Vice President JD Vance told an audience at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California, that one of America's most consequential political scandals would barely register in the modern news cycle, leveling harsh criticism at institutions he says brought down the 37th president and targeted his political ally Donald Trump.
Speaking Thursday while promoting his book Communion, Vance declared that Watergate, which forced Nixon's resignation in 1974, would amount to nothing more than a brief blip in today's fractured media environment. "If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be a 12-hour news story," Vance said. "The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy."
Vance went further, drawing explicit parallels between the scandal that toppled Nixon and the impeachments Trump faced during his first presidency. He argued that the same government forces responsible for Nixon's downfall orchestrated efforts against Trump, framing both as victims of establishment overreach.
"If you look at the story of how the deep state took down Richard Nixon, it's not all that different from what the same groups of people the same institutions tried to do to Donald Trump in the first administration," Vance said. "There is a parallel."
The Watergate scandal began in 1972 when operatives connected to Nixon's reelection campaign broke into Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington. The subsequent investigation ultimately forced the president's resignation to avoid almost certain impeachment and removal.
Trump was impeached twice during his initial term: first for pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden while withholding military aid, and again for stoking supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6. Both impeachment efforts proved unsuccessful in removing him from office.
Vance's remarks reflect a broader effort by Trump allies to rehabilitate Nixon's historical reputation and reshape public understanding of Watergate as a cautionary tale about government overreach rather than presidential accountability. Trump himself has previously suggested Nixon may have been guilty while hinting at unfair treatment.
During his Yorba Linda appearance, Vance praised Nixon's diplomatic achievements, particularly the opening of relations with China and the drawing down of American involvement in Vietnam. He characterized Nixon as a "political genius" and highlighted biographical similarities between the former president and himself: early political career, service as vice president, successful authorship, and antagonistic relationships with the media.
"Young senator. Vice-president. Writes some bestselling books. Is hated by the media," Vance said. "It kind of sounds like JD Vance."
The comparison conspicuously omitted the office for which Nixon remains most recognized: the presidency itself. Vance is widely viewed as a potential contender for the 2028 White House race.
Author James Rodriguez: "Vance is essentially arguing that modern tribalism has hollowed out institutional checks on power, which is a real observation about the media landscape, but it's hard to square with his effort to rehabilitate a president who actually broke the law and got caught."
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