Elvis Presley's photo with Richard Nixon is one of the most requested at the National Archives

Elvis Presley arranged a meeting with President Richard Nixon in 1970 despite being once considered a threat to American decency. Presley addressed the president while dressing in a striking purple velvet outfit and assured him, "I'm on your side". Elvis also received a commemorative badge from the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs thanks to Nixon's arrangement, given that Elvis was a collector of police insignia.

He arrived with a letter explaining his motivations to the President. The 35-year-old singer wrote in the letter: "I have done an in-depth study of drug abuse and Communist brainwashing techniques and I am right in the middle of the whole thing where I can and will do the most good.” He also noted that since young people see him as one of them, he is the ideal candidate to aid in the fight against illicit drugs.

In her memoir, Priscilla Presley, who was then Elvis Presley's wife, stated that "The badge represented some kind of ultimate power to him." The U.S. National Archives acknowledged in 2015 that there are more requests for copies of the image of Elvis and Nixon shaking hands than any other in its collection coming from the public.