He wasn’t actually elected to the office of vice president or president

Nixon had the authority to name a successor according to the 25th Amendment of the Constitution when Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned in the late 1970s after pleading no contest to tax evasion. He picked Ford, who would go on to become the first vice president appointed in accordance with the terms of the amendment following a comprehensive background investigation by the FBI and approval by the Senate and House. Ford was sworn in on December 6, 1973, although he would only hold the position of vice president for nine months until the complicated Watergate affair forced Nixon to step down as the first president in history.

The U.S. economy was in shambles, there was a rising global oil deficit, and the country had just gone through a protracted scandal that had tarnished the top levels of its leadership when Ford assumed the presidency. In a memorable inaugural address, Ford declared that “Our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works,” and urged Americans to join together to bind the wounds of Watergate.