Speaking at the Richard Nixon presidential library in Yorba Linda, California, on Thursday, Vice-president JD Vance declared that the Watergate scandal would not have lasted more than a single news cycle in today's fragmented, hyper-partisan political environment. "If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be a 12-hour news story," Vance said during a discussion promoting his new book, Communion. "The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy."
Parallels Between Nixon and Trump
Vance continued: "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. There is a parallel." Watergate, the biggest US political scandal of the 20th century and the only one to cause a presidential resignation, began in 1972 with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters by operatives connected to Nixon's re-election campaign. Trump was impeached twice during his first term: first for allegedly pressuring Ukraine's president to investigate Joe Biden, and second for inciting the January 6 Capitol riot.
Vance's Admiration for Nixon
Vance described Nixon as a "political genius" with whom he shares many traits: "Young senator. Vice-president. Writes some bestselling books. Is hated by the media. It kind of sounds like JD Vance." He argued that Nixon's legacy is "enjoying a bit of a renaissance," with more attention on his diplomatic achievements in ending the Vietnam War and opening relations with China. Vance, widely viewed as a 2028 White House hopeful, omitted the role Nixon is most famous for: president. Trump, the 45th and 47th president, has previously claimed that Nixon "may" have been guilty. Nixon resigned in his second term to avoid almost certain impeachment and removal from office.
