View source for Gerald Ford

{{Short description|President of the United States from 1974 to 1977}}
{{About|the president of the United States}}
{{Pp|small=yes}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image               = Gerald Ford presidential portrait (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Official portrait, 1974
| order               = 38th
| office              = President of the United States
| vicepresident       = {{plainlist|
* ''None'' {{nowrap|(Aug–Dec 1974)}}
* [[Nelson Rockefeller]] {{nowrap|(1974–1977)}}
}}
| term_start          = August 9, 1974
| term_end            = January 20, 1977
| predecessor         = [[Richard Nixon]]
| successor           = [[Jimmy Carter]]
| order1              = 40th
| office1             = Vice President of the United States
| president1          = Richard Nixon
| term_start1         = December 6, 1973
| term_end1           = August 9, 1974
| predecessor1        = [[Spiro Agnew]]
| successor1          = Nelson Rockefeller
{{collapsed infobox section begin
| cont                = yes
| House positions
| titlestyle          = border:1px dashed lightgrey;
}} 
{{Infobox officeholder
| embed               = yes
| office2             = [[House Minority Leader]]
| term_start2         = January 3, 1965
| term_end2           = December 6, 1973
| 1blankname2         = Whip
| 1namedata2          = [[Leslie C. Arends]]
| predecessor2        = [[Charles A. Halleck]]
| successor2          = [[John Jacob Rhodes]]
| office3             = [[Leader of the House Republican Conference]]
| term_start3         = January 3, 1965
| term_end3           = December 6, 1973
| predecessor3        = Charles A. Halleck
| successor3          = John Jacob Rhodes
| office4             = [[Chair of the House Republican Conference]]
| leader4             = Charles A. Halleck
| term_start4         = January 3, 1963
| term_end4           = January 3, 1965
| predecessor4        = [[Charles B. Hoeven]]
| successor4          = [[Melvin Laird]]
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
}}
| state5              = [[Michigan]]
| district5           = {{ushr|MI|5|5th}}
| term_start5         = January 3, 1949
| term_end5           = December 6, 1973
| predecessor5        = [[Bartel J. Jonkman]]
| successor5          = [[Richard Vander Veen]]
| birth_name          = Leslie Lynch King Jr.
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1913|7|14}}
| birth_place         = [[Omaha, Nebraska]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{nowrap|{{Death date and age|2006|12|26|1913|7|14}}}}
| death_place         = [[Rancho Mirage, California]], U.S.
| resting_place       = [[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum]]
| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| parents             = {{plainlist|
* [[Leslie Lynch King Sr.]]
* [[Dorothy Ayer Gardner Ford]]
}}
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Betty Ford|Betty Bloomer]]|October 15, 1948}}
| children            = {{flatlist|
* [[Michael Gerald Ford|Michael]]
* [[John Gardner Ford|Jack]]
* [[Steven Ford|Steven]]
* [[Susan Ford Bales|Susan]]
}}
| occupation          = {{hlist|Politician|lawyer}}
| education           = {{plainlist|
* [[University of Michigan]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
* [[Yale Law School|Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
}}
| signature           = Gerald Ford Signature.svg
| signature_alt       = Cursive signature in ink
| branch              = [[United States Navy]]
| rank                = [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant commander]]
| serviceyears        = 1942–1946
| battles             = {{tree list}}
* [[World War II]]
 [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]]
{{tree list/end}}
| mawards             = {{plainlist|
* [[American Campaign Medal]]
* [[Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal]] (9 [[campaign star]]s)
* [[World War II Victory Medal|World War II Victory]]
}}
| module              = {{Infobox college football player <!-- Please DO NOT add "school" parameter, it is only used for active players, and he no longer plays for the Wolverines -->
| embed           = yes
| currentnumber   = 48
| currentposition = [[Center (gridiron football)|Center]]
| class           = 1935
| major           = Economics
| highschool      = Grand Rapids South High School
| highlights      = 
* 2× [[College football national championships in NCAA Division I FBS|National champion]] ([[1932 college football season|1932]], [[1933 college football season|1933]])
* [[Meyer Morton Award]] (1932)
* [[Michigan Wolverines football#Retired numbers|Michigan Wolverines No. 48]] retired
|module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Gerald Ford's comments at his Swearing in Ceremony to be 38th President of the United States.ogg|title=Gerald Ford's voice|type=speech|description=Ford's comments at [[Inauguration of Gerald Ford|his presidential swearing in ceremony]]<br />recorded on August 9, 1974}}
}}
}}
'''Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr.'''{{efn|Pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|ɛr|əl|d}} {{respell|JERR|əld}}<ref>{{cite web |title=President Ford Inaugural Ceremony |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?8670-1/president-gerald-fords-inaugural-ceremony |website=C-SPAN.org |publisher=[[C-SPAN]] |access-date=January 25, 2021 |date=August 9, 1974 |archive-date=January 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105003734/https://www.c-span.org/video/?8670-1/president-gerald-fords-inaugural-ceremony |url-status=live }}</ref>}} (born '''Leslie Lynch King Jr.'''; July 14, 1913{{spnd}}December 26, 2006) was the 38th [[president of the United States]], serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party, Ford assumed the presidency after President [[Richard Nixon]] resigned, under whom he had served as the 40th [[vice president of the United States|vice president]] from 1973 to 1974. Prior to that, he served as a member of the [[U.S. House of Representatives]] from 1949 to 1973.

Ford was born in [[Omaha, Nebraska]] and raised in [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]]. He attended the [[University of Michigan]], where he played for [[Michigan Wolverines football|the school's football team]], before eventually attending [[Yale Law School]]. Afterward, he served in the [[U.S. Naval Reserve]] from 1942 to 1946. Ford began his political career in 1949 as the U.S. representative from [[Michigan's 5th congressional district]], serving in this capacity for nearly 25 years, the final nine of them as the [[House minority leader]]. In December 1973, two months after [[Spiro Agnew]]'s resignation, Ford became the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the [[Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|25th Amendment]]. After the subsequent resignation of Nixon in August 1974, Ford immediately assumed the presidency.

Domestically, Ford presided over the worst economy in the four decades since the [[Great Depression]], with growing inflation and [[1973–1975 recession|a recession]].<ref name="'70s">{{cite book|title= How We Got Here: The '70s|last= Frum|first= David|author-link= David Frum|year= 2000|publisher= Basic Books|location= New York City|isbn=978-0-465-04195-4|pages= xxiii, 301|url= https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum}}</ref> In one of his most controversial acts, he granted a [[presidential pardon to Nixon]] for his role in the [[Watergate scandal]]. Foreign policy was characterized in procedural terms by the increased role Congress began to play, and by the corresponding curb on the powers of the president.<!-- (Please keep hidden until fully developed below) "This was made clear by developments in two major substantive issues during Ford's presidency: the Cyprus crisis and Arab Israeli relations." --><ref name="Lenczowski">{{cite book|first=George|last=Lenczowski|title=American Presidents, and the Middle East|year=1990|isbn=978-0-8223-0972-7|pages=142–143|publisher=Duke University Press|author-link=George Lenczowski}}</ref> Ford signed the [[Helsinki Accords]], which marked a move toward ''[[détente]]'' in the [[Cold War]]. With the collapse of [[South Vietnam]] nine months into his presidency, [[U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War]] essentially ended. In the [[1976 Republican Party presidential primaries|1976 Republican presidential primary]], he defeated [[Ronald Reagan]] for the Republican nomination, but narrowly lost the presidential election to the Democratic candidate, [[Jimmy Carter]]. Ford remains the only person to serve as president without winning an election for president or vice president.

Following his years as president, Ford remained active in the Republican Party, but his moderate views on various social issues increasingly put him at odds with conservative members of the party in the 1990s and early 2000s. He also set aside the enmity he had felt towards Carter following the 1976 election and the two former presidents developed a close friendship. After experiencing a series of health problems, he [[Death and state funeral of Gerald Ford|died in Rancho Mirage, California]] in 2006. Surveys of historians and political scientists [[Historical rankings of presidents of the United States|have ranked]] Ford as a below-average president,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/16/presidential.survey/|title=Lincoln Wins: Honest Abe tops new presidential survey|publisher=CNN|date=February 16, 2009|access-date=December 2, 2020|archive-date=April 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210404080715/http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/16/presidential.survey/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2017/?page=overall|title=Presidential Historians Survey 2017|publisher=C-SPAN|access-date=December 2, 2020|archive-date=March 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301043807/https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2017/?page=overall|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Presidents 2018 Rank by Category|url=https://scri.siena.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Presidents-2018-Rank-by-Category.pdf|access-date=December 2, 2020|archive-date=February 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220062843/https://scri.siena.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Presidents-2018-Rank-by-Category.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> though retrospective public polls on his time in office were more positive.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/23995/Gerald-Ford-Retrospective.aspx|title=Gerald Ford Retrospective|date=December 29, 2006|publisher=[[Gallup, Inc.]]|access-date=January 5, 2023|archive-date=May 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521142231/https://news.gallup.com/poll/23995/Gerald-Ford-Retrospective.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/polls-fords-image-improved-over-time/|title=Polls: Ford's Image Improved Over Time|publisher=[[CBS News]]|date=December 27, 2006|access-date=January 5, 2023|archive-date=January 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106035223/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/polls-fords-image-improved-over-time/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{TOC limit|3}}

==Early life==
{{stack|float=left|[[File:Photograph of Gerald R. Ford, Jr. (Then Leslie Lynch King, Jr.) - NARA - 186856 (restored).jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.6|alt=A young boy circa 1916.|Ford in 1916]]}}
Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr. on July 14, 1913, at [[3202 Woolworth Avenue]] in [[Omaha, Nebraska]], where his parents lived with his paternal grandparents. He was the only child of [[Dorothy Ayer Gardner]] and [[Leslie Lynch King Sr.]], a wool trader. His paternal grandfather was banker and businessman [[Charles Henry King]], and his maternal grandfather was Illinois politician and businessman [[Levi Addison Gardner]]. Ford's parents separated just sixteen days after his birth and his mother took the infant Ford with her to [[Oak Park, Illinois]], where her sister Tannisse and brother-in-law, Clarence Haskins James lived. From there, she moved to the home of her parents in [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]]. Gardner and King divorced in December 1913, and she gained full custody of her son. Ford's paternal grandfather paid child support until shortly before his death in 1930.<ref>{{cite book|author=Young, Jeff C.|title=The Fathers of American Presidents|year=1997|isbn=978-0-7864-0182-6|publisher=McFarland & Co.|location=Jefferson, NC|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/fathersofamerica0000youn}}</ref>

Ford later said that his biological father had a history of hitting his mother.<ref name="ford-Nebraska">{{Cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Dec27/0,4670,FordNebraska,00.html |title=Nebraska-born Ford Left State as Infant |last=Funk |first=Josh |date=December 27, 2006 |access-date=September 2, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429040023/http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Dec27/0%2C4670%2CFordNebraska%2C00.html |archive-date=April 29, 2011 |via=Fox News |agency=Associated Press |url-status=dead }}</ref> In a biography of Ford, [[James M. Cannon]] wrote that the separation and divorce of Ford's parents was sparked when, a few days after Ford's birth, Leslie King took a [[butcher knife]] and threatened to kill his wife, infant son, and Ford's nursemaid. Ford later told confidants that his father had first hit his mother when she had smiled at another man during their honeymoon.<ref name="pbs-knife">{{cite web |last=Cannon |first=James |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/character/essays/ford.html |title=Gerald R. Ford |website=Character Above All |publisher=Public Broadcasting System |access-date=December 28, 2006 |archive-date=January 26, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110126122400/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/character/essays/ford.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

After living with her parents for two and a half years, on February 1, 1917, Gardner married [[Gerald Rudolff Ford]], a salesman in a family-owned paint and varnish company. Though never formally adopted, her young son was referred to as Gerald Rudolff Ford Jr. from then on; the [[name change]], including the anglicized spelling "Rudolph", was formalized on December 3, 1935.<ref name="utexas">{{cite web |url=http://www.ford.utexas.edu/grf/genealog.asp |title=Gerald R. Ford Genealogical Information |website=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum |publisher=University of Texas |access-date=December 28, 2006 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924014533/http://www.ford.utexas.edu/grf/genealog.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was raised in what is now [[East Grand Rapids, Michigan|East Grand Rapids]] with his three half-brothers from his mother's second marriage: [[Thomas Gardner Ford|Thomas Gardner "Tom" Ford]] (1918–1995), Richard Addison "Dick" Ford (1924–2015), and James Francis "Jim" Ford (1927–2001).<ref>{{cite news|title=Richard Ford remembered as active steward of President Gerald Ford's legacy|work=MLive|date=March 20, 2015|url=http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/03/richard_ford_dies.html|access-date=December 21, 2015|archive-date=December 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222142937/http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/03/richard_ford_dies.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Ford was involved in the [[Boy Scouts of America]], and earned that program's highest rank, [[Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)|Eagle Scout]].<ref name="honor">{{cite book |last=Townley |first=Alvin |url=http://us.macmillan.com/legacyofhonor |title=Legacy of Honor: The Values and Influence of America's Eagle Scouts |publisher=St. Martin's Press |location=New York |pages=12–13 and 87 |isbn=978-0-312-36653-7 |access-date=December 29, 2006 |year=2007 |orig-year=December 26, 2006 |archive-date=June 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605164738/http://us.macmillan.com/legacyofhonor |url-status=live }}</ref> He is the only Eagle Scout to have ascended to the U.S. presidency.<ref name="honor" /> Ford attended Grand Rapids South High School, where he was a star athlete and [[captain (sports)|captain]] of the [[American football|football]] team.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Investigatory Records on Gerald Ford, Applicant for a Commission|date=December 30, 1941|website=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library|url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0069/2825430.pdf|access-date=November 18, 2010|archive-date=September 15, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915160938/http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0069/2825430.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1930, he was selected to the All-City team of the [[Grand Rapids City League]]. He also attracted the attention of college recruiters.<ref name="kunhardt" />

==College and law school==
{{stack|float=left|[[File:Gerald Ford on field at Univ of Mich, 1933.jpg|left|thumb|upright=.95|alt=A uniformed but helmetless American Football player is shown on a football field. He is in a ready position, with legs in a wide stance and both hands on a football in front of him.|Ford during practice as a [[Center (gridiron football)|center]] on the University of [[Michigan Wolverines football]] team, 1933]]}}

Ford attended the [[University of Michigan]], where he played [[Center (gridiron football)|center]] and [[linebacker]] for the school's football team<ref>{{cite news|last=Wertheimer|first=Linda|title=Special Report: Former President Gerald Ford Dies; Sought to Heal Nation Disillusioned by Watergate Scandal|date=December 27, 2006|publisher=[[National Public Radio]]|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4529638|access-date=April 26, 2009|archive-date=January 22, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122035555/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4529638|url-status=live}}</ref> and helped the [[Michigan Wolverines football|Wolverines]] to two undefeated seasons and [[NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship|national titles]] in [[1932 Michigan Wolverines football team|1932]] and [[1933 Michigan Wolverines football team|1933]]. In his senior year of [[1934 Michigan Wolverines football team|1934]], the team suffered a steep decline and won only one game, but Ford was still the team's star player. In one of those games, Michigan held heavily favored [[Minnesota Golden Gophers football|Minnesota]]—the eventual national champion—to a scoreless tie in the first half. After the game, assistant coach [[Bennie Oosterbaan]] said, "When I walked into the dressing room at halftime, I had tears in my eyes I was so proud of them. Ford and [Cedric] Sweet played their hearts out. They were everywhere on defense." Ford later recalled, "During 25 years in the rough-and-tumble world of politics, I often thought of the experiences before, during, and after that game in 1934. Remembering them has helped me many times to face a tough situation, take action, and make every effort possible despite adverse odds." His teammates later voted Ford their most valuable player, with one assistant coach noting, "They felt Jerry was one guy who would stay and fight in a losing cause."<ref name="perry">{{cite book|last=Perry |first=Will |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/wolverinesstoryo0000perr/page/150 |chapter-format=PDF |title=The Wolverines: A Story of Michigan Football |chapter=No Cheers From the Alumni |pages=[https://archive.org/details/wolverinesstoryo0000perr/page/150 150–152] |publisher=The Strode Publishers |location=Huntsville, Alabama |isbn=978-0-87397-055-6 |access-date=December 28, 2006 |year=1974 }}</ref>

During Ford's senior year, a controversy developed when [[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football|Georgia Tech]] said that it would not play a scheduled game with Michigan if a Black player named [[Willis Ward]] took the field. Students, players and alumni protested, but university officials capitulated and kept Ward out of the game. Ford was Ward's best friend on the team, and they roomed together while on road trips. Ford reportedly threatened to quit the team in response to the university's decision, but he eventually agreed to play against [[Georgia Tech]] when Ward personally asked him to play.<ref>{{cite news | first1 = Brian | last1 = Kruger | first2 = Buddy | last2 = Moorehouse | title = Willis Ward, Gerald Ford and Michigan Football's darkest day | date = August 9, 2012 | url = http://blogs.detroitnews.com/history/2012/08/09/willis-ward-gerald-ford-and-michigan-footballs-darkest-day/ | work = The Detroit News | access-date = October 22, 2012 | archive-date = March 26, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140326132547/http://blogs.detroitnews.com/history/2012/08/09/willis-ward-gerald-ford-and-michigan-footballs-darkest-day/ | url-status = dead }}</ref>

In 1934, Ford was selected for the Eastern Team in the Shriners' [[East-West Shrine Bowl|East–West Shrine Game]] at San Francisco (a benefit for physically disabled children), played on January 1, 1935. As part of the 1935 Collegiate All-Star football team, Ford played against the [[Chicago Bears]] in the [[Chicago College All-Star Game]] at [[Soldier Field]].<ref name="greene">{{cite book|last=Greene|first=J.R.|title=The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford (American Presidency Series)|page=[https://archive.org/details/presidencyofgera0000gree/page/2 2]|year=1995|publisher=University Press of Kansas|isbn=978-0-7006-0638-2|url=https://archive.org/details/presidencyofgera0000gree/page/2}}</ref> In honor of his athletic accomplishments and his later political career, the University of Michigan retired Ford's No. 48 jersey in 1994. With the blessing of the Ford family, it was placed back into circulation in 2012 as part of the [[Michigan Wolverines football#Michigan Football Legends|Michigan Football Legends]] program and issued to sophomore linebacker [[Desmond Morgan]] before a home game against [[University of Illinois|Illinois]] on October 13.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mgoblue.com/news/2012/10/13/Ford_Named_Michigan_Football_Legend_Morgan_to_Wear_No_48_Jersey.aspx|title=Ford Named Michigan Football Legend; Morgan to Wear No. 48 Jersey|website=University of Michigan Athletics|access-date=June 30, 2019|archive-date=June 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630014434/https://mgoblue.com/news/2012/10/13/Ford_Named_Michigan_Football_Legend_Morgan_to_Wear_No_48_Jersey.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

Throughout life, Ford remained interested in his school and football; he occasionally attended games. Ford also visited with players and coaches during practices; at one point, he asked to join the players in the huddle.<ref>{{cite news|title=Clumsy image aside, Ford was Accomplished Athlete|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 28, 2006|access-date=September 2, 2009|url=https://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/bal-sp.ford28dec28,0,6535524.story|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523001021/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/bal-sp.ford28dec28,0,6535524.story|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 23, 2010}}</ref> Before state events, Ford often had the Navy band play the University of Michigan fight song, "[[The Victors]]," instead of "[[Hail to the Chief]]."<ref>{{cite book | title=The Press and the Ford Presidency | author=Rozell, Mark J. | date=October 15, 1992 | publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-10350-8 | page=[https://archive.org/details/pressfordpreside0000roze/page/38 38] | url=https://archive.org/details/pressfordpreside0000roze/page/38 }}</ref>

