Overview
- Vice President JD Vance, who spoke at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda on Thursday, June 25, 2026, said that if Watergate happened today it would be 'like a 12-hour news story' and called the idea that it would topple a presidency 'crazy.'
- Vance argued that the same 'deep state' institutions that targeted Nixon also tried to target President Trump, using that comparison to link past and present attacks on Republican leaders.
- At the book-event promoting his memoir Communion, Vance compared elements of his own career to Nixon's—citing bestselling books, media hostility, and a rapid rise in office—as part of a broader effort to shape his public image.
- The comments drew swift online mockery and broad coverage across outlets that framed the remarks differently, with conservative outlets emphasizing Vance’s praise and context for his faith tour and liberal outlets highlighting the minimization of Watergate.
- Watergate led to Nixon's 1974 resignation and is treated by historians as a major constitutional crisis, so Vance's reframing could heighten debate about accountability and is likely to sharpen speculation about whether he will run for president after he says he will decide following the midterm elections.