* AluminiumChristmasTrees: Some of the movie's weirdest, least plausible moments actually happened in RealLife.
** While it might seem too incredible to be true, Richard Nixon genuinely did happen to be in Dallas, Texas the day before President Kennedy arrived, and left the city mere hours before Kennedy arrived and was assassinated. While he probably ''didn't'' meet with a cabal of wealthy oilmen and Cuban exiles who were involved with the assassination, this little fact has nevertheless grabbed the attention of numerous conspiracy theorists.
** Nixon's nighttime visit to the Lincoln Memorial, where he chats awkwardly with a group of unimpressed antiwar protesters, really did happen in May 1970, soon after the Kent State shootings. If anything the real event was even stranger; Nixon went afterwards to the Capitol Building where he gave Manolo an impromptu tour, and then to a Washington restaurant for breakfast, where he was finally corralled by his staff and convinced to return to the White House.
** According to Woodward and Bernstein's ''The Final Days'', the climactic scenes of Nixon talking to portraits of past presidents and asking Henry Kissinger to pray with him in the Oval Office occurred during his last few days in office.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Not surprising for a Music/JohnWilliams score. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqIr6lC4558 wonderfully ominous, yet stirring tune playing during Nixon's acceptance speech]] in particular.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The infamous scene in the Director's Cut where Richard Helms's eyes turn completely black (which, coupled with the dialogue, seemingly hints that he is some kind of demon in human form) during a meeting with Nixon. There's a similar blink-and-you'll-miss-it image during the TimePassesMontage halfway through the film with one of the Texas powerbrokers, suggesting Stone intended this to represent "The Beast."
* DiagnosedByTheAudience: This portrayal of Nixon is a virtual catalogue of neuroses. He's paranoid and [[NeverMyFault unwilling to take blame]], [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex constantly tries to boost his own scarce self-esteem]], [[TheResenter holds grudges towards almost everyone]], has worrying mood swings and no matter how much power he gains, it's never enough. In RealLife Nixon is known to have suffered from depression and occasionally saw a psychiatrist, [[http://articles.latimes.com/2001/jan/15/local/me-12618 Arnold Hutschnecker]], before becoming president.
* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev and UsefulNotes/MaoZedong speculating about the Watergate Scandal with associates when Nixon isn't in earshot is amusing.
* HarsherInHindsight: Four years after playing Martha Mitchell in this film, Creator/MadelineKahn shared her fate of dying from cancer at age 57.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** Creator/DanHedaya and Saul Rubinek show up throughout the film in various minor roles (as Trini Cardoza, a fictionalized stand-in for Nixon's friend Bebe Rebozo, and Nixon's communications director Herb Klein respectively). In 1998, they'd be cast in the Watergate parody ''Film/{{Dick}}'' as Nixon and Henry Kissinger.
** The name of Nixon's valet is [[WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife Manolo Sanchez]].
* JerkassWoobie: Let's be real here. Although Nixon's hardscrabble background and positive traits inspire sympathy (or at least pity), the movie never lets you forget that his downfall was [[HoistByHisOwnPetard ultimately of his own making]].
* QuestionableCasting: Some critics had this reaction to Creator/AnthonyHopkins playing Nixon, since even with heavy make-up he bears zero resemblance to the real thing (not that Nixon lookalikes are particularly common in Hollywood to begin with). That said, [[AbilityOverAppearance few criticized his actual performance]].
* RootingForTheEmpire: Nixon may be a VillainProtagonist but everyone was rooting for him when he told the wannabe power-brokers to stuff it.
* TearJerker: Julie Nixon Eisenhower, the President's younger daughter, trying to assure her father that the nation will absolve him. His wounded expression just screams that he wants to live up to his daughter's words.
%% * TheWoobie: Richard Nixon himself is this, with how he
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