Ford graduated from Michigan in 1935 with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in [[economics]]. He turned down offers from the [[Detroit Lions]] and [[Green Bay Packers]] of the [[National Football League]]. Instead, he took a job in September 1935 as the boxing coach and assistant varsity football coach at [[Yale University]]<ref name="librarybio">{{cite web|url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/grf/timeline.asp|title=Timeline of President Ford's Life and Career|website=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum|access-date=December 28, 2006|archive-date=December 24, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061224213224/http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/grf/timeline.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> and applied to its law school.<ref name="proball">{{cite book|title=Vice Presidents of the United States 1789–1993|first=Wendy|last=Wolff|year=1997|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]}}</ref>

Ford hoped to attend Yale Law School beginning in 1935. Yale officials at first denied his admission to the law school because of his full-time coaching responsibilities. He spent the summer of 1937 as a student at the [[University of Michigan Law School]]<ref name="umlaw">{{cite web |url=http://www.umich.edu/ford/timeline.html |title=The U-M Remembers Gerald R. Ford |publisher=The University of Michigan |access-date=January 2, 2007 |archive-date=March 8, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070308085136/http://www.umich.edu/ford/timeline.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and was eventually admitted in the spring of 1938 to [[Yale Law School]].<ref name="librarybio"/> That year he was also promoted to the position of junior varsity head football coach at Yale.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2007/01/17/at-yale-ford-doubled-as-coach-law-student/|title=At Yale, Ford doubled as coach, law student|date=January 17, 2007|access-date=April 20, 2021|archive-date=April 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420145039/https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2007/01/17/at-yale-ford-doubled-as-coach-law-student/|url-status=live}}</ref> While at Yale, Ford began working as a model. He initially worked with the [[John Robert Powers]] agency before investing in the [[Harry Conover]] agency, with whom he modelled until 1941.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|last=Gross|first=Michael|url=http://archive.org/details/modeluglybusines00gros_0|title=Model|date=1995|publisher=W. Morrow|isbn=978-0-688-12659-9|pages=54–55|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

While attending Yale Law School, Ford joined a group of students led by [[R. Douglas Stuart Jr.]], and signed a petition to enforce the 1939 [[Neutrality Acts of 1930s|Neutrality Act]]. The petition was circulated nationally and was the inspiration for the [[America First Committee]], a group determined to keep the U.S. out of [[World War II]].<ref name="onlinereader">{{cite book |last=Doenecke |first=Justus D. |year=1990 |url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0817988416/ |title=In Danger Undaunted: The Anti-Interventionist Movement of 1940–1941 As Revealed in the Papers of the America First Committee (Hoover Archival Documentaries) |publisher=Hoover Institution Press |isbn=978-0-8179-8841-8 |access-date=December 28, 2006 |archive-date=April 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415012216/http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0817988416/ |url-status=live }} p. 7</ref> His introduction into politics was in the summer of 1940 when he worked for the Republican presidential campaign of [[Wendell Willkie]].<ref name="librarybio" />

Ford graduated in the top third of his class in 1941, and was admitted to the [[State Bar of Michigan|Michigan bar]] shortly thereafter. In May 1941, he opened a Grand Rapids law practice with a friend, [[Philip W. Buchen]].<ref name="librarybio"/>

==U.S. Naval Reserve==
[[File:Group photo of ship’s gunnery officers aboard the fast aircraft carrier USS Monterey include Gerald Ford.jpg|thumb|alt=Twenty-eight Sailors in the uniform of the United States Navy pose on the deck of a World War II-era Aircraft Carrier.|The Gunnery officers of {{USS|Monterey|CVL-26|6}}, 1943. Ford is second from the right, in the front row.]]

Following the [[attack on Pearl Harbor|December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor]], Ford enlisted in the Navy.<ref name="deathofford"/> He received a commission as [[Ensign (United States)|ensign]] in the [[United States Navy Reserve|U.S. Naval Reserve]] on April 13, 1942.<ref>{{cite web |title=President Ford's US Navy Service – Naval History and Heritage Command |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/news-and-events/multimedia%20gallery/New%20Infographics/Ford%20Media%20Kit-2.pdf |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=March 28, 2021 |archive-date=April 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210405195541/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/news-and-events/multimedia%20gallery/New%20Infographics/Ford%20Media%20Kit-2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> On April 20, he reported for active duty to the V-5 instructor school at [[Annapolis, Maryland]]. After one month of training, he went to Navy Preflight School in [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina]], where he was one of 83 instructors and taught elementary navigation skills, ordnance, gunnery, first aid, and military drill. In addition, he coached all nine sports that were offered, but mostly swimming, boxing, and football. During the year he was at the Preflight School, he was promoted to [[Lieutenant, Junior Grade]], on June 2, 1942, and to lieutenant, in March 1943.<ref>Brinkley, p.9</ref>

===Sea duty===
After Ford applied for sea duty, he was sent in May 1943 to the pre-commissioning detachment for the new aircraft carrier {{USS|Monterey|CVL-26}}, at New York Shipbuilding Corporation, [[Camden, New Jersey]]. From the ship's commissioning on June 17, 1943, until the end of December 1944, Ford served as the assistant navigator, Athletic Officer, and antiaircraft battery officer on board the ''Monterey''. While he was on board, the carrier participated in many actions in the [[Asiatic-Pacific Theater|Pacific Theater]] with the [[United States Third Fleet|Third]] and [[United States Fifth Fleet|Fifth Fleets]] in late 1943 and 1944. In 1943, the carrier helped secure [[Makin (islands)|Makin Island]] in the Gilberts, and participated in carrier strikes against [[Kavieng]], [[Papua New Guinea]] in 1943. During the spring of 1944, the ''Monterey'' supported landings at [[Kwajalein]] and [[Eniwetok]] and participated in carrier strikes in the [[Mariana Islands|Marianas]], [[Caroline Islands|Western Carolines]], and northern New Guinea, as well as in the [[Battle of the Philippine Sea]].<ref name="hove">{{cite book |last=Hove |first=Duane |title=American Warriors: Five Presidents in the Pacific Theater of World War II |publisher=Burd Street Press |isbn=978-1-57249-307-0 |year=2003 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/americanwarriors0000hove }}</ref> After an overhaul, from September to November 1944, aircraft from the ''Monterey'' launched strikes against [[Wake Island]], participated in strikes in the Philippines and [[Ryukyu Islands|Ryukyus]], and supported the landings at [[Leyte Island|Leyte]] and [[Mindoro]].<ref name="hove" />

Although the ship was not damaged by Japanese forces, the ''Monterey'' was one of several ships damaged by [[Typhoon Cobra]] that hit Admiral [[William Halsey Jr.|William Halsey's]] Third Fleet on December 18–19, 1944. The Third Fleet lost three [[destroyer]]s and over 800 men during the typhoon. The ''Monterey'' was damaged by a fire, which was started by several of the ship's aircraft tearing loose from their cables and colliding on the [[hangar deck]]. Ford was serving as General Quarters Officer of the Deck and was ordered to go below to assess the raging fire. He did so safely, and reported his findings back to the ship's commanding officer, Captain [[Stuart H. Ingersoll]]. The ship's crew was able to contain the fire, and the ship got underway again.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lieutenant Gerald Ford and Typhoon Cobra|url=http://www.navyhistory.org/2013/02/lieutenant-gerald-ford-and-typhoon-cobra/|publisher=[[Naval Historical Foundation]]|date=February 7, 2013|access-date=February 8, 2013|archive-date=November 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106102243/http://www.navyhistory.org/2013/02/lieutenant-gerald-ford-and-typhoon-cobra/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

After the fire, the ''Monterey'' was declared unfit for service. Ford was detached from the ship and sent to the Navy Pre-Flight School at [[Saint Mary's College of California]], where he was assigned to the Athletic Department until April 1945. From the end of April 1945 to January 1946, he was on the staff of the Naval Reserve Training Command, [[Naval Air Station Glenview|Naval Air Station, Glenview, Illinois]], at the rank of [[lieutenant commander]].<ref name="librarybio"/>

Ford received the following military awards: the [[American Campaign Medal]], the [[Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal]] with nine [[Service star|{{frac|3|16}}" bronze stars]] (for operations in the [[Gilbert Islands]], [[Bismarck Archipelago]], Marshall Islands, Asiatic and Pacific carrier raids, [[Battle of Hollandia|Hollandia]], Marianas, Western Carolines, Western New Guinea, and the Leyte Operation), the [[Philippine Liberation Medal]] with two {{frac|3|16}}" bronze stars (for Leyte and Mindoro), and the [[World War II Victory Medal]].<ref name="deathofford" /> He was honorably discharged in February 1946.<ref name="librarybio"/>

==U.S. House of Representatives (1949–1973)==
[[File:Photograph of a Billboard for Congressional Candidate Gerald R. Ford, Jr.'s Republican Primary Campaign - NARA - 187021.jpg|thumb|left|alt=A billboard shows a portrait of a man in a suit, with the text "To work for You in congress" at the top, followed by "Gerald R. Ford Jr.", followed by "Republican Primary September 14", with "United States Representative" across the bottom of the sign.|A billboard for Ford's 1948 congressional campaign from [[Michigan's 5th congressional district|Michigan's 5th district]]]]

After Ford returned to Grand Rapids in 1946, he became active in local Republican politics, and supporters urged him to challenge [[Bartel J. Jonkman]], the incumbent Republican congressman. Military service had changed his view of the world. "I came back a converted [[Internationalism (politics)|internationalist]]", Ford wrote, "and of course our congressman at that time was an avowed, dedicated [[United States non-interventionism|isolationist]]. And I thought he ought to be replaced. Nobody thought I could win. I ended up winning two to one."<ref name="kunhardt" />

During his first campaign in 1948, Ford visited voters at their doorsteps and as they left the factories where they worked.<ref name="Winget">{{cite book|author=Winget, Mary Mueller|title=Gerald R. Ford|year=2007|publisher=Twenty-First Century Books|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pzL6X3Dv_SYC|access-date=September 3, 2009|isbn=978-0-8225-1509-8|archive-date=September 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924195009/https://books.google.com/books?id=pzL6X3Dv_SYC|url-status=live}}</ref> Ford also visited local farms where, in one instance, a wager resulted in Ford spending two weeks milking cows following his election victory.<ref>{{cite news|first=Melissa |last=Kruse |url=http://victorianrevivalbirdhouses.com/barnhistory.html |title=The Patterson Barn, Grand Rapids, Michigan—Barn razing erases vintage landmark |work=The Grand Rapids Press |date=January 3, 2003 |page=D1 |access-date=September 3, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429035846/http://victorianrevivalbirdhouses.com/barnhistory.html |archive-date=April 29, 2011 }}</ref>

Ford was a member of the House of Representatives for 25 years, holding [[Michigan's 5th congressional district]] seat from 1949 to 1973. It was a tenure largely notable for its modesty. As an editorial in ''The New York Times'' described him, Ford "saw himself as a negotiator and a reconciler, and the record shows it: he did not write a single piece of major legislation in his entire career."<ref name="nyt-editorial">{{cite news |date=December 28, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/opinion/28thur1.html |title=Gerald R. Ford |work=The New York Times |access-date=December 29, 2006 |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220050832/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/opinion/28thur1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Appointed to the [[United States House Committee on Appropriations|House Appropriations Committee]] two years after being elected, he was a prominent member of the [[United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense|Defense Appropriations Subcommittee]]. Ford described his philosophy as "a moderate in domestic affairs, an internationalist in foreign affairs, and a conservative in fiscal policy."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/about/presidents/geraldford/|work=[[whitehouse.gov]]|title=Gerald R. Ford|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|access-date=October 25, 2009|archive-date=December 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225140536/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/about/presidents/geraldford/%20|url-status=live}}</ref> He voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1957|Civil Rights Acts of 1957]],<ref>{{cite journal|title=House – June 18, 1957|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=103|issue=7|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=9518|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1957-pt7/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1957-pt7-8-2.pdf|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=October 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008164237/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1957-pt7/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1957-pt7-8-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=House – August 27, 1957|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=103|issue=12|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|pages=16112–16113|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1957-pt12/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1957-pt12-4-2.pdf|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=October 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008164310/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1957-pt12/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1957-pt12-4-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Civil Rights Act of 1960|1960]],<ref>{{cite journal|title=House – March 24, 1960|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=106|issue=5|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=6512|url=https://www.congress.gov/bound-congressional-record/1960/03/24/house-section|access-date=August 21, 2023|archive-date=August 21, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821123414/https://www.congress.gov/bound-congressional-record/1960/03/24/house-section|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=House – April 21, 1960|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=106|issue=7|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|pages=8507–8508|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1960-pt7/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1960-pt7-2-2.pdf|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317215938/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1960-pt7/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1960-pt7-2-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Civil Rights Act of 1964|1964]],<ref>{{cite journal|title=House – February 10, 1964|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=110|issue=2|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|pages=2804–2805|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1964-pt2/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1964-pt2-10-2.pdf|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317215522/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1964-pt2/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1964-pt2-10-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=House – July 2, 1964|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=110|issue=12|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=15897|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1964-pt12/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1964-pt12-4-2.pdf|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317215801/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1964-pt12/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1964-pt12-4-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Civil Rights Act of 1968|1968]],<ref>{{cite journal|title=House – August 16, 1967|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=113|issue=17|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=22778|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1967-pt17/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1967-pt17-5-1.pdf|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=January 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121202124/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1967-pt17/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1967-pt17-5-1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=House – April 10, 1968|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=114|issue=8|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=9621|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1968-pt8/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1968-pt8-1-2.pdf|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=February 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228022757/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1968-pt8/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1968-pt8-1-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as the [[Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution]] and the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=House – August 27, 1962|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=108|issue=13|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=17670|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1962-pt13/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1962-pt13-7-1.pdf|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=March 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317215704/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1962-pt13/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1962-pt13-7-1.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=House – July 9, 1965|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=111|issue=12|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|pages=16285–16286|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt12/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt12-3-2.pdf|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=December 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204070445/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt12/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt12-3-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=House – August 3, 1965|journal=[[Congressional Record]]|volume=111|issue=14|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office|U.S. Government Printing Office]]|page=19201|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt14/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt14-5-2.pdf|access-date=February 27, 2022|archive-date=March 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306104521/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt14/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1965-pt14-5-2.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Ford was known to his colleagues in the House as a "Congressman's Congressman".<ref>''[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.+Res.+409: Celebrating the life of President Gerald R. Ford on what would have been his 96th birthday] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415012225/http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.+Res.+409: |date=April 15, 2016 }},'' H.R. 409, [[111th United States Congress|111th Congress]], 1st Session (2009).</ref>

In the early 1950s, Ford declined offers to run for either the Senate or the Michigan governorship. Rather, his ambition was to become [[United States Speaker of the House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ford.utexas.edu/grf/fordbiop.asp |title=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum |publisher=Ford.utexas.edu |access-date=August 9, 2009 |archive-date=July 24, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090724191456/http://www.ford.utexas.edu/grf/fordbiop.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> which he called "the ultimate achievement. To sit up there and be the head honcho of 434 other people and have the responsibility, aside from the achievement, of trying to run the greatest legislative body in the history of mankind ... I think I got that ambition within a year or two after I was in the House of Representatives".{{r|deathofford}}

===Warren Commission===
{{Further|Warren Commission|Assassination of John F. Kennedy }}
[[File:Lbj-wc.jpg|thumb|The [[Warren Commission]] (Ford 4th from left) presents its report to President Johnson (1964).]]

On November 29, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Ford to the [[Warren Commission]], a special task force set up to investigate the [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination]] of President [[John F. Kennedy]].<ref name="Miller Center of Public Affairs">{{cite web |url=http://millercenter.org/presidentialclassroom/exhibits/lbj-appoints-gerald-ford-to-the-warren-commission |title=LBJ Appoints Gerald Ford to the Warren Commission |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |publisher=Miller Center of Public Affairs |access-date=August 20, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925144354/http://millercenter.org/presidentialclassroom/exhibits/lbj-appoints-gerald-ford-to-the-warren-commission |archive-date=September 25, 2015 }}</ref> Ford was assigned to prepare a biography of accused assassin [[Lee Harvey Oswald]]. He and [[Earl Warren]] also interviewed [[Jack Ruby]], Oswald's killer. According to a 1963 [[FBI]] memo that was released to the public in 2008, Ford was in contact with the FBI throughout his time on the Warren Commission and relayed information to the deputy director, [[Cartha DeLoach]], about the panel's activities.<ref name="WarrenJustice">{{cite book|title=Justice for All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made|last=Newton|first=Jim|publisher=Penguin Group|year=2007|isbn=978-1-59448-270-0}}</ref><ref name="WPostFBI">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/07/AR2008080702757.html|title=Ford Told FBI of Skeptics on Warren Commission|last=Stephens|first=Joe|date=August 8, 2008|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=September 8, 2009|archive-date=May 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501151341/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/07/AR2008080702757.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="FBI File">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-08-09-ford-fbi-file_N.htm|title=Ford told FBI about panel's doubts on JFK murder|work=USA Today|date=August 9, 2008|access-date=September 2, 2009|archive-date=November 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081106005356/http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-08-09-ford-fbi-file_N.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> In the preface to his book, ''A Presidential Legacy and The Warren Commission'', Ford defended the work of the commission and reiterated his support of its conclusions.<ref>{{Cite book | last=Ford | first=Gerald R. | title=A Presidential Legacy and The Warren Commission | year=2007|publisher=The FlatSigned Press|isbn=978-1-934304-02-0 | url=https://archive.org/details/presidentiallega00gera| url-access=registration }}</ref>

===House Minority Leader (1965–1973)===
[[File:VonBraunFordMahon.jpg|thumb|alt=Four men in suits are outdoors, speaking to each other in front of a large white automobile.|left|Congressman Gerald Ford, MSFC director [[Wernher von Braun]], Congressman [[George H. Mahon]], and NASA  Administrator [[James E. Webb]] visit the [[Marshall Space Flight Center]] for a briefing on the Saturn program, 1964.|211x211px]]

In 1964, Lyndon Johnson led a landslide victory for his party, secured another term as president and took 36 seats from Republicans in the House of Representatives. Following the election, members of the Republican caucus looked to select a new minority leader. Three members approached Ford to see if he would be willing to serve; after consulting with his family, he agreed. After a closely contested election, Ford was chosen to replace [[Charles Halleck]] of [[Indiana]] as minority leader.<ref name="mastersDavidson">{{cite book|title=Masters of the House: Congressional leadership over two centuries|publisher=Westview Press|year=1988|pages=267–275|first1=Roger H. |last1=Davidson |first2=Susan Webb |last2=Hammond |first3=Raymond |last3=Smock }}</ref> The members of the Republican caucus that encouraged and eventually endorsed Ford to run as the House minority leader were later known as the "[[Young Turks (U.S. politics)|Young Turks]]". One of the members of the Young Turks was congressman [[Donald H. Rumsfeld]] from [[Illinois's 13th congressional district]], who later on would serve in Ford's administration as the [[White House Chief of Staff|chief of staff]] and [[United States Secretary of Defense|secretary of defense]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rumsfeld|first=Donald|title=Known and unknown : a memoir|date=2011|publisher=Sentinel|isbn=978-1-59523-067-6|location=New York|oclc=650210649}}</ref>

