File this one under the truth is stranger than fiction category because Snopes has confirmed that Donald Trump’s friend and political consultant Roger Stone indeed has a large Richard Nixon tattoo squarely on his back.
When a photograph first surfaced of the shirtless 68-year-old Stone showing off his Nixon tattoo, most people assumed it must be a Photoshop job. But no, the self-described “dirty trickster” who says he is proud of helping to get his friend Donald Trump into the White House, still shows his Nixon tattoo off with pride, despite the fact that he is now under investigation in a matter that is starting to feel like Watergate deja vu.
The New York Times says that Stone and Trump share a mutual mentor, the McCarthy-era fixer Roy Cohn, and the two men have remained in lockstep about their denial that anyone in the Trump administration has anything to do with Russia.
Stone has been emphatic with this assertion.
“There is still not an iota of proof that anyone on the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians.”
But the two men have had one public disagreement. Roger Stone says he left the Trump campaign, and Trump insists he fired him.
Maybe Roger Stone will get a tattoo of your face on his back too. #birds_of_a_feather pic.twitter.com/LkNX3n0S8s
— Nescient Meat Puppet (@JustinEttaputz) December 3, 2018
But like his tattoo of “Tricky Dick’s” face, Roger Stone now seems to be forever stuck with the association he once coveted. Back in 2008, Stone spoke candidly, explaining that while most Republicans reference Ronald Reagan as their political touchstone, he will always use Nixon as his go-to, says the New Yorker .
Stone credits Nixon with much of the “good advice” he now eagerly shares with others while name-dropping, even when it comes down to making a great martini.
“The key to a good Martini is you have to marinate the olives in vermouth first,” he said. “Nixon gave me the recipe. He said he got it from Winston Churchill.”
Stone has said that his Nixon tattoo is here to stay, and he’s as proud of it as he is of his hair plugs.
The Trump consultant explains his affection for Richard Nixon, shedding some light on his allegiance to the current president.
“The reason I’m a Nixonite is because of his indestructibility and resilience. He never quit. His whole career was all built around his personal resentment of élitism. It was the poor-me syndrome. John F. Kennedy’s father bought him his House seat, his Senate seat, and the Presidency. No one bought Nixon anything. Nixon resented that. He was very class-conscious. He identified with the people who ate TV dinners, watched Lawrence Welk, and loved their country.”