President Gerald Ford's approval rating dropped from 71% to 50% immediately after he pardoned Richard Nixon in 1974, and historians believe the controversy cost Ford the 1976 election.

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Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon on September 8, 1974, granting "a full, free, and absolute pardon" for any crimes Nixon might have committed as president. Ford's approval rating plummeted from 71% to 50% immediately after the pardon, then fell further to 37% by early 1975. The pardon generated massive controversy—Americans favored prosecuting Nixon over pardoning him by 58% to 38%, and newspapers called it "profoundly unwise" and "unjust." Ford became the first sitting president to testify before the House of Representatives since Lincoln to deny allegations of a secret deal with Nixon. Ford himself agreed that the pardon controversy was a major reason he lost the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter. Decades later, opinions shifted—by 1986, 54% of Americans approved of the pardon.

President Gerald Ford's approval rating dropped from 71% to 50% immediately after he pardoned Richard Nixon in 1974, and historians believe the controversy cost Ford the 1976 election.

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