With a Democratic majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Johnson Administration proposed and passed a series of programs that was called by Johnson the "[[Great Society]]". During the first session of the [[Eighty-ninth Congress]] alone, the Johnson Administration submitted 87 bills to Congress, and Johnson signed 84, or 96%, arguably the most successful legislative agenda in Congressional history.<ref name="unger104">Unger, Irwin, 1996: 'The Best of Intentions: the triumphs and failures of the Great Society under Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon': Doubleday, p. 104.</ref>

In 1966, criticism over the Johnson Administration's handling of the Vietnam War began to grow, with Ford and Congressional Republicans expressing concern that the United States was not doing what was necessary to win the war. Public sentiment also began to move against Johnson, and the [[1966 United States House of Representatives elections|1966 midterm elections]] produced a 47-seat swing in favor of the Republicans. This was not enough to give Republicans a majority in the House, but the victory gave Ford the opportunity to prevent the passage of further Great Society programs.<ref name="mastersDavidson" />

Ford's private criticism of the Vietnam War became public knowledge after he spoke from the floor of the House and questioned whether the White House had a clear plan to bring the war to a successful conclusion.<ref name="mastersDavidson" /> The speech angered President Johnson, who accused Ford of having played "too much football without a helmet".<ref name="mastersDavidson" /><ref name="Timesteady">{{cite magazine|title=Gerald Ford: Steady Hand for a Nation in Crisis|magazine=Time |author=Gray, Paul|date=December 27, 2006|access-date=September 16, 2009|url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1572927,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108195345/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1572927,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 8, 2007}}</ref>

As minority leader in the House, Ford appeared in a popular series of televised press conferences with [[Illinois]] Senator [[Everett Dirksen]], in which they proposed Republican alternatives to Johnson's policies. Many in the press jokingly called this "The Ev and Jerry Show."<ref name="ussenate">{{cite web |last=Ford |first=Gerald |date=May 23, 2001 |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Leaders_Lecture_Series_Ford.htm |title=Address by President Gerald R. Ford, May&nbsp;23, 2001 |publisher=United States Senate |access-date=December 30, 2006 |archive-date=December 28, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061228174735/http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Leaders_Lecture_Series_Ford.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Johnson said at the time, "Jerry Ford is so dumb he can't fart and chew gum at the same time."<ref name="guardian-obituary">{{cite news |last=Jackson |first=Harold |date=December 27, 2006 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/international/story/0,,1978937,00.html |title=Guardian newspaper obituary |work=The Guardian |access-date=December 30, 2006 |location=London |archive-date=September 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924195010/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/dec/27/guardianobituaries.usa |url-status=live }}</ref> The press, used to sanitizing Johnson's salty language, reported this as "Gerald Ford can't walk and chew gum at the same time."<ref name="reeves">{{cite book |last=Reeves |first=Richard|title=A Ford, not a Lincoln |year=1975}}</ref>

After [[Richard Nixon]] was elected president in November 1968, Ford's role shifted to being an advocate for the White House agenda. Congress passed several of Nixon's proposals, including the [[National Environmental Policy Act]] and the [[Tax Reform Act of 1969]]. Another high-profile victory for the Republican minority was the State and Local Fiscal Assistance Act. Passed in 1972, the act established a [[revenue sharing]] program for state and local governments.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Handbook of Social Policy|publisher=SAGE|year=2008|isbn=978-1-4129-5076-3|page=162|first1=James |last1=Midgley |first2=Michelle |last2=Livermore }}</ref> Ford's leadership was instrumental in shepherding revenue sharing through Congress, and resulted in a bipartisan coalition that supported the bill with 223 votes in favor (compared with 185 against).<ref name="mastersDavidson" /><ref>{{cite book|title=Nixon Reconsidered|author=Hoff, Joan|publisher=Basic Books|year=1995|page=69|isbn=978-0-465-05105-2}}</ref>

During the eight years (1965–1973) that Ford served as minority leader, he received many friends in the House because of his fair leadership and inoffensive personality.<ref name="mastersDavidson" />

==Vice presidency (1973–1974)==
{{see also|1973 United States vice presidential confirmation}}
[[File:Mr. and Mrs. Ford and Nixon 13 Oct 1973.jpg|thumb|alt=Two women are flanked by two men in suits, standing in a room of the White House.|Gerald and Betty Ford with the President and First Lady [[Pat Nixon]] after President Nixon nominated Ford to be vice president, October 13, 1973]]

For the past decade, Ford had been unsuccessfully working to help Republicans across the country get a majority in the chamber so that he could become [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|House Speaker]]. He promised his wife that he would try again in 1974 then retire in 1976.{{r|deathofford}} However, on October 10, 1973, [[Spiro Agnew]] resigned from the vice presidency.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Naughton |first1=James M. |title=Judge Orders Fine, 3 Years' Probation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/11/archives/judge-orders-fine-3-years-probation-tells-court-income-was-taxable.html |access-date=August 28, 2020 |work=The New York Times |date=October 11, 1973 |archive-date=December 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211044906/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/10/11/archives/judge-orders-fine-3-years-probation-tells-court-income-was-taxable.html |url-status=live }}</ref> According to ''The New York Times'', Nixon "sought advice from senior Congressional leaders about a replacement." The advice was unanimous. House Speaker [[Carl Albert]] recalled later, "We gave Nixon no choice but Ford."<ref name="nyt-editorial" /> Ford agreed to the nomination, telling his wife that the vice presidency would be "a nice conclusion" to his career.{{r|deathofford}} Ford was nominated to take Agnew's position on October 12, the first time the vice-presidential vacancy provision of the [[Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|25th Amendment]] had been implemented. The [[United States Senate]] voted 92 to 3 to confirm Ford on November 27. On December 6, the House confirmed Ford by a vote of 387 to 35. [[1973 United States vice presidential confirmation|After the confirmation vote]] in the House, Ford took the oath of office as vice president.<ref name="librarybio"/>

Ford became vice president as the [[Watergate scandal]] was unfolding. On August 1, 1974, [[White House Chief of Staff|Chief of Staff]] [[Alexander Haig]] contacted Ford to tell him to prepare for the presidency.<ref name="librarybio"/> At the time, Ford and his wife, Betty, were living in suburban Virginia, waiting for their expected move into the newly designated [[Number One Observatory Circle|vice president's residence]] in Washington, D.C. However, "Al Haig asked to come over and see me", Ford later said, "to tell me that there would be a new tape released on a Monday, and he said the evidence in there was devastating and there would probably be either an impeachment or a resignation. And he said, 'I'm just warning you that you've got to be prepared, that things might change dramatically and you could become President.' And I said, 'Betty, I don't think we're ever going to live in the vice president's house.{{'"}}<ref name="kunhardt" />

==Presidency (1974–1977)==
{{Main|Presidency of Gerald Ford}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of the Gerald Ford presidency}}

===Swearing-in===
{{Main|Inauguration of Gerald Ford}}
[[File:Ford sworn-in.jpg|thumb|Gerald Ford is sworn in as president by [[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]] [[Warren Burger]] in the White House [[East Room]], while Betty Ford looks on.]]

When Nixon resigned on August 9, 1974, Ford automatically assumed the presidency, taking the oath of office in the [[East Room (White House)|East Room]] of the White House. This made him the only person to become the nation's chief executive without being [[United States presidential election|elected]] to the presidency or the vice presidency. Immediately afterward, he spoke to the assembled audience in a speech that was broadcast live to the nation,<ref name= "Gerald R. Ford Events Timeline, UCSB Presidency Project">[https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/gerald-r-ford-event-timeline "Gerald R. Ford Events Timeline"], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928141754/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/gerald-r-ford-event-timeline |date=September 28, 2022 }} ''The American Presidency Project,'' University of California, Santa Barbara, Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, last edited February 2, 2021</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gerald R. Ford's Remarks Upon Taking the Oath of Office as President |url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/740001.asp |website=The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library |date=August 9, 1974 |access-date=November 18, 2010 |archive-date=December 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205004653/https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/740001.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> noting the peculiarity of his position.<ref name="ISP">{{cite web|year=1974 |url=http://watergate.info/ford/ford-swearing-in.shtml |title=Remarks By President Gerald Ford On Taking the Oath Of Office As President |publisher=Watergate.info |access-date=December 28, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703155524/http://www.watergate.info/ford/ford-swearing-in.shtml |archive-date=July 3, 2008 }}</ref> He later declared that "our long national nightmare is over".<ref>{{cite web|last=Ford|first=Gerald R.|url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/740001.htm|title=Gerald R. Ford's Remarks on Taking the Oath of Office as President|date=August 9, 1974|access-date=May 2, 2011|website=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813003402/http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/740001.htm|archive-date=August 13, 2012}}</ref>

===Nominating Rockefeller===
{{Main|1974 United States vice presidential confirmation}}
On August 20, Ford nominated former New York Governor [[Nelson Rockefeller]] to fill the vice presidency he had vacated.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/diary/pdd740820.pdf |title=The Daily Diary of President Gerald R. Ford |website=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library |date=August 20, 1976 |access-date=November 19, 2010 |archive-date=November 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201126144123/https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/diary/pdd740820.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Rockefeller's top competitor had been [[George H. W. Bush]]. Rockefeller underwent extended hearings before Congress, which caused embarrassment when it was revealed he made large gifts to senior aides, such as [[Henry Kissinger]]. Although conservative Republicans were not pleased that Rockefeller was picked, most of them voted for his confirmation, and his nomination passed both the House and Senate. Some, including [[Barry Goldwater]], voted against him.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917422,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301072408/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,917422,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 1, 2009 |title=The Vice Presidency: Rocky's Turn to the Right |magazine=Time |date=May 12, 1975 |access-date=September 8, 2009}}</ref>

===Pardon of Nixon===
{{Main|Pardon of Richard Nixon}}
{{Wikisource|Proclamation 4311|The Nixon Pardon}}
[[File:Gerald Ford hearing2.jpg|thumb|alt=A man in a suit is seated at a table as he speaks into a bank of microphones. An audience is visible behind him.|Ford appears at a [[House Judiciary Committee|House Judiciary Subcommittee]] hearing in reference to his pardon of Richard Nixon.]]

On September 8, 1974, Ford issued [[:wikisource:Proclamation 4311|Proclamation 4311]], which gave Nixon a full and unconditional [[pardon]] for any crimes he might have committed against the United States while president.<ref name="pardonspeech">{{cite web |last=Ford |first=Gerald |date=September 8, 1974 |url=http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/speeches/740061.htm |title=President Gerald R. Ford's Proclamation 4311, Granting a Pardon to Richard Nixon |website=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library & Museum |publisher=University of Texas |access-date=December 30, 2006 |archive-date=June 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100606105602/http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/speeches/740061.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="pardonimage">{{cite web|last=Ford|first=Gerald|date=September 8, 1974|url=http://narademo.umiacs.umd.edu/cgi-bin/isadg/viewitem.pl?item=100775|title=Presidential Proclamation 4311 by President Gerald R. Ford granting a pardon to Richard M. Nixon|website=Pardon images|publisher=University of Maryland|access-date=December 30, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011231200/http://narademo.umiacs.umd.edu/cgi-bin/isadg/viewitem.pl?item=100775|archive-date=October 11, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1974/Ford-Pardons-Nixon/12305808208934-3/ |title=Ford Pardons Nixon – Events of 1974 – Year in Review |publisher=UPI.com |access-date=November 4, 2011 |archive-date=April 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429040000/http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1974/Ford-Pardons-Nixon/12305808208934-3/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country, and that the Nixon family's situation "is a tragedy in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must."<ref name="pardonspeech2">{{cite web |last=Ford |first=Gerald |date=September 8, 1974 |url=http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/ford.htm |title=Gerald R. Ford Pardoning Richard Nixon |website=Great Speeches Collection |publisher=The History Place |access-date=December 30, 2006 |archive-date=May 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501035624/http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/ford.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Ford's decision to pardon Nixon was highly controversial. Critics derided the move and said a "[[corrupt bargain]]" had been struck between the two men,<ref name="kunhardt" /> in which Ford's pardon was granted in exchange for Nixon's resignation, elevating Ford to the presidency. Ford's first press secretary and close friend [[Jerald terHorst]] resigned his post in protest after the pardon.<ref>Brinkley, p. 73</ref> According to [[Bob Woodward]], Nixon Chief of Staff Alexander Haig proposed a pardon deal to Ford. He later decided to pardon Nixon for other reasons, primarily the friendship he and Nixon shared.<ref name="shanescott">{{cite news |first=Scott |last=Shane |title=For Ford, Pardon Decision Was Always Clear-Cut |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/washington/29pardon.html |work=The New York Times |page=A1 |access-date=September 8, 2009 |date=December 29, 2006 |archive-date=May 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511105451/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/washington/29pardon.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Regardless, historians believe the controversy was one of the major reasons Ford lost the [[1976 United States presidential election|1976 presidential election]], an observation with which Ford agreed.<ref name="shanescott" /> In an editorial at the time, ''The New York Times'' stated that the Nixon pardon was a "profoundly unwise, divisive and unjust act" that in a stroke had destroyed the new president's "credibility as a man of judgment, candor and competence".<ref name="nyt-editorial" /> On October 17, 1974, Ford testified before Congress on the pardon. He was the first sitting president since Abraham Lincoln to testify before the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/162654-1 |title=Ford Testimony on Nixon Pardon – C-SPAN Video Library |publisher=C-spanvideo.org |date=October 17, 1974 |access-date=December 30, 2012 |archive-date=October 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016231541/http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/162654-1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/PresidentsTestify.pdf |title=Sitting presidents and vice presidents who have testified before congressional committees |publisher=Senate.gov |date=2004 |access-date=November 22, 2015 |archive-date=December 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209072513/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/PresidentsTestify.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the months following the pardon, Ford often declined to mention President Nixon by name, referring to him in public as "my predecessor" or "the former president." When Ford was pressed on the matter on a 1974 trip to California, White House correspondent [[Fred Barnes (journalist)|Fred Barnes]] recalled that he replied "I just can't bring myself to do it."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://conversationswithbillkristol.org/video/fred-barnes/|title=Fred Barnes on Conversations with Bill Kristol|date=May 24, 2015|access-date=September 13, 2021|archive-date=October 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161020162346/http://conversationswithbillkristol.org/video/fred-barnes/|url-status=live}}</ref>

After Ford left the White House in January 1977, he privately justified his pardon of Nixon by carrying in his wallet a portion of the text of ''[[Burdick v. United States]]'', a 1915 [[U.S. Supreme Court]] decision which stated that a pardon indicated a presumption of guilt, and that acceptance of a pardon was tantamount to a confession of that guilt.<ref>''Shadow'', by [[Bob Woodward]], chapter on Gerald Ford; Woodward interviewed Ford on this matter, about twenty years after Ford left the presidency</ref> In 2001, the [[John F. Kennedy Library]] Foundation awarded the John F. Kennedy [[Profile in Courage Award]] to Ford for his pardon of Nixon.<ref name="anoun">{{cite web|date=May 1, 2001|url=http://www.jfklibrary.org/Education+and+Public+Programs/Profile+in+Courage+Award/Award+Recipients/Gerald+Ford/Award+Announcement.htm|title=Award Announcement|publisher=JFK Library Foundation|access-date=March 31, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070115143546/http://www.jfklibrary.org/Education+and+Public+Programs/Profile+in+Courage+Award/Award+Recipients/Gerald+Ford/Award+Announcement.htm|archive-date=January 15, 2007}}</ref> In presenting the award to Ford, Senator [[Edward Kennedy]] said that he had initially been opposed to the pardon, but later decided that history had proven Ford to have made the correct decision.<ref name="Grand Rapids Press">[http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/08/sen_ted_kennedy_crossed_politi.html "Sen. Ted Kennedy crossed political paths with Grand Rapids' most prominent Republican, President Gerald R. Ford"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930004714/http://www.mlive.com/news/grand%2Drapids/index.ssf/2009/08/sen_ted_kennedy_crossed_politi.html |date=September 30, 2017 }}, ''[[The Grand Rapids Press]]'', August 26, 2009. Retrieved January 5, 2010.</ref>

===Draft dodgers and deserters===
On September 16 (shortly after he pardoned Nixon), Ford issued Presidential Proclamation 4313, which introduced a conditional [[amnesty]] program for military deserters and Vietnam War [[draft dodger]]s who had fled to countries such as Canada. The conditions of the amnesty required that those reaffirm their allegiance to the United States and serve two years working in a public service job or a total of two years service for those who had served less than two years of honorable service in the military.<ref name="amnesty">{{cite news |last=Hunter |first=Marjorie |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0916.html |title=Ford Offers Amnesty Program Requiring 2 Years Public Work; Defends His Pardon Of Nixon |work=The New York Times |date=September 16, 1974 |access-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928020106/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0916.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The program for the Return of Vietnam Era Draft Evaders and Military Deserters<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=4714#axzz1jJbv1H6i|title=Gerald R. Ford: Proclamation 4313 – Announcing a Program for the Return of Vietnam Era Draft Evaders and Military Deserters (September 16 1974)|access-date=September 13, 2021|website=ucsb.edu|archive-date=February 1, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201061924/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=4714#axzz1jJbv1H6i|url-status=live}}</ref> established a Clemency Board to review the records and make recommendations for receiving a presidential pardon and a change in [[military discharge]] status. [[Proclamation 4483|Full pardon for draft dodgers]] came in the [[Presidency of Jimmy Carter|Carter administration]].<ref name="carteruncon">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/vietnam/vietnam_1-21-77.html|title=Carter's Pardon|date=January 21, 1977|publisher=Public Broadcasting System|website=McNeil/Lehrer Report|access-date=December 30, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070228161513/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/asia/vietnam/vietnam_1-21-77.html|archive-date=February 28, 2007}}</ref>

===Administration===
When Ford assumed office, he inherited Nixon's [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]]. During his brief administration, he replaced all members except [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] Kissinger and [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]] [[William E. Simon]]. Political commentators have referred to Ford's dramatic reorganization of his Cabinet in the fall of 1975 as the "[[Halloween Massacre (Ford administration)|Halloween Massacre]]". One of Ford's appointees, [[William Thaddeus Coleman Jr.|William Coleman]]—the [[United States Secretary of Transportation|Secretary of Transportation]]—was the second Black man to serve in a presidential cabinet (after [[Robert C. Weaver]]) and the first appointed in a Republican administration.<ref>[http://www.americanpresident.org/history/geraldford/cabinet/transportation/transportationCopy1/h_index.shtml Secretary of Transportation: William T. Coleman Jr. (1975–1977)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060628190810/http://www.americanpresident.org/history/geraldford/cabinet/transportation/transportationCopy1/h_index.shtml |date=June 28, 2006 }} – AmericanPresident.org (January 15, 2005). Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref>

Ford selected George H. W. Bush as [[United States Ambassador to China#List of chiefs of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing|Chief of the US Liaison Office]] to the People's Republic of China in 1974, and then [[Director of Central Intelligence|Director]] of the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] in late 1975.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/bush/|title=George Herbert Walker Bush Profile|work=CNN|access-date=December 31, 2006| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061028112345/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/bush/| archive-date = October 28, 2006}}</ref>

