There are similiarities between Nixon and Trump, no question. But there are also big differences. Nixon was shy, private, he attacked the media behind closed doors and insulted people behind their backs, and we only know about it because of the taping system in the Oval Office. The dark side, the vengeance we only know because of these tapes. Trump is right out and front with it. He actually campaigned on how nasty he can be, which found resonance with enough voters to get him into the White House.

Who voted for Trump? Who are these people who, as he famously said, would let him shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and still support him? It's people who want too strong a leader, who would do what that leader tells them. Similar to the Europeans following Mussolini and Hitler. There's a streak in humanity that likes that kind of leader. That's Trump's core. Authoritarianism.

Doing time is like climbing a mountain wearing roller skates.

Americans like to give their President the benefit of the doubt. If you look at the poll numbers, people knew Nixon was deeply involved in Watergate and stayed with him for a long time. It's a natural tendency.

I'd give Donald Trump an "F." This has been the worst 100-day transition in my lifetime. And I was born during Franklin D. Roosevelt's term. This White House is by far the worst-run I have ever seen, certainly in modern times.

Bill Rehnquist makes Barry Goldwater look like a liberal.

Trump hasn't really done anything yet to abuse his powers. I don't even know if he knows what all his powers are as president. And that worries me. He will learn. After he learns how the presidency works, he could become much more dangerous, because his personality doesn't change. Once presidents find their powers, they don't give them up. They use them.