Vice President JD Vance sparked a political firestorm on June 25 when he stood inside the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum in Yorba Linda, California, and argued that the “deep state” forces that drove Nixon from office were the same forces that spent years trying to bring down President Donald Trump.
Vance was in Orange County to promote his new memoir, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, a book centered on his personal journey from atheism to Catholicism. The conversation with James Byron, the Nixon Foundation’s president and CEO, quickly veered into territory that grabbed far more attention than any discussion of spiritual renewal.
Vance Draws a Deep State Parallel
Vance said he had joked backstage about the Watergate scandal before the event. He then delivered a line that lit up social media almost immediately. Vance said, “If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be a 12-hour news story. The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy.”
Vance then connected the Nixon-era scandal to the challenges Trump faced during his first term. According to Vance, the entrenched bureaucratic forces that undermined Nixon’s presidency employed similar tactics against Trump. Vance continued, stating that examining Nixon’s downfall reveals similarities to efforts aimed at Trump, involving identical groups and institutions operating in parallel fashion.
Watergate started in 1972 when individuals linked to Nixon’s reelection campaign broke into Democratic Party offices in the nation’s capital. The 37th president resigned in 1974, two years after winning that reelection bid, to avoid near-certain impeachment and removal from office. The Nixon Library itself houses a permanent Watergate exhibition dedicated to the scandal.
Trump, Nixon, and Two Impeachments
The comparison Vance drew carried particular weight given Trump’s own turbulent history with accountability proceedings. Trump was impeached twice during his first term — once over allegations that he abused his power by pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate political rival Joe Biden, and a second time for his role in inflaming the crowd of supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Trump, who served as both the 45th and 47th president, was acquitted by the Senate on both occasions.
Vance also praised Nixon’s diplomatic accomplishments and described him as a “political genius.” He drew personal parallels between himself and Nixon, noting their shared experiences and media treatment, which drew laughs when he connected the dots and said it “kind of sounds like JD Vance.”
Conspicuously absent from Vance’s list of shared traits with Nixon was the one role Nixon is most remembered for: the presidency. Vance is widely viewed as a leading contender for the White House in 2028.
Vance said Nixon’s reputation is experiencing renewed appreciation, though he offered no polling data or evidence to support the claim. He added, “I’ve always liked Richard Nixon,” and described himself as “fascinated by Nixon as a character in history.”
Vance had met with Nato chief Mark Rutte in the Oval Office on Wednesday, just one day before the Nixon Library event, underscoring how his every move now carries the weight of someone already positioning himself for the nation’s highest office.