Ford's transition chairman and first Chief of Staff was former congressman and ambassador Donald Rumsfeld. In 1975, Rumsfeld was named by Ford as the youngest-ever [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]]. Ford chose a young [[Wyoming]] politician, [[Dick Cheney|Richard Cheney]], to replace Rumsfeld as his new Chief of Staff; Cheney became the [[campaign manager]] for Ford's [[1976 United States presidential election|1976 presidential campaign]].<ref>[http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/secdef_histories/bios/cheney.htm Richard B. Cheney] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990903223409/http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/secdef_histories/bios/cheney.htm |date=September 3, 1999 }}. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref>

===Midterm elections===
{{Main|1974 United States House elections|1974 United States Senate elections}}

The 1974 Congressional midterm elections took place in the wake of the Watergate scandal and less than three months after Ford assumed office. The Democratic Party turned voter dissatisfaction into large gains in the [[1974 United States House of Representatives elections|House elections]], taking 49 seats from the Republican Party, increasing their majority to 291 of the 435 seats. This was one more than the number needed (290) for a two-thirds majority, the number necessary to override a presidential veto or to propose a constitutional amendment. Perhaps due in part to this fact, the [[94th United States Congress|94th Congress]] overrode the highest percentage of vetoes since [[Andrew Johnson]] was President of the United States (1865–1869).<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2007/05/bush-vetoes-less-than-most-presidents.html Bush vetoes less than most presidents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111140011/http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2007/05/bush-vetoes-less-than-most-presidents.html |date=November 11, 2007 }}, CNN, May 1, 2007. Retrieved October 19, 2007.</ref> Even Ford's former, reliably Republican House seat was won by a Democrat, [[Richard Vander Veen]], who defeated [[Robert VanderLaan]]. In the [[1974 United States Senate elections|Senate elections]], the Democratic majority became 61 in the 100-seat body.<ref>Renka, Russell D. [https://web.archive.org/web/20031228111446/http://ustudies.semo.edu/ui320-75/Course/presidents/nixon/Nixon%27sfall.htm Nixon's Fall and the Ford and Carter Interregnum]. [[Southeast Missouri State University]], (April 10, 2003). Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref>

===Domestic policy===

====Inflation====
[[File:A5235-5.jpg|thumb|alt=Twenty people meet in a conference room around an oval table. One man, at the center of the table on the right-hand side, is addressing the others. All are wearing suits or similar attire.|Ford meeting with his [[United States Cabinet|Cabinet]], 1975]]

The [[Economy of the United States|economy]] was a great concern during the Ford administration. One of the first acts the new president took to deal with the economy was to create, by [[Executive Order (United States)|Executive Order]] on September 30, 1974, the Economic Policy Board.<ref name="ReferenceA">Greene, John Robert. ''The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford''. University Press of Kansas, 1995</ref> In October 1974, in response to rising inflation, Ford went before the American public and asked them to "'''W'''hip '''I'''nflation '''N'''ow". As part of this program, he urged people to wear "[[Whip Inflation Now|WIN]]" buttons.<ref>[http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3283 Gerald Ford Speeches: ''Whip Inflation Now''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829173510/http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3283 |date=August 29, 2008 }} (October 8, 1974), Miller Center of Public Affairs. Retrieved May 18, 2011</ref> At the time, inflation was believed to be the primary threat to the economy, more so than growing unemployment; there was a belief that controlling inflation would help reduce unemployment.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> To rein in inflation, it was necessary to control the public's spending. To try to mesh service and sacrifice, "WIN" called for Americans to reduce their spending and consumption.<ref>Brinkley, Douglas. ''Gerald R. Ford''. New York: Times Books, 2007</ref> On October 4, 1974, Ford gave a speech in front of a joint session of Congress; as a part of this speech he kicked off the "WIN" campaign. Over the next nine days, 101,240 Americans mailed in "WIN" pledges.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> In hindsight, this was viewed as simply a [[public relations]] gimmick which had no way of solving the underlying problems.<ref name="econbrowser">{{cite web |year=2006 |url=http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2006/12/win_buttons_and.html |title=WIN buttons and Arthur Burns |publisher=Econbrowser |access-date=January 24, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106084122/http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2006/12/win_buttons_and.html |archive-date=January 6, 2007 }}</ref> The main point of that speech was to introduce to Congress a one-year, five-percent income tax increase on corporations and wealthy individuals. This plan would also take $4.4&nbsp;billion out of the budget, bringing federal spending below $300&nbsp;billion.<ref name="ReferenceB">Crain, Andrew Downer. ''The Ford Presidency''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2009</ref> At the time, inflation was over twelve percent.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dale|first=Edwin L. Jr.|date=November 22, 1974|title=Consumer prices up 0.9% in October, 12.2% for year; annual rate is highest since 1947|newspaper=The New York Times|page=1|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10612FD345C1A7A93C0AB178AD95F408785F9|access-date=February 8, 2017|archive-date=March 26, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326132644/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10612FD345C1A7A93C0AB178AD95F408785F9|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Budget====
[[File:President Ford and his golden retriever Liberty - NARA - 6829597.jpg|thumb|upright|Ford and his [[golden retriever]], [[Liberty (dog)|Liberty]], in the [[Oval Office]], 1974]]

The federal budget ran a [[Government budget deficit|deficit]] every year Ford was president.<ref name="crs">[http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL33305_20060309.pdf CRS Report RL33305, The Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax of the 1980s: Implications for Current Energy Policy] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211074013/http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL33305_20060309.pdf |date=February 11, 2012 }}, by Salvatore Lazzari, p. 5.</ref> Despite his reservations about how the program ultimately would be funded in an era of tight [[public budgeting]], Ford signed the [[Education for All Handicapped Children Act]] of 1975, which established [[special education]] throughout the United States. Ford expressed "strong support for full educational opportunities for our handicapped children" according to the official White House press release for the bill signing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/750707.htm|title=President Gerald R. Ford's Statement on Signing the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975|website=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library|date=December 2, 1975|access-date=December 31, 2006|archive-date=September 26, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926141525/http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/750707.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The economic focus began to change as the country sank into the worst [[1973–75 recession|recession]] since the [[Great Depression]] four decades earlier.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VitlO1mWxzAC&pg=RA1-PA1973|title=Disasters, accidents and crises in American history: a reference guide to the nation's most catastrophic events|last=Campbell|first=Ballard C.|publisher=Facts On File|year=2008|isbn=978-0-8160-6603-2|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/disastersacciden0000camp/page/353 353]|chapter=1973 oil embargo|url=https://archive.org/details/disastersacciden0000camp/page/353}}</ref> The focus of the Ford administration turned to stopping the rise in unemployment, which reached nine percent in May 1975.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/07/archives/us-jobless-rate-up-to-92-in-may-highest-since-41-but-employment.html|title=U.S. jobless rate up to 9.2% in May, highest since '41|last=Dale|first=Edwin L. Jr.|date=June 7, 1975|newspaper=The New York Times|page=1|access-date=July 22, 2018|archive-date=July 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722214243/https://www.nytimes.com/1975/06/07/archives/us-jobless-rate-up-to-92-in-may-highest-since-41-but-employment.html|url-status=live}}<br />
{{cite book|title=Pivotal decade: how the United States traded factories for finance in the seventies|last=Stein|first=Judith|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-300-11818-6|location=New Haven|pages=<span class="plainlinks">[https://books.google.com/books?id=bZNSswYkAZwC&pg=PT140 116–117]</span>|chapter=1975 'Capitalism is on the run'}}</ref> In January 1975, Ford proposed a 1-year tax reduction of $16&nbsp;billion to stimulate economic growth, along with spending cuts to avoid inflation.<ref name="ReferenceB" /> Ford was criticized for abruptly switching from advocating a tax increase to a tax reduction. In Congress, the proposed amount of the tax reduction increased to $22.8&nbsp;billion in tax cuts and lacked spending cuts.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> In March 1975, Congress passed, and Ford signed into law, these [[income tax]] rebates as part of the [[Tax Reduction Act of 1975]]. This resulted in a federal deficit of around $53&nbsp;billion for the 1975 fiscal year and $73.7&nbsp;billion for 1976.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/budget/Historicals|work=[[Office of Management and Budget]]|title=Office of Management and Budget. "Historical Table 1.1"|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|access-date=January 22, 2011|archive-date=November 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191130232622/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/omb/budget/Historicals|url-status=live}}</ref>

When New York City faced bankruptcy in 1975, [[List of mayors of New York City|Mayor]] [[Abraham Beame]] was unsuccessful in obtaining Ford's support for a federal bailout. The incident prompted the New York ''[[New York Daily News|Daily News]]''{{'}} famous headline "Ford to City: Drop Dead", referring to a speech in which "Ford declared flatly ... that he would veto any bill calling for 'a federal bail-out of New York City{{'"}}.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/nyregion/28veto.html|title=Infamous 'Drop Dead' Was Never Said by Ford|last=Roberts|first=Sam|date=December 28, 2006|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 16, 2011|archive-date=October 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191009080838/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/28/nyregion/28veto.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/features/bronxisburning/battle-for-the-city/Ford-to-New-York-Drop-Dead.html|title=Ford to New York: Drop Dead|last=Van Riper|first=Frank|date=October 30, 1975|work=[[Daily News (New York)|Daily News]]|location=New York|access-date=February 20, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006064254/http://www.nydailynews.com/features/bronxisburning/battle-for-the-city/Ford-to-New-York-Drop-Dead.html|archive-date=October 6, 2008}}</ref>

====Swine flu====
{{Main|1976 swine flu outbreak}}

Ford was confronted with a potential [[swine flu]] [[pandemic]]. In the early 1970s, an [[influenza]] strain [[H1N1]] shifted from a form of flu that affected primarily pigs and crossed over to humans. On February 5, 1976, an [[United States Army|army]] recruit at [[Fort Dix]] mysteriously died and four fellow soldiers were hospitalized; [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|health officials]] announced that "swine flu" was the cause. Soon after, public health officials in the Ford administration urged that every person in the United States be [[vaccination|vaccinated]].<ref>[http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=06-P13-00009&segmentID=1 Pandemic Pointers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004134/http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=06-P13-00009&segmentID=1 |date=September 27, 2007 }}. [[Living on Earth]], March 3, 2006. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref> Although the vaccination program was plagued by delays and public relations problems, some 25% of the population was vaccinated by the time the program was canceled in December 1976.<ref>Mickle, Paul. [http://www.capitalcentury.com/1976.html 1976: Fear of a great plague] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826025030/http://capitalcentury.com/1976.html |date=August 26, 2017 }}. ''The Trentonian''. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref>

====Equal rights and abortion====
[[File:President Ford meets with Rumsfeld and Cheney - NARA - 7140637.jpg|thumb|alt=A man sits at his desk, smoking a pipe, while two other men speak to him from the other side of the desk.|Cheney, Rumsfeld and Ford in the Oval Office, 1975]]

Ford was an outspoken supporter of the [[Equal Rights Amendment]], issuing Presidential Proclamation no. 4383 in 1975:
{{Blockquote|In this Land of the Free, it is right, and by nature it ought to be, that all men and all women are equal before the law.
Now, therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States of America, to remind all Americans that it is fitting and just to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment adopted by the Congress of the United States of America, in order to secure legal equality for all women and men, do hereby designate and proclaim August 26, 1975, as Women's Equality Day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=23839|title=Proclamation 4383 – Women's Equality Day, 1975|first=Gerald R.|last=Ford|date=August 26, 1975|publisher=The American Presidency Project|access-date=May 2, 2011|archive-date=May 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501064941/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=23839|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

As president, Ford's position on abortion was that he supported "a federal constitutional amendment that would permit each one of the 50 States to make the choice".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov//library/speeches/760947.htm |title=Presidential Campaign Debate Between Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter, October&nbsp;22, 1976 |publisher=Fordlibrarymuseum.gov |access-date=September 8, 2009 |archive-date=September 17, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917170925/http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/760947.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> This had also been his position as House Minority Leader in response to the 1973 Supreme Court case of ''[[Roe v. Wade]]'', which he opposed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/print.php?pid=6320 |title=Letter to the Archbishop of Cincinnati |access-date=June 12, 2007 |last=Ford |first=Gerald |date=September 10, 1976 |website=The American Presidency Project |archive-date=May 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501064935/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/print.php?pid=6320 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ford came under criticism when First Lady Betty Ford entered the debate over abortion during an [[Betty Ford's August 1975 60 Minutes interview|August 1975 interview for ''60 Minutes'']], in which she stated that ''Roe v. Wade'' was a "great, great decision".<ref>{{cite book |author=Greene, John Edward|title=The presidency of Gerald R. Ford|url=https://archive.org/details/presidencyofgera0000gree|url-access=registration|publisher=University Press of Kansas |location=Lawrence |year=1995 |page=[https://archive.org/details/presidencyofgera0000gree/page/33 33] |isbn=978-0-7006-0639-9}}</ref> During his later life, Ford would identify as [[pro-choice]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0102/03/lklw.00.html |title=The Best of Interviews With Gerald Ford |access-date=June 12, 2007 |date=February 3, 2001 |work=Larry King Live Weekend |publisher=CNN |archive-date=March 19, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319031310/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0102/03/lklw.00.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Foreign policy===
[[File:Ford signing accord with Brehznev, November 24, 1974.jpg|thumb|alt=Two men in suits are seated, each signing a document in front of them. Six men, one in a military uniform, stand behind them.|Ford meets with Soviet leader [[Leonid Brezhnev]] to sign a joint [[communiqué]] on the SALT treaty during the [[Vladivostok Summit Meeting on Arms Control|Vladivostok Summit]], November 1974.]]

Ford continued the détente policy with both the Soviet Union and China, easing the tensions of the Cold War. Still in place from the Nixon administration was the [[Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty]] (SALT).<ref name="Challenges1970">{{cite book |last=Mieczkowski |first=Yanek |title=Gerald Ford and the Challenges of the 1970s |publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]]|location=Lexington, Kentucky|year=2005|isbn=978-0-8131-2349-3 |pages=283–284, 290–294}}</ref> The thawing relationship brought about by [[1972 Nixon visit to China|Nixon's visit to China]] was reinforced by Ford's own visit in December 1975.<ref name="chinatrip">{{cite web |url=http://www.ford.utexas.edu/avproj/china.htm |title=Trip To China |website=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library |publisher=University of Texas |access-date=December 31, 2006 |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924014527/http://www.ford.utexas.edu/avproj/china.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Administration entered into the Helsinki Accords<ref name="Helsinki Accords">{{cite web |url=http://www.usa-presidents.info/speeches/helsinki.html |title=President Gerald R. Ford's Address in Helsinki Before the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe |publisher=USA-presidents.info |access-date=April 4, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010085836/http://www.usa-presidents.info/speeches/helsinki.html |archive-date=October 10, 2007 }}</ref> with the Soviet Union in 1975, creating the framework of the [[Helsinki Watch]], an independent non-governmental organization created to monitor compliance which later evolved into [[Human Rights Watch]].<ref name="hrw">{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/about/whoweare.html |title=About Human Rights Watch |publisher=Human Rights Watch |access-date=December 31, 2006 |archive-date=December 27, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061227201438/https://www.hrw.org/about/whoweare.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Ford attended the inaugural meeting of the [[Group of Seven]] (G7) industrialized nations (initially the G5) in 1975 and secured membership for Canada. Ford supported international solutions to issues. "We live in an interdependent world and, therefore, must work together to resolve common economic problems," he said in a 1974 speech.<ref name="canadaG7">{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/president-ford-got-canada-into-g7-1.628291 |title=President Ford got Canada into G7 |date=December 27, 2006 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Company |access-date=December 31, 2006 |archive-date=January 3, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103222303/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/12/27/ford-canada.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In November 1975, Ford adopted the global [[human population control]] recommendations of [[National Security Study Memorandum 200]] – a [[national security directive]] initially commissioned by Nixon – as United States policy in the subsequent NSDM 314.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=L'influence américaine au Nigéria|publisher=[[Economic Warfare School]]|date=March 31, 2008|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Green|first=Marshall |author-link=Marshall Green|date=June 1993|title=The Evolution of US International Population Policy, 1965–92: A Chronological Account|journal=[[Population and Development Review]]|volume=19|issue=2|pages=303–321|doi=10.2307/2938439|jstor=2938439 | issn = 0098-7921}}</ref> The plan explicitly states the goal was population control and not improving the lives of individuals despite instructing organizers to "emphasize development and improvements in the quality of life of the poor", later explaining the projects were "primarily for other reasons".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Grimes|first=Seamus|date=September 1998|title=From Population Control to 'Reproductive Rights': Ideological Influences in Population Policy|journal=[[Third World Quarterly]]|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|volume=19|issue=3|pages=375–393|doi=10.1080/01436599814307|pmid=12321786}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=December 10, 1974|title=National Security Study Memorandum - NSSM 200|url=https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PCAAB500.pdf|website=[[USAID]]|access-date=November 28, 2021|archive-date=December 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201205927/https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PCAAB500.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Upon approving the plan, Ford stated "United States leadership is essential to combat population growth, to implement the World Population Plan of Action and to advance United States security and overseas interests".<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Green|first=Marshall |author-link=Marshall Green|date=June 1993|title=The Evolution of US International Population Policy, 1965–92: A Chronological Account|journal=[[Population and Development Review]]|volume=19|issue=2|pages=303–321|doi=10.2307/2938439|jstor=2938439 | issn = 0098-7921}}</ref> Population control policies were adopted to protect American economic and military interests, with the memorandum arguing that [[population growth]] in [[developing countries]] resulted with such nations gaining global political power, that more citizens posed a risk to accessing foreign natural resources while also making American businesses vulnerable to governments seeking to fund a growing population, and that younger generations born would be prone to [[anti-establishment]] behavior, increasing political instability.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Zubrin|first=Robert|date=Spring 2012|title=The Population Control Holocaust|journal=[[The New Atlantis (journal)|The New Atlantis]]|volume=35|pages=33–54}}</ref>

====Indonesia and East Timor====
As South Vietnam collapsed, an anti-communist [[Indonesia]] was seen as essential by the United States. Good relations with the Indonesian government were considered more important than the decolonization process in [[East Timor]].<ref name="Schwarz 207">Schwarz (1994), p. 207.</ref><ref>Benedict Andersen, "East Timor and Indonesia: Some Implications", paper delivered to the Social Science Research Council Workshop on East Timor, Washington, DC, 25–26 April 1991 cited in Schwarz (1994), p. 207.</ref> The Ford administration gave the [[New Order (Indonesia)|Suharto regime]] in [[Indonesia]] economic and military support, even as it [[Indonesian invasion of East Timor|invaded East Timor]] and [[East Timor genocide|committed a genocide]] that killed close to a third of the population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//NSAEBB/NSAEBB174/1010.pdf|title=Indonesian Use of MAP [Military Assistance Program] Equipment in Timor, Memorandum from Clinton E. Granger to Brent Scowcroft|date=12 December 1975|work=National Security Council|access-date=5 September 2017|archive-date=9 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209110552/https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//NSAEBB/NSAEBB174/1010.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> One day prior to the invasion, Ford and Kissinger met with Suharto, and they assured him that relations with Indonesia would remain strong regardless of Indonesia's actions and that it would not object to the [[annexation]] of East Timor.<ref>{{cite web |editor-last=Burr |editor-first=William |editor2-last=Evans |editor2-first=Michael L. |title=Ford, Kissinger and the Indonesian Invasion, 1975–76 |date=December 6, 2001 |work=[[National Security Archive]] |url=http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB62/ |access-date=February 13, 2016 |quote=Ford and Kissinger Gave Green Light to Indonesia's Invasion of East Timor, 1975: New Documents Detail Conversations with Suharto |archive-date=February 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214224141/http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB62/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Middle East====
[[File:US President Gerald Ford Presidential Trips.PNG|left|thumb|alt=A map of the world. The United States is indicated in Red, while countries visit by President Ford during his presidency are indicated in Orange. Other countries are indicated in grey.|Countries visited by Ford during his presidency]]

