[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 17 (Monday, May 2, 1994)]
[Pages 896-897]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks and Exchange With Reporters on the Death of President Richard 
Nixon

April 22, 1994

    The President. It is my sad duty to report to the people of the 
United States that Richard M. Nixon, who served as our 37th President, 
died this evening in New York City at 9:08 p.m., with his family at his 
side.
    Hillary and I send our deepest condolences to the entire Nixon 
family. We hope that Tricia and Edward Cox, and their son, Christopher; 
and Julie and David Eisenhower, and their children, Jenny, Alex, and 
Melanie, know that the best wishes of all their fellow Americans are 
with them during their moment of sorrow.
    It's impossible to be in this job without feeling a special bond 
with the people who have gone before, and I was deeply grateful to 
President Nixon for his wise counsel on so many occasions on many issues 
over the last year. His service to me and to our country during this 
period was like the rest of his service to the Nation for nearly a half 
century: He gave of himself with intelligence and devotion to duty. And 
his country owes him a debt of gratitude for that service.
    We face today a world of increasing uncertainty and difficult 
challenges, but it is a world of great opportunity, in no small part 
because of the vision of Richard Nixon during a particularly difficult 
period of the cold war. He understood the threat of communism, but he 
also had the wisdom to know when it was time to reach out to the Soviet 
Union and to China. All Americans, indeed all people throughout the 
world, owe him what he regarded as the ultimate compliment: He was a 
statesman who sought to build a lasting structure of peace.
    To be sure, he experienced his fair share of adversity and 
controversy. But his resilience and his diligent desire to give 
something back to this country and to the world provide a lesson for all 
of us about maintaining our faith in the future. In spite of everything, 
that faith led President Nixon to leave his mark on his times as few 
national figures have done in our history and led him to continue to 
serve right up to the end of his life. Indeed, no less than a month 
before his passing, he was still in touch with me about the great issues 
of this day.
    Again I say the sorrow and the best wishes of the American people 
are with President Nixon's family. We thank them, and our prayers are 
with them.
    Q. Have you spoken to the family, Mr. President?
    The President. I have. I spoke with both Tricia Cox and Julie 
Eisenhower this evening, and we had a very good visit.
    Q. Are you going to the funeral?
    The President. Excuse me?
    Q. Are you going to go to the funeral?
    The President. I intend to go, yes.
    Q. When will it be, do you know?
    The President. The family has not made announcements, and I'm not 
sure they've made final decisions. It's my understanding that the 
funeral will be in California, and they'll announce something about it 
probably tomorrow.
    Q. Will all the Presidents be going, former Presidents?
    The President. I can't say that.
    Q. Can you tell us something about your relationship with Mr. Nixon?
    The President. Yes, well, we made contact with each other shortly 
after--I think shortly after the election--either that or shortly after 
I came in here. And then, as you will remember, I had him up to the 
White House for a visit. We talked frequently on the phone. I sought his 
advice about a number of issues in foreign policy, and we talked quite a 
lot about Russia. We had a good, long visit right before he went to 
Russia, and as I said, just a month ago today, I think, he penned his 
last letter to me of his thoughts on that trip and his advice.
    So our relationship continued to be warm and constructive throughout 
the period of my Presidency, and he went out of his way to give me his 
best advice. And I was incredibly impressed with the energy and the 
vigor and, frankly, the rigor that he brought to analyzing this issue.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 11:03 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. This item was not received in time for publication in the 
appropriate issue.

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