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Checkers speech

The Checkers speech or Fund speech was an address made on September 23, 1952, by then-Senator Richard Nixon, six weeks before the 1952 United States presidential election in which he was the Republican nominee for Vice President. Nixon had been accused of improprieties relating to a fund established by his backers to reimburse him for his political expenses. His place was in doubt on the Republican ticket, so he flew to Los Angeles and delivered a half-hour television address in which he defended himself, attacked his opponents, and urged the audience to contact the Republican National Committee (RNC) to tell them whether he should remain on the ticket.

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Such a fund was not illegal at the time, but Nixon had made a point of attacking government corruption which exposed him to charges that he might be giving special favors to the contributors.

Nixon warned that other smears would be made against him, and many of the same commentators who were attacking him now had also attacked him for his role in the Alger Hiss case, for which he made no apologies.

Source: Wikipedia / Wikidata