In the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean, two ongoing international disputes developed into crises. The [[Cyprus dispute#Peacemaking efforts, 1964–1974|Cyprus dispute]] turned into a crisis with the [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus]] in July 1974, causing extreme strain within the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO) alliance. In mid-August, the [[Greek military junta of 1967–74|Greek government]] withdrew Greece from the NATO military structure; in mid-September, the Senate and House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to halt military aid to Turkey. Ford, concerned with both the effect of this on Turkish-American relations and the deterioration of security on NATO's eastern front, vetoed the bill. A second bill was then passed by Congress, which Ford also vetoed, fearing that it might impede negotiations in Cyprus, although a compromise was accepted to continue aid until December 10, 1974, provided Turkey would not send American supplies to Cyprus.<ref name="Lenczowski" /> U.S. military aid to Turkey was suspended on February 5, 1975.<ref name="Lenczowski" />

[[File:Gerald Ford with Anwar Sadat in Salzburg 1975.jpg|thumb|Ford with [[Anwar Sadat]] in [[Salzburg]], 1975]]

In the continuing [[Arab–Israeli conflict]], although the initial [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 338|cease fire]] had been implemented to end active conflict in the [[Yom Kippur War]], Kissinger's continuing [[shuttle diplomacy]] was showing little progress. Ford considered it "stalling" and wrote, "Their [Israeli] tactics frustrated the Egyptians and made me mad as hell."<ref>Gerald Ford, A Time to Heal, 1979, p.240</ref> During Kissinger's shuttle to Israel in early March 1975, a last minute reversal to consider further withdrawal, prompted a cable from Ford to Prime Minister [[Yitzhak Rabin]], which included:
{{Blockquote|I wish to express my profound disappointment over Israel's attitude in the course of the negotiations ... Failure of the negotiation will have a far reaching impact on the region and on our relations. I have given instructions for a reassessment of United States policy in the region, including our relations with Israel, with the aim of ensuring that overall American interests ... are protected. You will be notified of our decision.<ref>Rabin, Yitzak (1996), ''The Rabin Memoirs'', University of California Press, p. 256, {{ISBN|978-0-520-20766-0}}</ref>}}

On March 24, Ford informed congressional leaders of both parties of the reassessment of the administration's policies in the Middle East. In practical terms, "reassessment" meant canceling or suspending further aid to Israel. For six months between March and September 1975, the United States refused to conclude any new arms agreements with Israel. Rabin notes it was "an innocent-sounding term that heralded one of the worst periods in American-Israeli relations".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rabin|first1=Yitzhak|others=Dov Goldstein (translator)|title=The Rabin memoirs|date=1996|publisher=University of California Press|location=Berkeley|isbn=978-0-520-20766-0|page=261|edition=Expanded}}</ref> The announced reassessments upset the American Jewish community and Israel's well-wishers in Congress. On May 21, Ford "experienced a real shock" when seventy-six U.S. senators wrote him a letter urging him to be "responsive" to Israel's request for $2.59&nbsp;billion (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|2.59|1975|r=2}}&nbsp;billion in {{Inflation-year|US}}) in military and economic aid. Ford felt truly annoyed and thought the chance for peace was jeopardized. It was, since the September 1974 ban on arms sales to Turkey, the second major congressional intrusion upon the President's foreign policy prerogatives.<ref>[[George Lenczowski]], American Presidents, and the Middle East, 1990, p.150</ref> The following summer months were described by Ford as an American-Israeli "war of nerves" or "test of wills".<ref>Gerald Ford, ''A Time to Heal'', 1979, p.298</ref> After much bargaining, the [[Sinai Interim Agreement]] (Sinai II) was formally signed on September 1, and aid resumed.

====Vietnam====
[[File:President Gerald Ford and Daughter Susan Watch as Secretary of State Henry Kissinger Shakes Hands with Mao Tse-Tung.jpg|thumb|Ford and his daughter Susan watch as [[Henry Kissinger]] (right) shakes hands with [[Mao Zedong]], December 2, 1975.]]

One of Ford's greatest challenges was dealing with the continuing Vietnam War. American offensive operations against North Vietnam had ended with the [[Paris Peace Accords]], signed on January 27, 1973. The accords declared a cease-fire across both North and South Vietnam, and required the release of American [[POW|prisoners of war]]. The agreement guaranteed the territorial integrity of Vietnam and, like the [[Geneva Conference (1954)|Geneva Conference]] of 1954, called for national elections in the North and South. The Paris Peace Accords stipulated a sixty-day period for the total withdrawal of U.S. forces.<ref>{{cite book|editor=Church, Peter|title=A Short History of South-East Asia|location=Singapore|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2006|pages=193–194|isbn=978-0-470-82181-7}}</ref>

The agreements were negotiated by [[US National Security Advisor]] [[Henry Kissinger]] and North Vietnamese [[Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam|Politburo]] member [[Lê Đức Thọ]]. South Vietnamese President [[Nguyen Van Thieu]] was not involved in the final negotiations, and publicly criticized the proposed agreement. However, anti-war pressures within the United States forced Nixon and Kissinger to pressure Thieu to sign the agreement and enable the withdrawal of American forces. In multiple letters to the South Vietnamese president, Nixon had promised that the United States would defend Thieu's government, should the North Vietnamese violate the accords.<ref name="Brinkley1">{{cite book|author=Brinkley, Douglas |year=2007 |title=Gerald R. Ford |isbn=978-0-8050-6909-9 |publisher=Times Books |location=New York, NY |pages=[https://archive.org/details/geraldrford0000brin_o0c0/page/89 89–98] |url=https://archive.org/details/geraldrford0000brin_o0c0/page/89 }}</ref>

In December 1974, months after Ford took office, North Vietnamese forces invaded the province of [[Phuoc Long Province|Phuoc Long]]. General [[Trần Văn Trà]] sought to gauge any South Vietnamese or American response to the invasion, as well as to solve logistical issues, before proceeding with the invasion.<ref name="Kurnow">{{cite book|author=Karnow, Stanley|title=Vietnam: A History|url=https://archive.org/details/vietnamhistory00karn_0|url-access=registration|publisher=Viking|year=1991|isbn=978-0-14-014533-5}}</ref>

As North Vietnamese forces advanced, Ford requested Congress approve a $722&nbsp;million aid package for South Vietnam (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|.722|1975|r=2}}&nbsp;billion in {{Inflation-year|US}}), funds that had been promised by the Nixon administration. Congress voted against the proposal by a wide margin.<ref name="Challenges1970" /> Senator [[Jacob K. Javits]] offered "...large sums for evacuation, but not one nickel for military aid".<ref name="Challenges1970" /> President Thieu resigned on April 21, 1975, publicly blaming the lack of support from the United States for the fall of his country.<ref name=bbc>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/21/newsid_2935000/2935347.stm|title=Vietnam's President Thieu resigns|date=April 21, 1975|access-date=September 24, 2009|work=BBC News|archive-date=November 22, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122162651/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/21/newsid_2935000/2935347.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Two days later, on April 23, Ford gave a speech at [[Tulane University]]. In that speech, he announced that the Vietnam War was over "...as far as America is concerned".<ref name="Brinkley1" /> The announcement was met with thunderous applause.<ref name="Brinkley1" />

1,373 U.S. citizens and 5,595 [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]] and third-country nationals were evacuated from the South Vietnamese capital of [[Saigon]] during [[Operation Frequent Wind]]. Many of the Vietnamese evacuees were allowed to enter the United States under the [[Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act]]. The 1975 Act appropriated $455&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|.455|1975|r=2}}&nbsp;billion in {{Inflation-year|US}}) toward the costs of assisting the settlement of Indochinese refugees.<ref>Plummer Alston Jones (2004). "''[https://archive.org/details/stillstrugglingf00jone_0/page/84 Still struggling for equality: American public library services with minorities]''". Libraries Unlimited. p.84. {{ISBN|1-59158-243-1}}</ref> In all, 130,000 Vietnamese refugees came to the United States in 1975. Thousands more escaped in the years that followed.<ref>{{Cite book|first = William Courtland|last = Robinson|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_rjiOXMRd4sC&pg=PA127|title = Terms of refuge: the Indochinese exodus & the international response|publisher=Zed Books|year = 1998|page = 127|isbn=978-1-85649-610-0}}</ref>

====''Mayaguez'' incident====
North Vietnam's victory over the South led to a considerable shift in the political winds in Asia, and Ford administration officials worried about a consequent loss of U.S. influence there. The administration proved it was willing to respond forcefully to challenges to its interests in the region when [[Khmer Rouge]] forces seized an American ship in [[international waters]].<ref>Gawthorpe, A. J. (2009), "The Ford Administration and Security Policy in the Asia-Pacific after the Fall of Saigon", ''The Historical Journal'', '''52'''(3):697–716.</ref> The main crisis was the [[Mayaguez incident|''Mayaguez'' incident]]. In May 1975, shortly after the fall of Saigon and the Khmer Rouge conquest of [[Cambodia]], Cambodians seized the American merchant ship ''Mayaguez'' in international waters.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 19, 1975|url=http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/exhibits/vietnam/750519a.htm|title=Debrief of the Mayaguez Captain and Crew|website=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library|access-date=November 18, 2010|archive-date=June 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620160242/http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/exhibits/vietnam/750519a.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Ford dispatched [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]] to rescue the crew, but the Marines landed on the wrong island and met unexpectedly stiff resistance just as, unknown to the U.S., the ''Mayaguez'' sailors were being released. In the operation, two military transport helicopters carrying the Marines for the assault operation were shot down, and 41 U.S. servicemen were killed and 50 wounded, while approximately 60 Khmer Rouge soldiers were killed.<ref name="marinemerchants">{{cite web |year=2000 |url=http://www.usmm.org/mayaguez.html |title=Capture and Release of SS Mayaguez by Khmer Rouge forces in May 1975 |publisher=United States Merchant Marine |access-date=December 31, 2006 |archive-date=July 18, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718024334/http://www.usmm.org/mayaguez.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite the American losses, the operation was seen as a success in the United States, and Ford enjoyed an 11-point boost in his approval ratings in the aftermath.<ref>Gerald R. Ford, ''A Time to Heal'', p. 284</ref> The Americans killed during the operation became the last to have their names inscribed on the [[Vietnam Veterans Memorial]] wall in Washington, D.C.

Some historians have argued that the Ford administration felt the need to respond forcefully to the incident because it was construed as a Soviet plot.<ref>Cécile Menétray-Monchau (August 2005), "The Mayaguez Incident as an Epilogue to the Vietnam War and its Reflection on the Post-Vietnam Political Equilibrium in Southeast Asia", ''Cold War History'', p. 346.</ref> But work by Andrew Gawthorpe, published in 2009, based on an analysis of the administration's internal discussions, shows that Ford's national security team understood that the seizure of the vessel was a local, and perhaps even accidental, provocation by an immature Khmer government. Nevertheless, they felt the need to respond forcefully to discourage further provocations by other Communist countries in Asia.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gawthorpe|first=Andrew J.|date=September 1, 2009|title=The Ford Administration and Security Policy in the Asia-Pacific after the Fall of Saigon|journal=The Historical Journal|volume=52|issue=3|pages=707–709|doi=10.1017/S0018246X09990082|s2cid=155076037|issn=1469-5103}}</ref>

===Assassination attempts===
{{Main|Attempted assassination of Gerald Ford in Sacramento|Attempted assassination of Gerald Ford in San Francisco}}
{{See also|Sara Jane Moore|Oliver Sipple}}
[[File:AV89-26-14 600d.jpg|thumb|alt=A chaotic scene of motorcade vehicles surrounded by crowd of people including police and press|Reaction immediately after the second assassination attempt]]

Ford was the target of two assassination attempts during his presidency. In [[Sacramento, California]], on September 5, 1975, [[Lynette Fromme|Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme]], a follower of [[Charles Manson]], pointed a [[M1911 Colt pistol|Colt .45-caliber handgun]] at Ford and pulled the trigger at [[point-blank range]].<ref name="GF:FL"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1975/Ford-Assasinations-Attempts/12305821478075-12/ |title=1975 Year in Review: Ford Assassinations Attempts |publisher=Upi.com |access-date=May 30, 2011 |archive-date=April 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429040020/http://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1975/Ford-Assasinations-Attempts/12305821478075-12/ |url-status=live }}</ref> As she did, [[Larry Buendorf]],<ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1026_041026_tv_secret_service2_2.html "Election Is Crunch Time for U.S. Secret Service"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061129230600/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1026_041026_tv_secret_service2_2.html |date=November 29, 2006 }}. National Geographic News. Retrieved March 2, 2008.</ref> a Secret Service agent, grabbed the gun, and Fromme was taken into custody. She was later convicted of attempted assassination of the President and was sentenced to life in prison; she was paroled on August 14, 2009, after serving 34 years.<ref name="squeakeyparole">{{cite news|date=August 14, 2009|url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-08-14/news/17930594_1_sharon-tate-and-eight-lynette-squeaky-fromme-charles-manson-follower|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130130040625/http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-08-14/news/17930594_1_sharon-tate-and-eight-lynette-squeaky-fromme-charles-manson-follower|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 30, 2013|title=Charles Manson follower Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme released from prison after more than 30 years|location=New York |work=Daily News|agency=Associated Press|access-date=September 7, 2011}}</ref>

In reaction to this attempt, the Secret Service began keeping Ford at a more secure distance from anonymous crowds, a strategy that may have saved his life seventeen days later. As he left the [[St. Francis Hotel]] in downtown San Francisco, [[Sara Jane Moore]], standing in a crowd of onlookers across the street, fired a [[.38 Special|.38-caliber revolver]] at him. The shot missed Ford by a few feet.<ref name="GF:FL"/><ref name="Secret Service">{{cite web |url=https://fas.org/irp/agency/ustreas/usss/t1pubrpt.html |title=Public Report of the White House Security Review |author=United States Secret Service |access-date=January 3, 2007 |publisher=United States Department of the Treasury |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323093403/https://fas.org/irp/agency/ustreas/usss/t1pubrpt.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Before she fired a second round, retired Marine [[Oliver Sipple]] grabbed at the gun and deflected her shot; the bullet struck a wall about six inches above and to the right of Ford's head, then ricocheted and hit a taxi driver, who was slightly wounded. Moore was later sentenced to life in prison. She was paroled on December 31, 2007, after serving 32 years.<ref name="ABC7-Lee">{{cite web|url=http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=4900159|title=Interview: Woman Who Tried To Assassinate Ford|access-date=January 3, 2007|last=Lee|first=Vic|date=January 2, 2007|publisher=KGO-TV|location=San Francisco|archive-date=September 14, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070914035059/http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=4900159|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Judicial appointments===
{{further|Gerald Ford judicial appointment controversies}}

====Supreme Court====
{{Main|Gerald Ford Supreme Court candidates}}
[[File:US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens - 1976 official portrait.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|[[John Paul Stevens]], Ford's only Supreme Court appointment]]

In 1975, Ford appointed [[John Paul Stevens]] as [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States]] to replace retiring Justice [[William O. Douglas]]. Stevens had been a judge of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit]], appointed by President Nixon.<ref name="stephensJP">{{cite web |url=https://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/legal_entity/101/biography |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822043620/https://www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/legal_entity/101/biography |archive-date=August 22, 2006 |title=John Paul Stevens |publisher=Oyez|access-date=December 31, 2006}}</ref> During his tenure as House Republican leader, Ford had led efforts to have Douglas impeached.<ref>{{Cite web |title=News Release, Congressman Gerald R. Ford |date=April 15, 1970 |url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/700415.pdf |website=The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library |access-date=November 18, 2010 |archive-date=December 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224175712/http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/700415.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> After being confirmed, Stevens eventually disappointed some conservatives by siding with the Court's liberal wing regarding the outcome of many key issues.<ref name="persuasion">{{cite news |last=Levenick |first=Christopher |date=September 25, 2005 |url=http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/135jlkrj.asp |title=The Conservative Persuasion |work=The Daily Standard |access-date=December 31, 2006 |archive-date=September 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908010253/http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/135jlkrj.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nevertheless, in 2005 Ford praised Stevens. "He has served his nation well," Ford said of Stevens, "with dignity, intellect and without partisan political concerns."<ref>[http://law.fordham.edu/newsfiles/news-ford.pdf Letter from Gerald Ford to Michael Treanor] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614035758/http://law.fordham.edu/newsfiles/news-ford.pdf |date=June 14, 2007 }}. Fordham University, September 21, 2005. Retrieved March 2, 2008.</ref>

====Other judicial appointments====
{{Main|List of federal judges appointed by Gerald Ford}}
Ford appointed 11 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 50 judges to the [[United States district court]]s.<ref>[[Biographical Directory of Federal Judges]], a public-domain publication of the [[Federal Judicial Center]].</ref>
{{clear}}

===1976 presidential campaign===
{{Main|Gerald Ford 1976 presidential campaign|1976 United States presidential election}}
[[File:1976 Republican National Convention.jpg|thumb|[[Ronald Reagan]] congratulates President Ford after the president successfully wins the 1976 Republican nomination, while [[Bob Dole]], [[Nancy Reagan]], and [[Nelson Rockefeller]] look on.]]

