After Nixon resigned in 1974, the immediate question was what punishment would he face, if any. The new President, Gerald Ford, Nixon's former Vice President, gave Nixon a complete Pardon. This move was very controversial, and many people disagreed with this decision. (60) A direct excerpt from Ford's speech where he granted Nixon a pardon: "We would needlessly be diverted from meeting those challenges if we as a people were to remain sharply divided over whether to indict, bring to trial, and punish a former President, who already is condemned to suffer long and deeply in the shame and disgrace brought upon the office he held. Surely, we are not a revengeful people. We have often demonstrated a readiness to feel compassion and to act out of mercy. As a people we have a long record of forgiving even those who have been our country’s most destructive foes. Yet, to forgive is not to forget the lessons of evil in whatever ways evil has operated against us. And certainly the pardon granted the former President will not cause us to forget the evils of Watergate-type offenses or to forget the lessons we have learned that a government which deceives its supporters and treats its opponents as enemies must never, never be tolerated." (61) Ford felt that Nixon had already been through so much, that it was fair to Pardon him. He talks about forgiving and about giving people second chances, while also saying that Watergate was wrong and events like that will not be tolerated. The decision to give Nixon a pardon was very controversial and had negative consequences. Critics claimed that Ford's pardon was granted in exchange for Nixon's resignation, which made Ford the President. Other reports state that one of the main reasons that he granted the pardon was because of the great friendship that he and Nixon shared. Whatever the reason, this was a very controversial decision that is still debated today. Nixon appeared apologetic for his actions, saying "Looking back on what is still in my mind a complex and confusing maze of events, decisions, pressures and personalities, one thing I can see clearly now is that I was wrong in not acting more decisively and more forthrightly in dealing with Watergate, particularly when it reached the stage of judicial proceedings and grew from a political scandal into a national tragedy." (62)