Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley shaking hands

Music

How Richard Nixon Reacted When Elvis Said George Washington Dressed ‘Funny’

Elvis Presley made a comment about George Washington when he met Richard Nixon. That meeting inspired two movies, one of which starred major actors.

by Matthew Trzcinski

Published on December 8, 2023

2 min read

Richard Nixon said Elvis Presley dressed oddly like George Washington

During a 1977 interview with Hot Press, the “Hound Dog” singer noted that an interviewer gave him a certain look. “Y’know Nixon had that same look in his eyes the day I walked into the White House wearing a purple velvet cloak, s***loads of jewelry, that big ol’ belt I got from the International Hotel with a gigantic gold buckle, and amber-tinted sunglasses!” Elvis recalled.

“And I knew that sonofab**** was going to say something about my clothes before I left,” the singer added. “And he did. I’d walked over to this portrait of George Washington — and I looked at his powdered hair, the frills on his shirt and cuffs and said to Nixon, ‘This dude dressed kind of funny.’ And the president looked at me and said, ‘Uh, Elvis, I could say the same thing about you!’ And I told him, ‘Mr. President, you’ve got your show to run and I’ve got mine!'”

Why the meeting of Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon might seem strange

Elvis’ meeting with Nixon became the stuff of rock ‘n’ roll legend. The photographs of Elvis meeting Nixon are so famous that they have inspired merchandise. So far, it has inspired two television films. The first, Elvis Meets Nixon, starred Rick Peters as the “Can’t Help Falling in Love” singer and Bob Gunton as the president. The more recent one, Elvis & Nixon, stars Michael Shannon as the rock star and Kevin Spacey as the president.

Part of the reason the incident is so famous is because some fans see it as incongruous. For a lot of Baby Boomers, the epitome of cool. He remains a fashion legend to this day, as his white jumpsuits and jet-black hair are iconic. On the other hand, many people felt Nixon lacked charisma or presence. Shows like The Simpsons and Futurama have repeatedly mocked Nixon’s public image. It might seem comical that Nixon thought the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll didn’t have a good sense of style!

How the singer compared to George Washington in a famous poll

Elvis has an interesting connection to George Washington as well. The Guardian reports 2.4 million people voted to pick the greatest American ever for a 2005 show called Greatest American. The top seven were Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., Washington, Benjamin Franklin, George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Elvis. This means that Elvis was the highest-ranked person on the list who was not a politician or an activist. The fact that the “All Shook Up” singer was only a few spots behind Washington shows that those polled felt the two men were similarly incredible. Tellingly, Nixon didn’t appear on the list.

Nixon and Elvis butt heads and only one of them (supposedly) went down as one of the great Americans!