US Vice President JD Vance says it is “crazy” that the Watergate scandal brought down Richard Nixon’s presidency, arguing that the political spying affair would dominate headlines for no more than a few hours.
“I think that his historical legacy is enjoying a bit of a renaissance, but I think deservedly so,” Vance said on Thursday during an appearance at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in California.
“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,” added Vance, a possible 2028 presidential contender.
Democratic commentator David Axelrod responded on X that Vance’s view “speaks volumes about the moral and ethical degradation of the Trump era.”
The Watergate scandal began in 1972 with the arrest of five men caught breaking into Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington.
Nixon, then seeking a second term, was comfortably reelected that November.
Reporting by The Washington Post later uncovered a broad political spying operation and an attempted cover-up orchestrated at the highest levels of the White House.
After a long legal battle and with impeachment proceedings looming in Congress, Nixon resigned in 1974, becoming the only US president to step down from office.
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