JD Vance says it was crazy that watergate took down Richard Nixon, it would be a 12 hour news story today
The US vice-president shared his admiration for the 37th president, who he said 'kind of sounds like JD Vance'
JD Vance has said he does not believe a scandal as groundbreaking as Watergate would have lasted longer than 12 hours in the current news cycle – and definitely would not have taken down the president.
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Discussing his new book at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California, on Thursday, Vance spoke about his spiritual journey from atheism to Catholicism before expressing his admiration for the 37th president.
“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.”
Watergate, known as the biggest political scandal of the 20th century, began in 1972 when operatives connected to Nixon’s re-election campaign were caught breaking in and planting spyware at the Democratic National Committee headquarters.
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Nixon’s subsequent, illegal attempts to cover up his administration’s involvement resulted in his resignation in 1974 to avoid impeachment.
The shockwaves from Watergate resulted in multiple reforms intended to impose checks and balances on the president, including greater autonomy for government watchdogs, such as inspectors general, which Trump has been gradually rolling back.
Vance went on: “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.”
During Trump’s first term, he faced two impeachment attempts.
The first followed allegations that he was using his power to push Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Biden, whilst threatening to withhold military aid.
The second came after his involvement in the US Capitol riots on January 6 following his election defeat.
Vance mentioned that Nixon’s legacy was “enjoying a bit of a renaissance”, and added that he was a “political genius” with whom he shared many qualities.
“Young senator. Vice-president. Writes some bestselling books. Is hated by the media,” Vance said. “It kind of sounds like JD Vance.”