Second inauguration of Richard Nixon Second inauguration of Richard Nixon The second inauguration of Richard Nixon as President of the United States was held on January 20, 1973 at the eastern portico of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. The inauguration marked the commencement of the second term of Richard Nixon as President and the second term of Spiro Agnew as Vice President. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger administered the Oath of office to the President and the oath of office to the Vice President. Agnew resigned from office days into this term, and was succeeded by Gerald Ford (in accordance with Section 2
Spiro Agnew what one reporter called his "offensive and sometimes dangerous banality". He used the derogatory term "Polack" to describe Polish-Americans, referred to a Japanese-American reporter as "the fat Jap", and appeared to dismiss poor socio-economic conditions by stating that "if you've seen one slum you've seen them all." He attacked Humphrey as soft on communism, an appeaser like Britain's prewar prime minister Neville Chamberlain. Agnew was mocked by his Democratic opponents; a Humphrey commercial displayed the message "Agnew for Vice President?" against a soundtrack of prolonged hysterical laughter that degenerated into a painful cough, before a final message: "This would be