Tuesday, April 22, 2025
As we celebrated Presidents’ Day on Monday, I thought back on presidents I’ve had the opportunity to meet over the years. Except for my first meeting with Richard Nixon in 1967, before he was president, all of those meetings resulted from my involvement in politics.
In the summer of 1967, between my second and third years of law school, I worked as an intern in Nixon’s Wall Street law firm. (The fellow intern I was assigned to work with that summer was Rudy Giuliani — who was then a liberal Democrat.) In addition to the chance encounters we had with Nixon in the hallway or elevator, we interns had a long lunch discussion with him, during which he demonstrated his expansive knowledge of foreign and domestic issues. Surprisingly, he also displayed a certain shyness.
A quarter-century later, in 1993, the then former president was in Washington to address Republicans in Congress, where I told him how much I appreciated the long-ago internship. He was no longer shy, but seemingly at peace. The following year, I attended his funeral in California.
President Gerald Ford was in the closing days of his 1976 campaign against Jimmy Carter when he spoke at a massive rally at the Nassau Coliseum. At a reception afterward, Ford was gracious and friendly, a class act. The next time I saw him was in 1998, at Sonny Bono’s funeral in California.
I had just two brief encounters with Jimmy Carter, the first an introduction at Yitzhak Rabin’s funeral in Jerusalem in 1995. The second was about 10 years ago, when I was on a Delta Shuttle, waiting to take off for Washington, when Carter got on the plane, recognized me, shook my hand and gave me a warm hello and a big smile — an awkward moment for me, since I had attacked him for something on national TV just the day before!
Except for a White House briefing for New York Republicans in 1987, my dealings with President Ronald Reagan consisted of handshakes and photos at political events in Nassau County and Manhattan. I was always struck by his sense of dignity and leadership. He never disappointed.
President George Bush 41 was the last of the old-school presidents, in the best sense of that term. He was very knowledgeable and always respectful of his office.
In addition to greeting him at political events before and after his presidency, I was invited, along with other newly elected Republicans, to meet with him in the Oval Office in his final days as president in January 1993. It was inspiring and memorable. He didn’t have a word of regret or complaint. True stature.
Though President Barack Obama offered to appoint me ambassador to Ireland, my dealings with him were infrequent and businesslike. He was always polite, and always “no drama Obama.”
My contacts with Joe Biden were when he was senator and vice president, primarily at social events in Washington. He was invariably cordial and humorous. Always greeted me with a big grin, and would kid me that Irish guys should always be Democrats. He was sharp; very different from how he was as president.
The presidents I spent the most time with were Bill Clinton, George Bush 43 and Donald Trump, all of whom are within two years of me in age. I worked closely with Clinton on the Irish peace process, traveling with him on his historic visits to Northern Ireland. I stood with him during his impeachment. He couldn’t have been more gracious and friendly to my family. He and Hillary were the first to call the night my mother died. We remain friends.
I saw up close how dedicated the younger George Bush was to helping New York and defeating Islamist terrorism following the horrific Sept. 11 attacks. I was with him in the ruins of the World Trade Center three days afterward, and over the succeeding months and years was at numerous meetings he had with cops, firefighters and 9/11 victims’ family members. A true patriot. Great sense of humor.
Donald Trump was and is one of a kind. He and I grew up in Queens at the same time. Though we lived in different Zip codes, one on one he was like the guys I grew up with, totally down to earth. Despite his public persona, he could be caring and concerned, like when he reached out to my daughter when she was sick, or when he invited my grandchildren to the White House. Most significantly, I’ll always be appreciative of his visits to Long Island, where he led the effort to crush MS-13.
These are just some of the recollections from my front-row seat of the 10 men who led our nation over the past six decades.
Peter King is a former congressman, and a former chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security. Comments? pking@ liherald.com.
