JD Vance says Watergate would have been a '12-hour news story' today
During a talk at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in California, Vice President JD Vance said that the Watergate scandal, which led to former President Nixon's resignation in 1974, would have been a "12-hour news story" in today's media environment.
Vance's appearance with the Richard Nixon Foundation on June 26 came as the vice president was promoting his new book, "Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith," which explores his conversion from Protestantism to Catholicism in the summer of 2019.
"The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy," Vance said in reference to Watergate.
Nixon resigned from the presidency in 1974 after the Washington Post revealed that his administration and reelection campaign were involved in a plot to spy and gather information about Democratic candidates ahead of the 1972 election. Nixon then inserted himself into an obstruction of justice case by talking with an aide about blocking the FBI investigation, which eventually led to an impeachment inquiry by the House of Representatives and his eventual resignation.
Vance continued, saying he "always liked" Nixon, and went on to draw parallels between the former president and "deep state" actors he said were trying to take down his boss, 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.
During the same conversation, Vance went on to compare himself with Nixon, saying that he and the former president shared some similarities.
"Young senator, vice president, writes some bestselling books, is hated by the media," Vance said. "Kind of sounds like JD Vance."
Is JD Vance running for president?
As of now, Vance has not formally announced his intention to run for president in 2028.
Trump has also so far declined to name Vance to be his successor in 2028. During an event on May 11, Trump said Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio – another potential White House hopeful – would make a "perfect ticket" for a run in the next presidential election.
"I do believe that's a dream team, but these are minor details. That does not mean you have my endorsement under any circumstances," Trump said. "I think it sounds like presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate."
What happened during Watergate?
The Watergate scandal began in the early morning of June 17, 1972, when a night guard at a Washington, DC, hotel and office complex was making his rounds and noticed a suspiciously taped-open exit door, according to the FBI.
From there, the scandal unfolded, as then-Acting FBI Director L. Patrick Gray was notified about the break-in at the Democratic National Committee's headquarters. Through the teletype sent on the day of the incident, Gray learned that one of those arrested was the security officer for the committee to re-elect then-President Nixon.
Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were able to connect the dots between the Watergate burglars. At first, their stories received little attention, and Nixon was reelected in November 1972.
However, as evidence continued to pile up, the duo's reporting laid bare a conspiracy involving "break-ins, political dirty tricks, laundered money, illegal spying, and obstruction of justice," according to Investigative Impact.
"Nixon had turned his White House, to a remarkable extent, into a criminal enterprise," Bernstein and Woodward later wrote in 2012.
One of the primary sources for the journalists was code-named "Deep Throat," who, years later, would be revealed as Mark Felt, a top FBI official during the scandal, per Investigative Impact. Felt initially denied being the secret source during an appearance on "Face the Nation" in August 1976; however, before his death, his daughter persuaded him to come clean.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: JD Vance says Watergate would have been a '12-hour news story' today
Reporting by Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published June 26, 2026 at 1:57 PM.