What if Richard Nixon had stayed in office to await impeachment how would the trial have affected things and what kind of butterflies would occur
In real time on August 9, 1974, President Ford, moments after taking the oath of office had said "that our national nightmare was over".
By Nixon refusing to resign and the trial of impeachment happening, we would never be in a position to heal as a nation.
With the trial over, let us say in early or mid 1975 and Nixon declared guilty, Gerald Ford would still become president and would echo those same words ... that "our national nightmare is over" but with the time that has passed and the trial of Richard Nixon dragging the country further down ... Ford would have a much harder time uniting the country after that. And he would have to distance himself from Nixon, in every way, meaning NO PARDON given whatsoever to the former president. But nothing will help Ford politically.
The democractic nominee in 1976, whoever he may be (Carter can still be a possibility) would defeat President Ford even more handily than real time.