Ford reluctantly agreed to run for office in 1976, but first he had to counter a challenge for the Republican party nomination. Former [[Governor of California]] [[Ronald Reagan]] and the party's [[American conservatism|conservative]] wing faulted Ford for failing to do more in [[South Vietnam]], for signing the Helsinki Accords, and for negotiating to cede the [[Panama Canal]]. (Negotiations for the canal continued under President Carter, who eventually signed the [[Torrijos–Carter Treaties]].) Reagan launched his campaign in autumn of 1975 and won numerous [[United States presidential primary|primaries]], including [[North Carolina]], [[Texas]], [[Indiana]], and [[California]], but failed to get a majority of delegates; Reagan withdrew from the race at the [[1976 Republican National Convention|Republican Convention]] in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]], [[Missouri]]. The conservative insurgency did lead to Ford dropping the more [[American liberalism|liberal]] Vice President Nelson Rockefeller in favor of U.S. senator [[Bob Dole]] of [[Kansas]].<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/analysis/back.time/9603/29/index.shtml Another Loss For the Gipper] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207043108/http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/analysis/back.time/9603/29/index.shtml |date=February 7, 2021 }}. ''Time'', March 29, 1976. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref>

In addition to the pardon dispute and lingering anti-Republican sentiment, Ford had to counter a plethora of negative media imagery. [[Chevy Chase]] often did [[Physical comedy|pratfalls]] on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', [[Saturday Night Live (season 1)#Episodes|imitating Ford]], who had been seen stumbling on two occasions during his term. As Chase commented, "He even mentioned in his own autobiography it had an effect over a period of time that affected the election to some degree."<ref>[http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-19-2004/0002287784&EDATE= VH1 News Presents: Politics: A Pop Culture History Premiering Wednesday, October 20 at 10:00&nbsp;pm (ET/PT)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125161018/http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=%2Fwww%2Fstory%2F10-19-2004%2F0002287784&EDATE= |date=January 25, 2009 }}. ''PRNewswire'' October 19, 2004. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref>

Ford's 1976 election campaign benefitted from his being an incumbent president during several anniversary events held during the period leading up to the [[United States Bicentennial]]. The Washington, D.C. [[fireworks]] display on the [[Independence Day (United States)|Fourth of July]] was presided over by the President and televised nationally.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090304025818/http://www.c-span.org/classroom/govt/1976.asp Election of 1976: A Political Outsider Prevails]. C-SPAN. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref> On July 7, 1976, the President and First Lady served as hosts at a White House state dinner for [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Philip]] of the United Kingdom, which was televised on the [[PBS|Public Broadcasting Service]] network. The 200th anniversary of the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]] in Massachusetts gave Ford the opportunity to deliver a speech to 110,000 in Concord acknowledging the need for a strong national defense tempered with a plea for "reconciliation, not recrimination" and "reconstruction, not rancor" between the United States and those who would pose "threats to peace".<ref>Shabecoff, Philip. "160,000 Mark Two 1775 Battles; Concord Protesters Jeer Ford – Reconciliation Plea", ''The New York Times'', April 20, 1975, p. 1.</ref> Speaking in New Hampshire on the previous day, Ford condemned the growing trend toward big government bureaucracy and argued for a return to "basic American virtues".<ref>Shabecoff, Philip. "Ford, on Bicentennial Trip, Bids U.S. Heed Old Values", ''The New York Times'', April 19, 1975, p. 1.</ref>

[[File:Carter and Ford in a debate, September 23, 1976.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Two men stand at podiums on a stage. The man on the right is speaking while gesturing to the man on the left. Two other men are seated, facing the podiums.|[[Jimmy Carter]] and Ford in a [[United States presidential election debates|presidential debate]], September 23, 1976]]

Televised [[United States presidential election debates|presidential debates]] were reintroduced for the first time since the 1960 election. As such, Ford became the first incumbent president to participate in one. Carter later attributed his victory in the election to the debates, saying they "gave the viewers reason to think that Jimmy Carter had something to offer". The turning point came in the second debate when Ford blundered by stating, "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe and there never will be under a Ford Administration." Ford also said that he did not "believe that the Poles consider themselves dominated by the Soviet Union".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/debates/history/1976/|title=1976 Presidential Debates|work=CNN|access-date=September 28, 2011|archive-date=September 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927084226/http://www-cgi.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/debates/history/1976/|url-status=live}}</ref> In an interview years later, Ford said he had intended to imply that the Soviets would never crush the ''spirits'' of eastern Europeans seeking independence. However, the phrasing was so awkward that questioner [[Max Frankel]] was visibly incredulous at the response.<ref name="pbs2000">{{cite web|last=Lehrer|first=Jim|year=2000|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/dod/1976-broadcast.html|title=1976:No Audio and No Soviet Domination|website=Debating Our Destiny|publisher=PBS|access-date=March 31, 2007|archive-date=March 11, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311092043/http://www.pbs.org/newshour/debatingourdestiny/dod/1976-broadcast.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:ElectoralCollege1976.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|1976 electoral vote results]]

In the end, Carter won the election, receiving 50.1% of the popular vote and 297 [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral votes]] compared with 48.0% and 240 electoral votes for Ford.<ref>[http://www.multied.com/elections/1976state.html "Presidential Election 1976 States Carried"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061114164828/http://www.multied.com/elections/1976state.html |date=November 14, 2006 }}. multied.com. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref>

==Post-presidency (1977–2006)==
{{main|Post-presidency of Gerald Ford}}

The Nixon pardon controversy eventually subsided. Ford's successor, Jimmy Carter, opened his 1977 [[United States presidential inauguration|inaugural address]] by praising the outgoing president, saying, "For myself and for our Nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land."<ref name="JC">{{cite web|date=January 20, 1977|url=http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres60.html|title=Jimmy Carter |department=U.S. Inaugural Addresses|publisher=Bartleby.com|access-date=August 14, 2009|archive-date=December 16, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216094036/http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres60.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

After leaving the White House, the Fords moved to Denver, Colorado. Ford successfully invested in oil with [[Marvin Davis]], which later provided an income for Ford's children.<ref name="VF">{{cite magazine |first1=Mark |last1=Seal |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2005/11/davis200511 |title=The Man Who Ate Hollywood |magazine=Vanity Fair |access-date=February 19, 2012 |date=November 1, 2005 |archive-date=January 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113090045/http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2005/11/davis200511 |url-status=live }}</ref>

He continued to make appearances at events of historical and ceremonial significance to the nation, such as presidential inaugurals and memorial services. In January 1977, he became the president of [[Eisenhower Fellowships]] in Philadelphia, then served as the chairman of its board of trustees from 1980 to 1986.<ref>Perrone, Marguerite. "Eisenhower Fellowship: A History 1953–2003". 2003.</ref> Later in 1977, he reluctantly agreed to be interviewed by James M. Naughton, a ''New York Times'' journalist who was given the assignment to write the former president's advance obituary, an article that would be updated prior to its eventual publication.<ref name="poynterX">{{cite web |last=Naughton |first=James M |date=December 27, 2006 |url=http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=115796 |title=The Real Jerry Ford |publisher=PoynterOnline |access-date=March 31, 2007 |archive-date=April 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070411172143/http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=115796 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1979, Ford published his autobiography, ''A Time to Heal'' (Harper/Reader's Digest, 454 pages). A review in ''Foreign Affairs'' described it as, "Serene, unruffled, unpretentious, like the author. This is the shortest and most honest of recent presidential memoirs, but there are no surprises, no deep probings of motives or events. No more here than meets the eye."<ref>{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Gaddis|title=A Time to Heal|website=[[Foreign Affairs]]|publisher=Council on Foreign Relations|year=1979|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19790901fabook14015/gerald-r-ford/a-time-to-heal.html|access-date=April 26, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041107135017/http://www.foreignaffairs.org/19790901fabook14015/gerald-r-ford/a-time-to-heal.html|archive-date=November 7, 2004}}</ref>

During the term of office of his successor, Jimmy Carter, Ford received monthly briefs by President Carter's senior staff on international and domestic issues, and was always invited to lunch at the White House whenever he was in Washington, D.C. Their close friendship developed after Carter had left office, with the catalyst being their trip together to the [[Assassination of Anwar Sadat#Burial|funeral]] of [[Anwar Sadat|Anwar el-Sadat]] in 1981.<ref name="NYTobit">{{cite news |last=Kornblut |first=Anne |date=December 29, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/washington/29funeral.html |title=Ford Arranged His Funeral to Reflect Himself and Drew in a Former Adversary |work=The New York Times |access-date=April 4, 2007 |archive-date=March 7, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307182808/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/washington/29funeral.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Until Ford's death, Carter and his wife, [[Rosalynn Carter|Rosalynn]], visited the Fords' home frequently.<ref>{{Cite news|last = Updegrove|first = Mark K.|title = Flying Coach to Cairo|magazine = American Heritage|volume = 57|issue = 4|date = August–September 2006|url = http://www.americanheritage.com/content/%E2%80%9Cflying-coach-cairo%E2%80%9D|access-date = September 28, 2011|quote = "Certainly few observers in January 1977 would have predicted that Jimmy and I would become the closest of friends," Ford said in 2000.|archive-date = November 22, 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111122080716/http://www.americanheritage.com/content/%E2%80%9Cflying-coach-cairo%E2%80%9D|url-status = live}}</ref> Ford and Carter served as honorary co-chairs of the National Commission on Federal Election Reform in 2001 and of the [[Continuity of Government Commission]] in 2002.

Like Presidents Carter, [[George H. W. Bush]], and [[Bill Clinton]], Ford was an honorary co-chair of the [[Council for Excellence in Government]], a group dedicated to excellence in government performance, which provides leadership training to top federal employees. He also devoted much time to his love of golf, often playing both privately and in public events with comedian [[Bob Hope]], a longtime friend. In 1977, he shot a [[hole in one]] during a Pro-am held in conjunction with the [[Danny Thomas Memphis Classic]] at [[Colonial Country Club (Memphis)|Colonial Country Club]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee]].

In 1977, Ford established the Gerald R. Ford Institute of Public Policy at [[Albion College]] in [[Albion, Michigan]], to give undergraduates training in public policy. In April 1981, he opened the [[Gerald R. Ford Library]] in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]], on the north campus of his alma mater, the [[University of Michigan]],<ref>{{cite news|title=Ford to Formally Unveil His Presidential Library|author=Lessenberry, Jack|work=Toledo Blade|date=April 20, 1981|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MQsVAAAAIBAJ&pg=3006%2C1433139|access-date=September 3, 2009}}{{Dead link|date=June 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> followed in September by the [[Gerald R. Ford Museum]] in Grand Rapids.<ref>{{cite web |title=Remarks at the Dedication of the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan |last=Ford |first=Gerald R. |website=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library |url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/810918.asp |date=September 18, 1981 |access-date=November 18, 2010 |archive-date=December 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224182819/http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/speeches/810918.asp |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Reagan Praises Ford at Opening of Museum|last=Tucker|first=Brian|work=[[The Boston Globe]]|url=http://www.boston.com/news/specials/gerald_ford/articles/ford_museum_opens/|date=September 18, 1981|access-date=September 3, 2009|archive-date=May 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511234016/http://www.boston.com/news/specials/gerald_ford/articles/ford_museum_opens/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Ford considered a run for the Republican nomination in [[1980 United States presidential election|1980]], forgoing numerous opportunities to serve on corporate boards to keep his options open for a rematch with Carter. Ford attacked Carter's conduct of the SALT II negotiations and foreign policy in the Middle East and Africa. Many have argued that Ford also wanted to exorcise his image as an "Accidental President" and to win a term in his own right. Ford also believed the more conservative Ronald Reagan would be unable to defeat Carter and would hand the incumbent a second term. Ford was encouraged by his former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, as well as [[Jim Rhodes]] of Ohio and [[Bill Clements]] of Texas to make the race. On March 15, 1980, Ford announced that he would forgo a run for the Republican nomination, vowing to support the eventual nominee.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-02-15-tm-3224-story.html |title=The Selling of the ex-President: Nixon and Carter Just Wrote Books. Ford Had a Better Idea |work=Los Angeles Times |last=Brownstein |first=Ronald |date=February 15, 1987 |access-date=March 24, 2023 |archive-date=January 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129122928/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-02-15-tm-3224-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:President Gerald Ford makes a decision not to run as Ronald Reagan’s vice presidential running mate at the Republican National Convention in Detroit.jpg|thumb|On July 16, 1980 (day 3 of the [[1980 Republican National Convention]]) Gerald Ford consults with [[Bob Dole]], [[Howard Baker]] and [[Bill Brock]] before ultimately making a decision to decline the offer to serve as Ronald Reagan's running mate.]]

After securing the Republican nomination in 1980, Ronald Reagan considered his former rival Ford as a potential vice-presidential running mate, but negotiations between the Reagan and Ford camps at the [[1980 Republican National Convention|Republican National Convention]] were unsuccessful. Ford conditioned his acceptance on Reagan's agreement to an unprecedented "co-presidency",<ref name="meeteye">{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Evan |year=2007 |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/56688 |title=The 38th President: More Than Met the Eye |website=Newsweek |access-date=January 4, 2009 |archive-date=January 25, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125182923/http://www.newsweek.com/id/56688 |url-status=live }}</ref> giving Ford the power to control key executive branch appointments (such as Kissinger as Secretary of State and [[Alan Greenspan]] as Treasury Secretary). After rejecting these terms, Reagan offered the vice-presidential nomination instead to George H. W. Bush.<ref>Allen, Richard V. [http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3492521.html "How the Bush Dynasty Almost Wasn't"] ({{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706011738/http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3492521.html |date=July 6, 2008 }}), Hoover Institution, reprinted from ''The New York Times Magazine'', July 30, 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref> Ford did appear in a campaign commercial for the Reagan-Bush ticket, in which he declared that the country would be "better served by a Reagan presidency rather than a continuation of the weak and politically expedient policies of Jimmy Carter".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1980/pres-ford |title=Reagan campaign ad |publisher=Livingroomcandidate.org |date=November 4, 1979 |access-date=January 22, 2011 |archive-date=January 9, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110109105236/http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1980/pres-ford |url-status=live }}</ref> On October 8, 1980, Ford said former President Nixon's involvement in the general election potentially could negatively impact the Reagan campaign: "I think it would have been much more helpful if Mr. Nixon had stayed in the background during this campaign. It would have been much more beneficial to Ronald Reagan."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/10/08/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-said-Wednesday-former-President-Richard/7930339825600/ |title=Former President Gerald Ford said Wednesday former President Richard...|first=Tom|last=Uhlenbrock|publisher=UPI|date=October 8, 1980|access-date=August 28, 2017|archive-date=August 28, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828230321/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/10/08/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-said-Wednesday-former-President-Richard/7930339825600/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On October 3, 1980, Ford cast blame on Carter for the latter's charges of ineffectiveness on the part of the [[Federal Reserve Board]] due to his appointing of most of its members: "President Carter, when the going gets tough, will do anything to save his own political skin. This latest action by the president is cowardly."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/10/03/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-Friday-accused-President-Carter-of/4301339393600/|title=Former President Gerald Ford Friday accused President Carter of...|date=October 3, 1980|publisher=UPI|access-date=August 28, 2017|archive-date=August 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829032652/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/10/03/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-Friday-accused-President-Carter-of/4301339393600/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the [[attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan]], Ford told reporters while appearing at a fundraiser for [[Thomas Kean]] that criminals who use firearms should get the death penalty in the event someone is injured with the weapon.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/04/03/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-says-people-who-commit-crimes/5868355122000/|title=Former President Gerald Ford says people who commit crimes...|first=Pamela|last=Brownstein|date=April 3, 1981|publisher=UPI|access-date=August 22, 2017|archive-date=August 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823020917/http://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/04/03/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-says-people-who-commit-crimes/5868355122000/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In September 1981, Ford advised Reagan against succumbing to [[Wall Street]] demands and follow his own agenda for the economic policies of the US during an appearance on ''[[Good Morning America]]'': "He shouldn't let the gurus of Wall Street decide what the economic future of this country is going to be. They are wrong in my opinion."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/09/18/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-had-some-advice-today-for/7582369633600/ |title=Former President Gerald Ford had some advice today for...|date=September 18, 1981|publisher=UPI|access-date=September 12, 2017|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201131502/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/09/18/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-had-some-advice-today-for/7582369633600/ |url-status=live}}</ref> During a news conference on October 20, 1981, Ford stated that stopping the Reagan administration's Saudi arms package could have a large negative impact to American relations in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/10/20/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-continued-his-campaign-in-favor/1696372398400/|title=Former President Gerald Ford continued his campaign in favor...|date=October 20, 1981|publisher=UPI|access-date=September 12, 2017|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201132109/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/10/20/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-continued-his-campaign-in-favor/1696372398400/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 24, 1982, Ford offered an endorsement of President Reagan's economic policies while also stating the possibility of Reagan being met with a stalemate by Congress if not willing to compromise while in Washington.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/03/24/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-endorsed-President-Reagans-handling-of/4047385794000/|title=Former President Gerald Ford endorsed President Reagan's handling of...|first=Arnold|last=Sawislak|publisher=UPI|date=March 24, 1982|access-date=September 4, 2017|archive-date=September 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905002457/http://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/03/24/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-endorsed-President-Reagans-handling-of/4047385794000/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Ford founded the annual [[AEI World Forum]] in 1982, and joined the [[American Enterprise Institute]] as a distinguished fellow. He was also awarded an [[List of recipients of honorary degrees from Central Connecticut State University|honorary doctorate at Central Connecticut State University]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15404901&BRD=1641&PAG=461&dept_id=17739&rfi=6 |title=A $3m gift |last=Whipple |first=Scott |date=October 18, 2005 |work=The New Britain Herald |access-date=September 9, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501114400/http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15404901&BRD=1641&PAG=461&dept_id=17739&rfi=6 |archive-date=May 1, 2011 }}</ref> on March 23, 1988.

During an August 1982 fundraising reception, Ford stated his opposition to a constitutional amendment requiring the US to have a balanced budget, citing a need to elect "members of the House and Senate who will immediately when Congress convenes act more responsibly in fiscal matters."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/08/10/Gerald-Ford-Carter-administration-blew-it/6987397800000/|title=Gerald Ford: 'Carter administration blew it'|first=Tamara|last=Henry|publisher=UPI|access-date=August 22, 2017|archive-date=August 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822055627/http://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/08/10/Gerald-Ford-Carter-administration-blew-it/6987397800000/|url-status=live}}</ref> Ford was a participant in the 1982 midterm elections, traveling to [[Tennessee]] in October of that year to help Republican candidates.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/10/21/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-and-former-Vice-President-Walter/7665404020800/?spt=su|title=Former President Gerald Ford and former Vice President Walter...|date=October 21, 1982|publisher=UPI|access-date=September 4, 2017|archive-date=September 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905050914/http://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/10/21/Former-President-Gerald-Ford-and-former-Vice-President-Walter/7665404020800/?spt=su|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 1984, a letter signed by Ford and Carter and urging world leaders to extend their failed effort to end world hunger was released and sent to [[Secretary-General of the United Nations]] [[Javier Pérez de Cuéllar]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/01/02/Former-presidents-Gerald-Ford-and-Jimmy-Carter-have-signed/9318441867600/|title=Former presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter have signed...|date=January 2, 1984|publisher=UPI|access-date=October 7, 2017|archive-date=October 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007070240/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/01/02/Former-presidents-Gerald-Ford-and-Jimmy-Carter-have-signed/9318441867600/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1987, Ford testified before the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary Committee]] in favor of [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|District of Columbia Circuit Court]] judge and former [[Solicitor General of the United States|Solicitor General]] [[Robert Bork]] after Bork was [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination|nominated]] by President Reagan to be an [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.philly.com/1987-09-15/news/26208718_1_judge-robert-bork-bork-nomination-indiana-law-journal|title=Archives - Philly.com|website=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|access-date=March 20, 2016|archive-date=March 31, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331064817/http://articles.philly.com/1987-09-15/news/26208718_1_judge-robert-bork-bork-nomination-indiana-law-journal|url-status=dead}}</ref> Bork's nomination was rejected by a vote of 58–42.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/24/politics/24REAG.html|title=Bork's Nomination Is Rejected, 58–42; Reagan 'Saddened'|first1=Linda|last1=Greenhouse|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 24, 1987|access-date=February 8, 2017|archive-date=February 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204160741/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/24/politics/24REAG.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1987, Ford's ''Humor and the Presidency'', a book of humorous political anecdotes, was published.

