*By Max Godnick*
It's become cliché to compare any presidential scandal to Watergate, and it remains to be seen if any of the investigatory threads hanging off the Trump administration will unravel to reveal high crimes and misdemeanors.
Until the special counsel's investigation reaches its conclusion, we have Richard Nixon's Twitter alter-ego to provide historical context in real time, and the faux former president may not take kindly to an association with Trump.
Justin Sherin is the playwright behind the popular Twitter account, [@Dick_Nixon] (https://twitter.com/dick_nixon). He created the handle in 2008 and has been tweeted more than 65,0000 emulations of the 37th president's musings on political and popular culture. The profile has amassed a cult following of more than 45,000 fans, and has found new fodder with each development during Trump's scandal-rich presidency
However, Sherin is quick to point out the differences between the political and legal context surrounding Trump and Nixon.
"President Nixon brought himself down, certainly, but it didn't help him that he had a heavily Democratic Congress," said Sherin in an interview Monday with Cheddar.
Trump, on the other hand, has a Republican majority in the House and Senate, and a vocal, unwavering base of support.
So what would Tricky Dick, if he were alive today, say about Trump?
"I've characterized him calling Trump the culmination of the far-right, in his terms, 'kooks and crazies,' that he spent all of his life battling," said Sherin.
"He always said that the far-right of his party was extremely dangerous, but you needed them to win elections."
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-similar-are-richard-nixon-and-donald-trump).
The stunning removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker has left the House adrift as Republicans struggle to bring order to their fractured majority and begin the difficult and potentially prolonged process of uniting around a new leader.
New York City is challenging a unique legal agreement that requires it to provide emergency housing to anyone who asks for it, as the city's shelter system strains under a large influx of international migrants who have arrived since last year.
Warned to mind his out-of-court comments, former President Donald Trump returned to his New York civil fraud trial Wednesday as lawyers on both sides closely questioned an accountant who prepared financial statements at the heart of the case.
The third day of former president Donald Trump's civil fraud trial kicked off earlier Wednesday in New York, a day after a judge imposed a limited gag order on Trump.
The National Zoo's three giant pandas — Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji — are set to return to China in early December with no public signs that the 50-year-old exchange agreement struck by President Richard Nixon will continue.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to force a vote Tuesday on the far-right effort to oust him from his leadership position and insists he will not cut a deal with Democrats to remain in power, setting the stage for an extraordinary and unpredictable showdown on the House floor.
