Roger Stone struck the same defiant pose his political idol Richard Nixon used when resigning the presidency 35 years ago.
Speaking to the media on Friday, Stone flashed a “V for victory” sign hours after his arrest by at least a dozen armed FBI agents. That followed his federal indictment by special counsel Robert Mueller on seven counts, including making false statements to Congress, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice.
Nixon gave his victory salute on Aug. 9, 1974 as he boarded the presidential helicopter Marine One. Nixon’s move came during his waning moments as president, having resigned from the presidency, effective at 12 p.m., that day, facing almost certain removal in a Senate impeachment trial over his role in the Watergate scandal.
Nixon’s iconic pose was meant as an unflinching symbol to ease his disgrace. Nixon himself was adopting a stance used in previous decades by actual victors – former Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower used the sign when celebrating electoral victories. And in the early 1940s, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill started using the “V” symbol as a sign of resilience in the fight against Nazi Germany.
Stone’s adaptation of a Nixon pose was almost certainly calculated and was another act of homage to the 37th American president. The longtime political operative has a flesh-and-blood attachment to the 37th president, the only commander-in-chief to resign from office. In 2007 Stone had Richard Nixon’s face tattooed on his back.
