Vice President JD Vance said that the Watergate scandal would only be a 12-hour news story if it occurred today [1].

The comments suggest a shift in how the current administration views historical political scandals and the influence of the modern media cycle on presidential accountability.

Speaking Thursday during a C-SPAN Book TV interview titled "Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith," Vance drew a comparison between Richard Nixon and Donald Trump [1, 2]. He said that the idea that Watergate would have taken down a presidency is "crazy" [1].

"If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be a 12-hour news story," Vance said [1]. He said that he believes the historical legacy of Richard Nixon is experiencing a deserved renaissance [3].

Vance said that the speed of current news consumption would diminish the impact of such an event. He said that the scandal, which led to Nixon's resignation in 1974 [1], would not hold the same weight in the present environment.

"I joked…if Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story," Vance said [3].

The Vice President's remarks align with a broader narrative regarding the "deep state" and the perceived weaponization of government institutions against political leaders [1]. By framing the Watergate era as an anomaly, Vance positioned the downfall of the 37th president as a result of specific historical pressures rather than a standard for political conduct.

“"If Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be a 12-hour news story."”

Vance's assertion reflects a belief that the fragmented nature of modern digital media prevents the kind of sustained, singular national focus that defined the Watergate investigation. By characterizing the resignation of a president as 'crazy' by today's standards, he is arguing that the political and media landscape has fundamentally changed, potentially lowering the threshold for what constitutes a presidency-ending scandal.