Last night Ed Nixon, the last survivor (and youngest) of the five brothers that included the 37th President, spoke to a meeting of the Spartanburg County (South Carolina) Republican Party about his new book, The Nixons: A Family Portrait. (The audience included 93-year-old textile magnate Roger Milliken, who played an important role in swinging the support of conservative and Southern Republicans to RN in the 1968 campaign.) Ed also spoke with the local newspaper, the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, about his memories of his older brother, and also about the current President:
“I really have high hopes. I really think the president we have now has given us one freedom. And that is, when you fill out a form that asks for race, all you have to write now is human. So, racism goes by the wayside now that we have this president in there. There’s no call for racism anymore. There will be those who try to retain it because they’ve come to depend on it. And make a living at it. But we’re humans. And we’re Americans first. Otherwise, we might as well move to Tasmania,” [Ed Nixon] said.
“I really feel that we have a great future for us in the country as our president becomes educated with real experience.
“But right now, he needs people who have experience to advise him on pitfalls that lie ahead if he goes the same direction he seems to be going.”