired in a sledding accident.To hide her eye in a photograph that was being taken, she turned her head towards her future husband David, which made it appear that he had been staring directly at her.
Julie's grandmother Hannah Nixon would look after her and her sister whenever her parents traveled. As a child, one of her favorite pets was a small dog named Checkers, given to the family as a gift. During the 1952 election campaign, Checkers became the subject of her father's most famous vice-presidential speech. As a teenager, she attended the private Sidwell Friends School in Washington along with her sister, Tricia. Julie left school in 1961, after her father lost his presidential bid in 1960, and the family returned to California where her father ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1962. At her father spoke to reporters at what was supposed to be his "last press conference", she was waiting in a hallway with her mother and sister.
The Nixons moved to New York after the 1962 election, and Julie attended Brown University after her graduation from the Chapin School. She received a master's degree from New York University in 1972. David Eisenhower attended Amherst College nearby. Julie and David, who knew one another as children, rekindled their friendship when David visited Julie with his roommate from Amherst and took her and a friend out to get some ice cream. David later recalled: "I was broke, my roommate forgot his wallet. The girls paid."
The couple began dating in 1966, and became engaged a year later. Both Julie and David later said that Mamie Eisenhower played a major part in their relationship. In 1966 Julie mentioned to Mrs. Eisenhower that she would be attending Brown University. Mamie told her of David's plans to go to Amherst College, and began some behind the scenes match-making. On Julie's nineteenth birthday, David flew to Key Biscayne, Florida, the home of her father during his stay in office, to be with her and her family. David did not tell his grandfather, former president Eisenhower, about the trip nor about the time when Julie visited him in Chicago, Illinois while he was working as a trainee at Sears.
During the United States presidential election of 1968, Julie was concerned that she was not active enough in her father's campaign. She took an active role in his campaign, and shook hands for hours while greeting people. Although she disliked the publicity and hated to answer personal questions, she was committed to her father's election.
On December 22, 1968, after her father was elected president but before he took office, the couple were married. The Reverend Norman Vincent Peale officiated in the non-denominational ceremony at the Marble Collegiate Church in New York City. The couple left from Massachusetts in 1970 and their classes there were canceled after the Kent State shootings. After her father resigned from office, the two lived in California near Julie's parents. Later they moved to a suburb of Philadelphia.
The couple have three children: 1) Jennie Elizabeth (born in San Clemente, California on August 15, 1978), an actress; 2) Alex Richard (born in 1980) and Melanie Catherine (born in 1984).
Her father served as President from 1969 until his resignation in August of 1974. Julie became a spokesperson for children's issues, the environment, and on issues affecting the elderly. She gave tours to children with disabilities and filled in for her mother at events. From 1973 to 1975, she served as Assistant Managing Editor of the Saturday Evening Post and helped establish a book division for Curtis Publishing Co., its parent corporation. During this time she wrote a book entitled Eye On Nixon, full of photographs of her father. At her graduation from Brown University, President Nixon opted not to attend it given the possibility of antiwar demonstrations and violence.
She once appeared on The Mike Douglas Show in 1970, and was asked what she thought about the new fad called "streaking." She humorously responded, "I don't know how they can come off like that!"
After the news of the Watergate break-in and suspicions that it might reach as high as the oval office began to mount, Julie defended her her father to members of the media, while her mother kept silent about the scandal. Her public defense of her father began at Walt Disney World on May 2, 1973. She gave a total of 138 interviews across the country. In the summer of 1973, she and David went to London where Julie appeared on the BBC. Journalist George Will once observed: "Anyone thinking that Nixon deserved a better fate from Watergate should remember his silence as his brave daughter Julie crisscrossed the country defending him against charges he knew to be true." On July 4, 1973, she told two reporters that her father had considered resigning over Watergate, but that the family had talked him out of it.
On February 14, 1974, Julie underwent a 44-minute surgery to stop internal bleeding from an ovarian cyst. On May 7, 1974, Julie and David met with the press in the East Garden of the White House. She announced that the President planned "to take this constitutionally down to the wire." But just before noon on August 9, 1974, Julie stood behind her father while he gave his goodbye speech to the White House staff. She would later say it was the hardest moment for him.
Julie and David settled in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, where she completed several books, including a biography of her mother entitled Pat Nixon: The Untold Story. She has been very active in community organizations in the Philadelphia area and is also active with the Richard Nixon Foundation, sitting on its board, as well as that of the Center for the National Interest (formerly known as the Nixon Center).
She, along with her sister and father, was with her mother when Pat Nixon died of lung cancer on June 22, 1993. Four days later, on June 26, 1993, she attended her mother's funeral service on the grounds of the Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda. Ten months later, she was by her father's bedside with her sister Patricia when he died. She attended her father's funeral on April 27, 1994.
She has been critical of a number of subsequent portrayals of her father's presidency, including Oliver Stone's film "Nixon", an adaptation of her father's presidency.
She and her sister Tricia Cox got into a legal battle over a large bequest possibly as high as $19 million, left by Nixon's friend Bebe Rebozo for the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace Foundation. Tricia wanted the money to be controlled by a group affiliated with their family, while Julie wanted it to be controlled by the library's board. The incident strained the sisters' relationship. Julie said "It's very heartbreaking because I love my sister very much". On August 6, 2002, Julie met with her sister for a court-ordered meeting. Despite the two meeting for most of the day, they failed to make an agreement.
Julie Nixon was reported to have given $2,300 to the 2008 Obama presidential campaign, despite her and her husband's and father's Republican background. Her sister Tricia Nixon Cox's gave $4,600 in 2007 to Republican Senator John McCain, who ultimately ran against then Senator Obama for the presidency in 2008. In 2012, however, she contributed to the presidential campaign of Republican Mitt Romney.
In 2010, she and her husband David co-authored Going Home to Glory: A Memoir of Life with Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961–1969, a biography of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's final years after he left the White House. On March 16, 2012, she and her sister arrived in Yorba Linda to celebrate what would have been their mother's 100th birthday. On November 23, 2013, She and her husband opened a holiday exhibit for the Nixon Library, which remained there until January 5, 2014.