Up to the bitter end in August 1974, Demonrats saw Nixon being forced out of the Presidency as payback for the Hiss thing. It was REALLY personal. 29 years after his death and they’re still kicking him around, but the hatred for Trump eclipsed anything directed at Nixon. Despite Nixon’s faults and being wrong-headed on many policies, I think he’d be 100% behind Trump today, remembering what he went through with an evil media and a profoundly corrupt elitist Establishment/Derp State.
RE: Vietnam
The question on that (with a ‘61-’69 Pres. Nixon) is what explicit policies would he have pursued ? He wouldn’t have had the imbecilic JFK/LBJ Cabinet (certainly no Robert McNamara as the “Republican” Defense Secretary). Some speculated he might’ve been more isolationist, or let the South Vietnamese take the lead. The other end suggests he might’ve allowed more hawkish interests to have used limited nuclear attacks (that would’ve likely upset too many Americans). I don’t think he would’ve let media criticisms (idiots like the Commie Cronkite) influence him too much, since he knew they hated him anyway (Voorhis/Hiss/Douglas/JFK). If he had ended up with a permanent split, a la Korea, that would’ve been a win.
With a lot of the war stuff settled before 1969, you may never have seen the total social breakdown as a result, from which we’ve never recovered (which was my biggest issue with the JFK/LBJ regime). As it was, so much had been effed up, Nixon couldn’t clean up the mess post-1969. It would’ve required more dramatic changes. Reagan would’ve been better as President from 1969-77, might’ve ended the showdown with the Soviets earlier, although they were still firmly in control. Might’ve been back to ineffectual RINOs from 1977-onwards and then a similar decay as we’ve reached today, just with different events.
There was NO internet/social media, cable T.V. when Nixon was Veep, running for president, nor when he WAS president.
But the "WHISPER CAMPAIGNS", radio and T.V. news( as well as televised House and Senate shown LIVE ), and newspapers were all there and and beating up/trashing Nixon constantly.
Nixon held great rallies! Though smaller ones than Trump has, they were just as stirring, lots of fun, singing, entertainment ( live bands ), and yes, the ones in NYC were huge, by that day's standards.
There was also "merch"...buttons! And the buttons were in every language.
And there was a song: NIXON'S THE ONE.
So our side WAS fighting back...even in what today are BLUE cities.
And as you state, they are STILL beating up on Nixon; he is the perennial "boogieman"! :-(
Re Vietnam............
No damned way would Nixon have gotten us involved, had the '60 election NOT been stolen from him!
Yes, Ike had a few "advisers" there, very Sub Rosa", which, of course Nixon knew about. But Ike wasn't about to send troops in and Nixon was NOT one to have done that at all, had the fraud not taken place.
And all of the supposed "BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST", that were around JFK and LBJ would not be there either, nor, Jackie, the Frankophile, telling JFK had BETTER help out the French there and send money and troops down a deep hole.
OTOH...should things had somehow evolved, where something had to be done, Nixon, unlike LBJ ( who micromanaged it all to our defeat and McNamara, et al ) would have fought to win!
Reagan wasn't ready to be president earlier than he was.