Nixon was a mixed bag and most of it was not good for conservatives.
Nixon pushed regulatory agencies, instituted wage and price controls, and made poor appointments.
One appointment that Nixon initially spoke highly of was John Dean so we can take Nixon’s favorable view of Trump with that in mind.
Mentoring can be in various forms and not unreasonable to think that Nixons valued input was schooling Trump on politics and how Washington works.
During that time period when Trump is efforting ambitious projects in arguably one of the toughest places, Manhattan, to achieve, you need to learn how and who’s palms to grease.