49th Anniversary: True Father Meets President Nixon

February 1 marks the 49th anniversary since True Father’s historic meeting with U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1974. At the time, the Watergate scandal gripped the nation after disclosure of White House involvement with a break-in at the Democratic Party’s campaign headquarters during the 1972 presidential election.

True Father was concerned that the crisis was weakening America in the face of communist threats and issued an “Answer to Watergate” statement on November 30, 1973, which called upon Americans to “Forgive, Love, and Unite.” True Father then launched a 40-day national prayer and special fast, where Unificationists held vigils, rallies, wrote letters, and distributed leaflets in all 50 states. 

At the National Christmas Tree lighting in Washington, DC, in 1973, some 1,200 Unificationists from all over the country demonstrated in support of President Nixon and garnered national attention. The president emerged from the White House later that evening to personally thank members who were holding a candlelight vigil across the street at Lafayette Square. 

True Father was subsequently invited to the annual Presidential Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Hotel on Jan. 31, 1974. The next day, Feb. 1, True Father had a special meeting with President Nixon in the Oval Office of the White House. He reportedly told the president, “Don’t knuckle under to pressure. Stand up for your convictions.”