JD Vance claims Watergate would not bring down a president today: 'It would be a 12-hour news story'

WASHINGTON, DC: Vice President JD Vance argued on Thursday, June 24, that the Watergate scandal would not have brought down a president in today's political and media environment, saying it would have been little more than a "12-hour news story."

Speaking at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California, while promoting his new book Communion, Vance also drew parallels between the treatment of former President Richard Nixon and President Donald Trump. 

Vance says Watergate would not have ended a presidency today

Reflecting on the scandal, Vance argued that modern politics and today's media cycle would have produced a different outcome. "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 went on to compare Nixon's political struggles with those faced by Trump during his first administration. "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 Trump in the first administration. There is a parallel."

The vice president also praised Nixon's foreign policy record, saying the 37th president's legacy was "enjoying a bit of a renaissance," particularly for opening relations with China and ending the Vietnam War. He jokingly compared his own political path to Nixon's. 

"Young senator. Vice-president. Writes some bestselling books. Is hated by the media," Vance said. "It kind of sounds like JD Vance."

Watergate, which began with the 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and ultimately exposed a White House cover-up, led to Nixon becoming the only US president to resign while facing near-certain impeachment. 

Historians dispute comparison as Newsom mocks remarks

Vance's assessment drew immediate criticism from historians, who argued that Watergate extended far beyond the initial break-in and exposed extensive abuses of presidential power.

Timothy Naftali, a presidential historian at Columbia University and former director of the Nixon Library, said the historical record overwhelmingly supported the conclusions reached during the Watergate investigations.

"You can hear him suborn perjury on the tapes," Naftali said, referring to Nixon's recorded Oval Office conversations. "It's not as if it's a matter of partisan interpretation. The evidence is overwhelming." Naftali argued that the scandal revealed repeated efforts to obstruct justice and misuse presidential authority, making comparisons based solely on today's news cycle incomplete.

California Governor Gavin Newsom also reacted in a post on X, stating, "JD is picking up some 'lessons' from the Nixon Library today."

Watergate remains one of the defining political scandals in American history. The investigation uncovered a campaign of political espionage and a White House effort to conceal its involvement, ultimately leading Nixon to resign in August 1974 before the House could complete impeachment proceedings. The scandal also prompted sweeping reforms intended to strengthen government oversight and presidential accountability.