By 1988, Ford was a member of several corporate boards including Commercial Credit, Nova Pharmaceutical, [[Pullman Company|The Pullman Company]], [[Tesoro Corporation|Tesoro Petroleum]], and Tiger International, Inc.<ref name="LLC1988">{{cite magazine|magazine=New York Magazine|title=Board Games|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VeUCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA19|access-date=February 19, 2012|date=January 25, 1988|publisher=LLC|pages=19–|issn=0028-7369|archive-date=September 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924195011/https://books.google.com/books?id=VeUCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA19|url-status=live}}</ref> Ford also became an honorary director of [[Citigroup]], a position he held until his death.<ref name="WSJ">{{cite web | url=https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2006/12/27/ford%E2%80%99s-citigroup-connection/ | title=Ford's Citigroup Connection | website=The Wall Street Journal | access-date=February 19, 2012 | date=December 27, 2006 | archive-date=November 24, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121124095807/http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2006/12/27/ford%E2%80%99s-citigroup-connection/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

In October 1990, Ford appeared in [[Gettysburg, Pennsylvania]] with [[Bob Hope]] to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the birth of former president Dwight D. Eisenhower, where the two unveiled a plaque with the signatures of each living former president.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/10/14/Ike-commemorated-with-100th-birthday-bash/8074655876800/|title=Ike commemorated with 100th birthday bash|date=October 14, 1990|publisher=UPI|access-date=October 11, 2017|archive-date=October 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011130507/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/10/14/Ike-commemorated-with-100th-birthday-bash/8074655876800/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 1991, Ford joined former presidents [[Richard Nixon]], [[Ronald Reagan]], and [[Jimmy Carter]], in supporting the [[Brady Bill]].<ref name=AP910429>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=April 29, 1991 |title=Carter, Ford Join Other Former Presidents in Backing Gun Bill |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-29-mn-709-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |agency=Associated Press |access-date=July 4, 2014 |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714233123/http://articles.latimes.com/1991-04-29/news/mn-709_1_brady-bill |url-status=live }}</ref> Three years later, he wrote to the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]], along with Carter and Reagan, in support of the [[Federal Assault Weapons Ban|assault weapons ban]].<ref name=Eaton940505>{{cite news |last=Eaton |first=William J. |date=May 5, 1994 |title=Ford, Carter, Reagan Push for Gun Ban |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-05-05-mn-54185-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |access-date=July 4, 2014 |archive-date=September 10, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910132000/http://articles.latimes.com/1994-05-05/news/mn-54185_1_assault-weapons-ban/2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the [[1992 Republican National Convention]], Ford compared the election cycle to his 1976 loss to Carter and urged attention be paid to electing a Republican Congress: "If it's change you want on Nov. 3, my friends, the place to start is not at the White House but in the United States' Capitol. Congress, as every school child knows, has the power of the purse. For nearly 40 years, Democratic majorities have held to the time-tested New Deal formula, tax and tax, spend and spend, elect and elect." (The Republicans would later win both Houses of Congress at the [[1994 United States elections|1994 mid-term elections]].)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/08/20/Ford-warns-Clinton-victory-would-return-America-to-Carter-era/4376714283200/|title=Ford warns Clinton victory would return America to Carter era|first=Mark|last=Langford|publisher=UPI|access-date=August 22, 2017|archive-date=August 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822055219/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/08/20/Ford-warns-Clinton-victory-would-return-America-to-Carter-era/4376714283200/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:President Bill Clinton with former Presidents George H. W. Bush, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter.jpg|thumb|Ford joins President [[Bill Clinton]] and former presidents [[George H. W. Bush]] and Jimmy Carter onstage at the dedication of the [[George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum]] at [[Texas A&M University]], November 6, 1997.]]
[[File:Presford90.jpg|thumb|alt=Two men in suits are flanked by two women in formal dresses, standing beside a large birthday cake with lit candles and flowers. The cake is decorated with the text "Happy 90th Birthday President Ford".|Ford at his 90th birthday with [[Laura Bush]], President George W. Bush, and Betty Ford in the White House [[State Dining Room]] in 2003]]

In April 1997, Ford joined President [[Bill Clinton]], former president Bush, and [[Nancy Reagan]] in signing the "Summit Declaration of Commitment" in advocating for participation by private citizens in solving domestic issues within the United States.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/29/us/presidents-call-for-big-citizenship-not-big-government.html|title=Presidents Call for Big Citizenship, Not Big Government|first=James|last=Bennet|date=April 29, 1997|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428023332/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/29/us/presidents-call-for-big-citizenship-not-big-government.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On January 20, 1998, during an interview at his Palm Springs home, Ford said the Republican Party's nominee in the 2000 presidential election would lose if the party turned ultra-conservative in their ideals: "If we get way over on the hard right of the political spectrum, we will not elect a Republican President. I worry about the party going down this ultra-conservative line. We ought to learn from the Democrats: when they were running ultra-liberal candidates, they didn't win."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/20/us/ford-urges-gop-to-drop-abortion-issue-and-shift-center.html|title=Ford Urges G.O.P. to Drop Abortion Issue and Shift Center|first=Richard L.|last=Berke|work=The New York Times|date=January 20, 1998|access-date=December 19, 2017|archive-date=January 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120225504/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/20/us/ford-urges-gop-to-drop-abortion-issue-and-shift-center.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the prelude to the impeachment of President Clinton, Ford conferred with former president Carter and the two agreed to not speak publicly on the controversy, a pact broken by Carter when answering a question from a student at [[Emory University]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_REPORT/erarchive/1998/September/erseptember.28/9_28_98Carter.html|title=Carter breaks silence on Clinton, says nation will heal|date=September 28, 1998|publisher=Emory|access-date=August 17, 2017|archive-date=October 15, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015120516/http://www.emory.edu/EMORY_REPORT/erarchive/1998/September/erseptember.28/9_28_98Carter.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 2001, Ford broke with conservative members of the Republican Party by stating that gay and lesbian couples "ought to be treated equally. Period." He became the highest-ranking Republican to embrace full equality for gays and lesbians, stating his belief that there should be a federal amendment outlawing anti-gay job discrimination and expressing his hope that the Republican Party would reach out to gay and lesbian voters.<ref>Price, Deb. [http://pageoneq.com/news/2006/ford122806.html "Gerald Ford: Treat gay couples equally"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120021813/http://pageoneq.com/news/2006/ford122806.html |date=January 20, 2013 }}. ''The Detroit News'', October 29, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2006</ref> He also was a member of the Republican Unity Coalition, which ''The New York Times'' described as "a group of prominent Republicans, including former President Gerald R. Ford, dedicated to making sexual orientation a non-issue in the Republican Party".<ref>Stolberg, Sheryl Gay. "Vocal Gay Republicans Upsetting Conservatives", ''The New York Times'', June 1, 2003, p. N26.</ref>

On November 22, 2004, New York Republican governor [[George Pataki]] named Ford and the other living former presidents (Carter, George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton) as honorary members of the board rebuilding the [[World Trade Center site|World Trade Center]].

In a pre-recorded [[news embargo|embargoed interview]] with [[Bob Woodward]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' in July 2004, Ford stated that he disagreed "very strongly" with the Bush administration's choice of Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction as justification for its decision to [[Iraq War|invade Iraq]], calling it a "big mistake" unrelated to the national security of the United States and indicating that he would not have gone to war had he been president. The details of the interview were not released until after Ford's death, as he requested.<ref>Woodward, Bob. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/27/AR2006122701558.html "Ford Disagreed With Bush About Invading Iraq"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218164641/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/27/AR2006122701558.html |date=February 18, 2011 }}. ''The Washington Post'', December 28, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/28/1449201 "Embargoed Interview Reveals Ford Opposed Iraq War"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061228200215/http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06%2F12%2F28%2F1449201 |date=December 28, 2006 }}. ''Democracy Now'' Headlines for December 28, 2006. Retrieved December 28, 2006</ref>

===Health issues===
On April 4, 1990, Ford was admitted to [[Eisenhower Medical Center]] for surgery to replace his left knee, orthopedic surgeon Robert Murphy saying, "Ford's entire left knee was replaced with an artificial joint, including portions of the adjacent femur, or thigh bone, and tibia, or leg bone."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/04/04/Ford-undergoes-knee-surgery/1726639201600/|title=Ford undergoes knee surgery|date=April 4, 1990|publisher=UPI|access-date=November 26, 2017|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201044301/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/04/04/Ford-undergoes-knee-surgery/1726639201600/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Ford suffered two minor strokes at the [[2000 Republican National Convention]], but made a quick recovery after being admitted to [[Hahnemann University Hospital]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/863937.stm "Gerald Ford recovering after strokes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319012847/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/863937.stm |date=March 19, 2021 }}. ''[[BBC]]'', August 2, 2000. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ayres |first=B. Drummond Jr. |date=August 3, 2000 |title=Hospitalized After Suffering a Stroke, Former President Ford Is Expected to Fully Recover |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/03/us/hospitalized-after-suffering-stroke-former-president-ford-expected-fully-recover.html |access-date=December 1, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202021510/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/03/us/hospitalized-after-suffering-stroke-former-president-ford-expected-fully-recover.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 2006, he spent 11 days at the [[Eisenhower Medical Center]] near his residence at [[Rancho Mirage, California]], for treatment of [[pneumonia]].<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-01-16-ford-hospitalized_x.htm Former "President Ford, 92, hospitalized with pneumonia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501054710/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-01-16-ford-hospitalized_x.htm |date=May 1, 2011 }}. ''USA Today'', Associated Press, January 17, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2007.</ref> On April 23, 2006, President George W. Bush visited Ford at his home in Rancho Mirage for a little over an hour. This was Ford's last public appearance and produced the last known public photos, video footage, and voice recording.

While vacationing in [[Vail, Colorado]], Ford was hospitalized for two days in July 2006 for shortness of breath.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna14043669 "Gerald Ford released from hospital"] . NBC News, Associated Press, July 26, 2006. Retrieved December 31, 2006.</ref> On August 15 he was admitted to St. Mary's Hospital of the [[Mayo Clinic]] in [[Rochester, Minnesota]], for testing and evaluation. On August 21, it was reported that he had been fitted with a [[artificial pacemaker|pacemaker]]. On August 25, he underwent an [[angioplasty]] procedure at the Mayo Clinic. On August 28, Ford was released from the hospital and returned with his wife Betty to their California home. On October 13, he was scheduled to attend the dedication of a building of his namesake, the [[Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy]] at the University of Michigan, but due to poor health and on the advice of his doctors he did not attend. The previous day, Ford had entered the Eisenhower Medical Center for undisclosed tests; he was released on October 16.<ref>{{cite web|title=Former President Gerald Ford Released from Hospital |work=Fox News |date=October 16, 2006 |access-date=September 3, 2009 |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,221379,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429035745/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0%2C2933%2C221379%2C00.html |archive-date=April 29, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> By November 2006, he was confined to a bed in his study.<ref>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0612/27/bn.01.html "Gerald Ford Dies At Age 93"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515201445/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0612/27/bn.01.html |date=May 15, 2008 }}. CNN Transcript December 26, 2006. Retrieved March 2, 2008.</ref>

==Death and legacy==
{{Main|Death and state funeral of Gerald Ford}}
[[File:Lying in State - President Gerald Ford (8288035735).jpg|thumb|Ford [[lying in state]] in the Capitol rotunda]]

Ford died on December 26, 2006, at his home in [[Rancho Mirage, California]], of arteriosclerotic [[cerebrovascular disease]] and diffuse [[arteriosclerosis]]. He had end-stage coronary artery disease and severe [[aortic stenosis]] and insufficiency, caused by calcific alteration of one of his heart valves.<ref>DeFrank T: Write It When I'm Gone, G. Putnam & Sons, New York, NY, 2007.</ref> At the time of his death, Ford was the [[List of presidents of the United States by age|longest-lived U.S. president]], having lived 93 years and 165 days (45 days longer than Ronald Reagan, whose record he surpassed).<ref name="deathofford">{{cite news| last1=Naughton| first1=James M.| last2=Clymer| first2=Adam| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/washington/27webford.html| title=Gerald Ford, 38th President, Dies at 93| date=December 27, 2006| newspaper=The New York Times| access-date=October 19, 2009| archive-date=August 20, 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820152316/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/27/washington/27webford.html| url-status=live}}</ref> He died on the 34th anniversary of President Harry S. Truman's death; he was the last surviving member of the [[Warren Commission]].<ref name="preseulog">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/02/world/americas/02iht-web.0207ford.4080367.html|title=Bush and ex-presidents eulogize Gerald R. Ford|date=January 2, 2007|work=The New York Times|author=Stout, David|access-date=September 3, 2009|archive-date=May 11, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511105455/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/02/world/americas/02iht-web.0207ford.4080367.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On December 30, 2006, Ford became the 11th U.S. president to [[Lying in state#United States|lie in state]] in the [[United States Capitol rotunda|Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aoc.gov/nations-stage/lying-state-honor |title=Lying in State or in Honor |publisher=US Architect of the Capitol (AOC) |access-date=September 1, 2018 |archive-date=May 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518015734/https://www.aoc.gov/nations-stage/lying-state-honor |url-status=live }}</ref> A state funeral and memorial services were held at the [[National Cathedral]] in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, January 2, 2007. After the service, Ford was interred at his [[Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum|Presidential Museum]] in Grand Rapids, Michigan.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ford Is Buried After Thousands in Hometown Pay Respects|work=The New York Times|date=January 4, 2007|access-date=October 16, 2009|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/04/washington/04ford.html|first=Monica|last=Davey|archive-date=June 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150605035320/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/04/washington/04ford.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Scouting was so important to Ford that his family asked for Scouts to participate in his funeral. A few selected Scouts served as ushers inside the National Cathedral. About 400 Eagle Scouts were part of the funeral procession, where they formed an honor guard as the casket went by in front of the museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0703/a-ford.html|title=Eagle Scout Welcome Gerald Ford Home|last=Ray|first=Mark|year=2007|publisher=Boy Scouts of America|website=Scouting Magazine|access-date=March 5, 2007|archive-date=June 26, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626152347/http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0703/a-ford.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

One of the songs selected by Ford during the procession was the University of Michigan fight song, as it was a favorite of his that he preferred to be played during his presidency.<ref>{{Cite news|url=
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/29/washington/29funeral.html|title=Ford Arranged His Funeral to Reflect Himself and Drew in a Former Adversary|last=Kornblut|first=Anne E.|date=December 29, 2006|work=The New York Times|location=New York|access-date=July 20, 2024}}</ref> After his death in December 2006, the [[University of Michigan Marching Band]] played the school's fight song for him one final time, for his last ride from the [[Gerald R. Ford Airport]] in Grand Rapids, Michigan.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eIEVAAAAIBAJ&pg=5206,309767|title=Funeral: Marching Band Plays in His Honor|date=January 3, 2007|work=Eugene Register-Guard|access-date=September 2, 2009}}{{Dead link|date=June 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The State of Michigan commissioned and submitted a [[Statue of Gerald Ford|statue of Ford]] to the [[National Statuary Hall Collection]], replacing [[Zachariah Chandler]]. It was unveiled on May 3, 2011, in the Capitol Rotunda.

==Personal life==
===Family===
Speaking of his stepfather and his mother, Ford said, "My stepfather was a magnificent person and my mother equally wonderful. So I couldn't have written a better prescription for a superb family upbringing."<ref name="kunhardt">{{cite book |last=Kunhardt |first=Phillip Jr. |url=http://www.americanpresident.org/history/geraldford/biography/resources/ArticlesCopy1/KunhardtFordBio.article.shtml |title=Gerald R. Ford "Healing the Nation" |pages=79–85 |publisher=Riverhead Books |location=New York |access-date=December 28, 2006 |year=1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060203074820/http://www.americanpresident.org/history/geraldford/biography/resources/ArticlesCopy1/KunhardtFordBio.article.shtml |archive-date=February 3, 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Ford had three younger half-siblings from the second marriage of his biological father, Leslie King Sr.: Marjorie King (1921–1993); Leslie Henry King (1923–1976); and Patricia Jane King (1925–1980). They never saw one another as children, and he did not know them at all until 1960. Ford was not aware of his biological father until he was 17, when his parents told him about the circumstances of his birth. That year, his biological father, whom Ford described as a "carefree, well-to-do man who didn't really give a damn about the hopes and dreams of his firstborn son", approached Ford while he was waiting tables in a Grand Rapids restaurant. The two "maintained a sporadic contact" until Leslie King Sr.'s death in 1941.<ref name="ford-Nebraska" /><ref>{{cite news|title=A Common Man on an Uncommon Climb|work=The New York Times|date=August 19, 1976|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/08/19/357031602.pdf|page=28|access-date=April 26, 2009|archive-date=September 24, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230924195011/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1976/08/19/357031602.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Gerald R. Ford, Jr., and Betty Ford following their marriage.jpg|thumb|alt=A man in a suit leads a flower-carrying woman by the hand, walking out of a chapel.|The Fords on their wedding day, October 15, 1948]]

On October 15, 1948, Ford married [[Elizabeth Bloomer]] (1918–2011) at Grace [[Episcopal Church in an United States of America|Episcopal church]] in Grand Rapids; it was his first and only marriage, and her second one. (Her previous marriage, to William Warren, lasted 5 years and ended in divorce.)<ref name=NYT1974Howard>{{cite news|first=Jane|last=Howard|author-link=Jane Howard (journalist)|title=The 38th First Lady: Not a Robot At All|work=The New York Times|date=December 8, 1974|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/12/08/archives/forward-day-by-day-the-38th-first-lady-not-a-robot-at-all-betty.html|via=The TimesMachine archive viewer|access-date=June 30, 2018|archive-date=June 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180607005442/https://www.nytimes.com/1974/12/08/archives/forward-day-by-day-the-38th-first-lady-not-a-robot-at-all-betty.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Bloomer, who was originally from Grand Rapids herself, had been living in New York City for several years, where she had been working as a [[John Robert Powers]] fashion model, and as a dancer in the auxiliary troupe of the [[Martha Graham]] Dance Company. At the time of their engagement, Ford was campaigning for what would be the first of his 13 terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. They delayed their wedding until shortly before the [[1948 United States House of Representatives elections|election]] because, as ''The New York Times'' reported in a 1974 profile of Betty Ford, "Jerry Ford was running for Congress and wasn't sure how voters might feel about his marrying a divorced exdancer."<ref name=NYT1974Howard/>

The couple had four children: Michael Gerald, born in 1950; John Gardner (known as Jack), born in 1952; [[Steven Ford|Steven Meigs]], born in 1956; and [[Susan Ford Bales|Susan Elizabeth]], born in 1957.<ref name="GF:FL">{{cite web| last=Greene| first=John Robert| title=Gerald Ford: Family Life| url=https://millercenter.org/president/ford/family-life| publisher=Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia| location=Charlottesville, Virginia| access-date=March 25, 2018| date=October 4, 2016| archive-date=March 26, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326064021/https://millercenter.org/president/ford/family-life| url-status=live}}</ref>

===Civic and fraternal organizations===
Ford was a member of several civic and fraternal organizations, including the [[United States Junior Chamber|Junior Chamber of Commerce]] (Jaycees), [[American Legion]], [[AMVETS]], [[Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks]], [[Sons of the Revolution]],<ref name="Ford">{{cite news|title = Gerald R. Ford 1913–2006|url = http://www.srcalifornia.com/Gerald_Ford.htm|publisher = Sons of the Revolution in the State of California|location = Van Nuys, Calif.|year = 2006|access-date = January 8, 2010|archive-date = October 6, 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081006154119/http://www.srcalifornia.com/Gerald_Ford.htm|url-status = live}}</ref> [[Veterans of Foreign Wars]], and was an alumnus of [[Delta Kappa Epsilon]] at Michigan.

