Vance compares – Speaking at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California, Vice President JD Vance said Watergate would have been only a short news story today and drew parallels between President Richard Nixon’s downfall and President Donald Trump’s first
Vice President JD Vance didn’t start with Watergate. He started with Richard Nixon.
On Thursday. during a conversation at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda. California. Vance looked back at the scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon and said it would not have had the same power in today’s news cycle. He promoted his new book. “Communion. ” after shifting from talk of the book and his faith journey to the legacy of the 37th president.
Vance said Nixon’s legacy is “enjoying a bit of a renaissance.” Then he pressed the point that Watergate, if it happened tomorrow, would barely dent a presidency.
“If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story. The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy,” Vance said.
From there, his remarks narrowed into a comparison—one built around a single idea. Vance said that the story of how the “deep state” took down Richard Nixon is “not all that different” from how similar forces tried to go after President Donald Trump in the first Trump administration.
He framed it as a shared target and a shared strategy: “the same groups of people, the same institutions tried to do to Donald Trump in the first Trump administration.”
The setting mattered as much as the message. Vance spoke at a library dedicated to Nixon. in Yorba Linda. California. and he did it while also being widely seen as a presidential contender in 2028. For now. his argument wasn’t just about history—it was about what he believes is repeating in the present. with the central claim anchored in his comparison between Nixon’s downfall and Trump’s early fight.
JD Vance Watergate Richard Nixon Donald Trump deep state Communion Yorba Linda Nixon Presidential Library
Deep state again 🙄
I mean he’s not wrong that the news cycle is insane now. But comparing Watergate to Trump is like… totally different situations. Also 12-hour news story? That feels like a reach.
Wait, so he’s saying Nixon would’ve survived if it happened today? That’s kind of wild because people still get held accountable, right? And the “deep state” part is always the same song. I don’t even know what to believe anymore half the time.
The fact he’s promoting his book at the Nixon library is pretty on the nose. Like he wants you to connect the dots but then just calls it “the deep state” so nobody has to prove anything. Watergate was real crimes and hearings and stuff, not just vibes. If it was “12 hours” then why do we still talk about it? Kinda seems like he’s rewriting history to sell his whole narrative.