Hillary Clinton schools JD Vance over Watergate remarks: ‘Maybe he doesn't know this history'

WASHINGTON, DC: Hillary Clinton accused JD Vance of getting his history wrong as he claimed that the era-defining Watergate scandal wouldn't have lasted more than a single news cycle in the current media landscape.

The 41-year-old vice president was promoting his new book at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda on Thursday, June 25, when he claimed that the idea that the Watergate scandal led to former President Nixon's resignation in 1974 “is crazy.” 

Vance went on to say he had "always liked" Richard Nixon before drawing parallels between the former president's downfall and what he described as "deep state" efforts to undermine President Donald Trump.

"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.

Hillary Clinton takes a dig at JD Vance's grasp of history

The former secretary of state fired back at Vance, questioning both his understanding of history and his administration's record on book bans.

"Maybe Vance doesn't know this history because it's in one of the books his administration banned," she wrote on X (formerly Twitter), responding to a New York Times report.

Clinton's second criticism broadened beyond Vance, drawing a stark comparison between Republicans who confronted Watergate and the party's current generation of lawmakers.

"The difference between Watergate and now is that back then, Republicans actually did something about a law-breaking president," Clinton wrote. "Today, they only roll over for their cult leader."

The reference points to the bipartisan reckoning that followed the Watergate break-in, when Republican leaders ultimately pressed Nixon toward resignation rather than defend him through impeachment proceedings.

Hillary Clinton mocks push for Trump $250 bill

The former presidential candidate’s mockery of JD Vance came after she took a swing at the current administration over a reported push for Trump to be on a $250 bill.

The Washington Post reported last month that administration officials had pushed the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to design a $250 bill featuring Trump's portrait, citing four current and former agency employees.

Clinton quickly mocked the report in a post on X that highlighted rising costs.

“By the end of Trump’s term, it’ll be just enough to buy one gallon of gas and a carton of eggs,” she said in her post, referencing the reported $250 worth of the bill.

In March, the Treasury Department announced it would add Trump’s signature to paper currency to commemorate America's 250th birthday, marking the first time a sitting president’s signature is set to appear on currency

“There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than U.S. dollar bills bearing his name, and it is only appropriate that this historic currency be issued at the Semiquincentennial,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a prior statement.