====Freemasonry====
Ford was initiated into [[Freemasonry]] on September 30, 1949.<ref name="Scottish">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070112051723/http://www.scottishrite.org/ee.php The Supreme Council], Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, USA.</ref> He later said in 1975, "When I took my obligation as a master mason—incidentally, with my three younger brothers—I recalled the value my own father attached to that order. But I had no idea that I would ever be added to the company of the Father of our Country and 12 other members of the order who also served as Presidents of the United States."<ref name="UCSB">{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=5485 |title=Gerald Ford |website=The American Presidency Project |publisher=University of California – Santa Barbara |access-date=January 17, 2007 |archive-date=February 28, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070228222324/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=5485 |url-status=live }}</ref> Ford was made a 33° Scottish Rite Mason on September 26, 1962.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://masons.livejournal.com/357164.html|title=Masonic Record of Gerald Ford|first=Wayne|last=Brady|date=December 31, 2006|access-date=December 6, 2016|archive-date=May 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517162008/https://masons.livejournal.com/357164.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 1975, Ford was elected by a unanimous vote Honorary Grand Master of the International Supreme Council, Order of DeMolay, a position in which he served until January 1977.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mn-masons.org/masonic-history/famous-masons/masonic-american-presidents|title=Masonic American Presidents {{!}} The Grand Lodge of Minnesota|website=www.mn-masons.org|access-date=December 6, 2016|archive-date=March 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302090637/http://www.mn-masons.org/masonic-history/famous-masons/masonic-american-presidents|url-status=dead}}</ref> Ford received the degrees of York Rite Masonry (Chapter and Council degrees) in a special ceremony in the Oval Office on January 11, 1977, during his term as President of the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/diary/pdd770111.pdf|title=The Daily Diary of President Gerald R. Ford|last=Larson|first=Donna|date=January 11, 1977|website=Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library|access-date=December 6, 2016|archive-date=February 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210005020/https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/diary/pdd770111.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

Ford was also a member of the [[Shriners]] and the [[Royal Order of Jesters]]; both being [[Masonic bodies#Other affiliated bodies|affiliated bodies]] of Freemasonry.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McCraw |first1=William |last2=Galop |first2=Stephen |title=The Brother President |url=https://www.freemason.org/newsEvents/article.htm;jsessionid=8F8D4EC1C6FC253328DED8E573A2241C?id=1196 |website=www.freemason.org |publisher=Masons of California |access-date=June 9, 2020 |archive-date=June 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609174804/https://www.freemason.org/newsEvents/article.htm;jsessionid=8F8D4EC1C6FC253328DED8E573A2241C?id=1196 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Public image==
[[File:President George W. Bush, Former President Gerald Ford, and Betty Ford.jpg|thumb|alt=President Bush in a suit standing next to the Fords in casual attire in front of their yellow house.|President George W. Bush with Ford and his wife Betty on April 23, 2006]]

Ford is the only person to hold the presidential office without being elected as either president or vice president. The choice of Ford to fill the vacant vice-presidency was based on Ford's reputation for openness and honesty.<ref name=sacrifice>{{cite web|url=http://thephoenix.com/Boston/News/30916-Gerald-Ford-Bettys-husband/|title=Gerald Ford, Betty's Husband|access-date=December 4, 2009|publisher=The Phoenix Media/Communications Group|archive-date=May 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501082051/http://thephoenix.com/Boston/News/30916-Gerald-Ford-Bettys-husband/|url-status=live}}</ref> "In all the years I sat in the House, I never knew Mr. Ford to make a dishonest statement nor a statement part-true and part-false. He never attempted to shade a statement, and I never heard him utter an unkind word", said [[Martha Griffiths]].<ref name=publicimage />

According to the [[Gallup Organization]], Ford took office with the fourth-highest [[approval rating]] for a president following their inauguration, but the trust the American public had in him was rapidly and severely tarnished by the pardon of Nixon and his ratings fell an unprecedented 21 points.<ref name="ug554">Daniel, Clifton (October 13, 1974). [https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/13/archives/fords-gallup-rating-off-21-points-after-pardon-unexpected-wounds.html Ford's Gallup Rating Off 21 Points After Pardon]. The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2024.</ref><ref name=publicimage>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/presidents/gerald-r-ford-1451818.html|title=Gerald R Ford|access-date=December 2, 2009|work=The Independent|location=London|date=January 21, 2009|archive-date=July 17, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717041158/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/presidents/gerald-r-ford-1451818.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By January 1975, his disapproval rating had surpassed his approval rating.<ref name="53bbhp">Gallup, George (February 21, 1975). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-louis-post-dispatch-criticism-of-for/158197117/ Criticism of Ford Policies]. [[Gallup Organization]]. ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch''. Retrieved October 31, 2024.</ref>
In recent years, many grant in hindsight that Ford had respectably discharged with considerable dignity a great responsibility that he had not sought regarding the Nixon pardon.<ref name=publicimage />

In spite of his athletic record and remarkable career accomplishments, Ford acquired a reputation as a clumsy, likable, and simple-minded [[everyman]]. [[Henry Kissinger]] described him as "as close to a normal human being as we'll ever get in that office".<ref>{{cite web |title=Differences in Policy between Nixon and Ford Administrations |url=https://history.state.gov/conferences/2007-detente/roundtable6 |website=history.state.gov|publisher=[[Office of the Historian]] |access-date=September 16, 2024 |date=October 22, 2007 |archive-date=December 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206220522/https://history.state.gov/conferences/2007-detente/roundtable6 |url-status=live }}</ref> Other pieces of the everyman image were attributed to his inevitable comparison with Nixon, his Midwestern stodginess, and his self-deprecation.<ref name=sacrifice />

An incident in 1975, when Ford tripped while exiting Air Force One in Austria, was famously and repeatedly parodied by [[Chevy Chase]] on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', cementing Ford's image as a klutz.<ref name=publicimage /><ref>{{cite news |first=Coyle |last=Jake |title={{-'}}SNL' returns with spotlight on prez impersonators |url=http://www.theinsider.com/news/1185909__SNL_returns_with_spotlight_on_prez_impersonators |publisher=CBS Interactive Inc. |date=September 12, 2008 |access-date=September 16, 2008 |archive-date=October 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012191543/http://www.theinsider.com/news/1185909__SNL_returns_with_spotlight_on_prez_impersonators |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Chevy Chase recalls Ford as 'a terrific guy': 'SNL' comedian became famous in the 1970s portraying president as klutz |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/chevy-chase-recalls-ford-terrific-guy-wbna16370028 |publisher=Today.com |date=December 27, 2006 |access-date=September 16, 2008 |archive-date=February 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212042421/http://www.today.com/popculture/chevy-chase-recalls-ford-terrific-guy-wbna16370028 |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, an incident in April 1976, when Ford bit into a still shuck-wrapped tamale, a culinary faux pas, made national news and contributed to the image of Ford as a chronic bumbler.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chandler |first1=Adam |title=A Briefing on the Eating of Tamales |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2015/02/a-briefing-on-the-eating-of-tamales/385196/ |website=The Atlantic |access-date=September 29, 2024 |date=February 5, 2015}}</ref> The incident has become a cautionary tale about the hazards of eating on the campaign trail.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lenz |first1=Lyz |title=Eating While Politicking Is Harder Than It's Ever Been. Here's Why. |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/09/03/a-guide-to-eating-on-the-campaign-trail-00053947 |access-date=September 29, 2024 |publisher=Politico Magazine |date=September 3, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Food Fails: The Presidential Edition |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/07/26/dining/food-fails-presidential-edition.html |access-date=September 29, 2024 |work=New York Times |date=July 26, 2016}}</ref>

Ford has notably been portrayed in two television productions which included a central focus on his wife: the [[Emmy Awards|Emmy]]-winning 1987 [[American Broadcasting System|ABC]] [[Biographical film|biographical]] [[television movie]] ''[[The Betty Ford Story]]'',<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pearl |first1=Diana |title=White House Couples That Have Been Portrayed on Screen |url=https://people.com/awards/white-house-first-couples-in-movies-tv/?slide=5628307#5628307 |website=People |access-date=May 15, 2022 |language=en |date=February 21, 2017 |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515212304/https://people.com/awards/white-house-first-couples-in-movies-tv/?slide=5628307#5628307 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the 2022 [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] television series ''[[The First Lady (American TV series)|The First Lady]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Otterson |first1=Joe |title=Aaron Eckhart to Play Gerald Ford in Showtime Series 'The First Lady' |url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/the-first-lady-showtime-aaron-eckhart-gerald-ford-1234908497/#! |website=Variety |access-date=May 15, 2022 |date=February 16, 2021 |archive-date=May 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220515213001/https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/the-first-lady-showtime-aaron-eckhart-gerald-ford-1234908497/#! |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Clear}}

==Honors==
===Foreign honors===
* {{flag|Estonia}}:
 [[File:EST Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana - 1st Class BAR.svg|70px]] First Class of the [[Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana]] (January 7, 1997)
* Ford received the [[Distinguished Eagle Scout Award]] in May 1970, as well as the [[Silver Buffalo Award]], from the Boy Scouts of America.
* In 1974, he also received the highest distinction of the [[Scout Association of Japan]], the [[Golden Pheasant Award]].<ref name="reinanzaka">{{Cite web |date=May 23, 2014|script-title=ja:䝪䞊䜲䝇䜹䜴䝖日本連盟 きじ章受章者 |trans-title=Recipient of the Golden Pheasant Award of the Scout Association of Japan |url=http://reinanzaka-sc.o.oo7.jp/kiroku/documents/20140523-3-kiji-list.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811030258/http://reinanzaka-sc.o.oo7.jp/kiroku/documents/20140523-3-kiji-list.pdf |archive-date=August 11, 2020 |website=Reinanzaka Scout Club| language=ja}}</ref> In 1985, he received the 1985 [[Old Tom Morris Award]] from the [[Golf Course Superintendents Association of America]], GCSAA's highest honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gcsaa.org/_common/templates/GcsaaSubNavigationLayout.aspx?id=333|title=Old Tom Morris Award Recipients|publisher=Golf Course Superintendents Association of America|access-date=September 28, 2011|archive-date=November 12, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112194915/http://www.gcsaa.org/_common/templates/GcsaaSubNavigationLayout.aspx?id=333|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1992, the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation awarded Ford its Lone Sailor Award for his naval service and his subsequent government service. In 1999, Ford was honored with a Golden Palm Star on the [[Palm Springs Walk of Stars]].<ref name="palmspringswalkofstars.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars%20by%20date/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date%201.pdf|title=Palm Springs Walk of Stars: By Date Dedicated|access-date=December 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419040234/http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars%20by%20date/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date%201.pdf|archive-date=April 19, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Also in 1999, Ford was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by Bill Clinton.<ref name="mof">{{cite web|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/special/medal-of-freedom.html|title=Politicians Who Received the Medal of Freedom|publisher=The Political Graveyard|access-date=December 31, 2006|archive-date=March 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210319015918/http://politicalgraveyard.com/special/medal-of-freedom.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2001, he was presented with the John F. Kennedy [[Profiles in Courage Award]] for his decision to pardon Richard Nixon to stop the agony America was experiencing over Watergate.<ref name="jfkpic">{{cite web|url=http://www.jfklibrary.org/Education+and+Public+Programs/Profile+in+Courage+Award/Award+Recipients/Gerald+Ford/|title=Gerald Ford|year=2001|publisher=John F. Kennedy Library Foundation|access-date=December 31, 2006|archive-date=January 6, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106210918/http://www.jfklibrary.org/Education+and+Public+Programs/Profile+in+Courage+Award/Award+Recipients/Gerald+Ford/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The following are named after Ford:
* The [[Ford House Office Building]] in the U.S. Capitol Complex, formerly House Annex 2.
* [[Interstate 480 (Iowa-Nebraska)|Gerald R. Ford Freeway]] (Nebraska)
* [[Interstate 196|Gerald R. Ford Freeway]] (Michigan)
* Gerald Ford Memorial Highway, [[Interstate 70|I-70]] in [[Eagle County, Colorado]]
* [[Gerald R. Ford International Airport]] in Grand Rapids, Michigan
* [[Gerald R. Ford Library]] in Ann Arbor, Michigan
* [[Gerald R. Ford Museum]] in Grand Rapids, Michigan
* [[Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy]], University of Michigan
* Gerald R. Ford Institute of Public Policy, Albion College
* [[USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)|USS ''Gerald R. Ford'' (CVN-78)]]
* Gerald R. Ford Middle School, Grand Rapids, Michigan<ref>{{cite web |url=http://grpublicschools.org/grps1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=652&Itemid=345&lang=en |title=Gerald R. Ford Middle School, Grand Rapids Public Schools |publisher=grpublicschools.org |access-date=February 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201220638/http://grpublicschools.org/grps1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=652&Itemid=345&lang=en |archive-date=February 1, 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* President Gerald R. Ford Park in [[Alexandria, Virginia]], located in the neighborhood where Ford<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.alexandriava.gov/historic/info/default.aspx?id=29392|title=Gerald Ford in Alexandria|language=en-US|access-date=January 28, 2018|archive-date=January 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128190555/https://www.alexandriava.gov/historic/info/default.aspx?id=29392|url-status=dead}}</ref> lived while serving as a Representative and Vice President
* President Ford Field Service Council, [[Boy Scouts of America]] The council where he was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout. Serves 25 counties in Western and Northern Michigan with its headquarters located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bsagrfc.org/ |title=President Ford Field Service Council, Boy Scouts of America |publisher=michiganscouting.org |access-date=September 11, 2010 |archive-date=September 18, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918053243/http://bsagrfc.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of Freemasons]]
* [[List of members of the American Legion]]
* [[List of presidents of the United States]]
* [[List of presidents of the United States by previous experience]]
* [[Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Further|Presidency of Gerald Ford#Further reading|Foreign policy of the Gerald Ford administration#Bibliography}}
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last=Brinkley|first=Douglas|year=2007|title=Gerald R. Ford|isbn=978-0-8050-6909-9|location=New York, New York|url=https://archive.org/details/geraldrford0000brin_o0c0}} short biography
* Cannon, James. ''Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life'' (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2013) 482 pp. official biography by a member of the Ford administration
 {{cite book|last=Cannon|first=James|year=1993|title=Time and Chance: Gerald R. Ford's Appointment with History|isbn=978-0-472-08482-1|publisher=University of Michigan Press|location=Ann Arbor}} older full-scale biography
* Congressional Quarterly. ''President Ford: the man and his record'' (1974) [https://archive.org/details/presidentfordman0000cong online]
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Firestone|editor1-first=Bernard J.|editor2-last=Ugrinsky|editor2-first=Alexej|year=1992|title=Gerald R. Ford and the Politics of Post-Watergate America|isbn=978-0-313-28009-2|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Conn.}}
* [[John Robert Greene]]. The Limits of Power: The Nixon and Ford Administrations. {{ISBN|978-0-253-32637-9}}. Indiana University Press, 1992.
* [[John Robert Greene]]. The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford. {{ISBN|978-0-7006-0639-9}}. University Press of Kansas, 1995. the major scholarly study
* Hersey, John Richard. The President: A Minute-By-Minute Account of a Week in the Life of Gerald Ford. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1975.
* Hult, Karen M. and Walcott, Charles E. ''Empowering the White House: Governance under Nixon, Ford, and Carter''. University Press of Kansas, 2004.
* Jespersen, T. Christopher. "Kissinger, Ford, and Congress: the Very Bitter End in Vietnam". ''Pacific Historical Review'' 2002 71#3: 439–473. [http://www.flagrancy.net/salvage/vietnam-jespersen.pdf Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801022619/http://www.flagrancy.net/salvage/vietnam-jespersen.pdf |date=August 1, 2020 }}
* Jespersen, T. Christopher. "The Bitter End and the Lost Chance in Vietnam: Congress, the Ford Administration, and the Battle over Vietnam, 1975–76". ''Diplomatic History'' 2000 24#2: 265–293. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/24913801 Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126035836/https://www.jstor.org/stable/24913801 |date=January 26, 2020 }}
* {{cite book|last=Kaufman|first=Scott|year=2017|title=Ambition, Pragmatism, and Party: A Political Biography of Gerald R. Ford|isbn=978-0-7006-2500-0|publisher=University Press of Kansas|location=Lawrence, Kansas}} latest full-scale biography
* Parmet, Herbert S. "Gerald R. Ford" in Henry F Graff ed., ''The Presidents: A Reference History'' (3rd ed. 2002); short scholarly overview
* Randolph, Sallie G. ''Gerald R. Ford, president'' (1987) [https://archive.org/details/geraldrfordpresi00rand online]; for secondary schools
* Schoenebaum, Eleanora. ''Political Profiles: The Nixon/Ford years'' (1979) [https://archive.org/details/nixonfordyears00fact online], short biographies of over 500 political and national leaders.
* Smith, Richard Norton. ''An Ordinary Man: The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford'' (Harper, 2023)
* Williams, Daniel K. ''The Election of the Evangelical: Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and the Presidential Contest of 1976'' (University Press of Kansas, 2020) [http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55955 online review] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820141336/https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55955 |date=August 20, 2021 }}
{{Refend}}

===Primary sources===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book|last=Ford|first=Gerald|title=Presidential Perspectives from the National Archives|publisher=National Archives and Records Administration|year=1994|isbn=978-1-880875-04-9|location=Washington, District of Columbia}}
* {{cite book|last=Ford|first=Gerald|title=Humor and the Presidency|publisher=Arbor House|year=1987|isbn=978-0-87795-918-2|location=New York|url=https://archive.org/details/humorpresidency00ford}}
* {{cite book|last=Ford|first=Gerald|title=A Time to Heal: The Autobiography of Gerald R. Ford|publisher=Harper & Row|year=1979|isbn=978-0-06-011297-4|location=New York, New York}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.shapell.org/Collection/Presidents/Ford-Gerald-R|title=Gerald Ford Presidential Autograph Letters|publisher=Shapell Manuscript Foundation|access-date=August 25, 2019|website=SMF|archive-date=October 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029191702/http://www.shapell.org/collection/Presidents/Ford-Gerald-R|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Ford|first=Gerald|title=Selected Speeches|publisher=R. W. Beatty|year=1973|isbn=978-0-87948-029-5|location=Arlington, Va.|url=https://archive.org/details/selectedspeeches00ford}}
* {{cite book|last=Ford|first=Gerald|title=Portrait of the assassin (Lee Harvey Oswald)|url=https://archive.org/details/portraitofassass00ford|url-access=registration|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1965|isbn=978-1-121-97551-4|location=New York, New York}}
* {{cite book|last=Ford|first=Betty|title=The Times of My Life|publisher=Harper & Row|year=1978|isbn=978-0-06-011298-1|location=New York}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Thompson|editor-first=Kenneth|title=The Ford Presidency: Twenty-Two Intimate Perspectives of Gerald Ford|publisher=University Press of America|year=1980|isbn=978-0-8191-6960-0|location=Lanham}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links |wikt=Ford |b=no |n=yes |s=Author:Gerald Ford |v=no}}
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* <!--
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* [http://www.ontheissues.org/Gerald_Ford.htm Issue positions and quotes] at [[On the Issues]]
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===Official sites===
* [http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/ Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum]
* [http://geraldrfordfoundation.org/ Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation]

===Media coverage===
* {{NYTtopic|people/f/gerald_rudolph_jr_ford}}
* {{C-SPAN|1560}}
 [http://www.c-span.org/video/?151634-1/life-portrait-gerald-r-ford "Life Portrait of Gerald R. Ford"], from [[C-SPAN]]'s ''[[American Presidents: Life Portraits]]'', November 22, 1999

===Other===
* {{CongBio|F000260}}
* [https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/presidents/ford/index.html Gerald Ford: A Resource Guide] from the Library of Congress.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070527181420/http://www.millercenter.virginia.edu/index.php/academic/americanpresident/ford Essays on Gerald Ford, each member of his cabinet and First Lady] from the [[Miller Center of Public Affairs]]
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Gerald Rudolph Ford}}
* {{Librivox author |id=11303}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{Gutenberg author|id=1669}}

{{Gerald Ford}}
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