Vance stated that Nixon's Watergate would not end a presidency in our day
Kyiv • UNN
U.S. Vice President JD Vance stated that the Watergate scandal would hardly topple a presidency in the modern political environment. He drew parallels between Nixon and Trump, calling them targets of the "deep state."
U.S. Vice President JD Vance called it "madness" that the Watergate scandal brought down the presidency of Richard Nixon, saying it would hardly be noticed in today's political environment, UNN reports citing Bloomberg.
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During a presentation of his new book at the Nixon Presidential Library in California, Vance said he had "always liked" the former president, who resigned under the pressure of the scandal. He drew parallels between Nixon and U.S. President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican who was impeached twice during his first term, saying they were both targets of "deep state" forces.
If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story. The idea that it would bring down a presidency is madness
Watergate was one of the biggest political scandals in American history. In 1972, five men hired by Nixon's campaign committee were arrested in Washington during a break-in at the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee for the purpose of surveilling the office.
The ensuing investigations eventually consumed Nixon's presidency, and he resigned in August 1974 rather than face impeachment. The saga deeply undermined Americans' trust in the government.
"If you look at the story of how the deep state brought down Richard Nixon, it's not that different from what the same groups of people, the same institutions tried to do to Donald Trump in the first Trump administration," Vance said.
Vance, who entered politics by successfully running for the Senate in Ohio and is expected to run for U.S. president in 2028, said he shares several traits with Nixon "on a personal level."
"A young senator, vice president, author of several bestsellers, hated by the media. That sounds a bit like JD Vance," Vance said.
Nixon was a U.S. senator from California and then vice president under Dwight Eisenhower before being elected president in 1968.