JD Vance has gleefully compared himself to disgraced former President Richard Nixon while downplaying the biggest scandal in U.S. political history.
Vance, 41, was not born when the investigations into five operatives connected to Nixon’s re-election campaign were arrested for burglarizing and wiretapping the Democratic headquarters in 1972.
It led to Nixon’s resignation during his second term in 1974.
However, on Thursday, Vance shared his admiration for the only U.S. president so far to have been forced to resign while speaking at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in California, promoting his new memoir, Communion.
Vance claimed that Nixon’s legacy is currently “enjoying a bit of a renaissance,” highlighting his diplomatic achievements in ending the Vietnam War and opening relations with China.
“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,” Vance stated.
He then made the bold claim, “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 Trump administration.”
Vance also compared himself to the 37th president, whom he called a “political genius.”
“Young senator, vice president, writes some bestselling books, is hated by the media,” he said. “It kind of sounds like JD Vance. I’ve always liked Richard Nixon.”
Nixon died in 1994 at the age of 81, four days after suffering a major stroke.
Vance’s comments blew up online on Thursday, as footage of his remarks was shared on social media.
Pod Save America host Tommy Vietor pointed out some of the crimes exposed by the journalists who uncovered the Watergate scandal.
“Thanks to Watergate, we know that Nixon’s staff broke into his political opponent’s HQ & Ellsberg’s psychiatrist’s office, and that Nixon himself approved obstructing justice to cover these crimes up, tried to use the IRS to punish enemies, and was cool with breaking finance law,” Vietor posted on X.
He added that Vance “sold his soul for power, so it’s not remotely surprising that he is now fine with all of this stuff!”
One X user said Vance was “vice-signaling,” adding that, “Politicians used to signal virtue, now they just signal vice. They signal how much they’ll hurt the other side.”
Award-winning crime author Don Winslow said Vance’s comments were “So. F---ing. Revealing,” while comedian Stacy Cay noted, “The joke is that they’re doing so many crimes now that nobody would care about Nixon.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and Vance’s office for comment.
Vance has already had an awkward week online, after a cringeworthy exchange with his pregnant wife, Usha, 40, also went viral.
The couple appeared on a Father’s Day special of Storytime with the Second Lady, where Vance gingerly tapped his wife’s knee twice after she introduced him.
“The face Usha Vance makes when JD touches her knee is a cry for help if I’ve ever seen one,” Democratic strategist Mike Nellis said on X.
“Holy s---. This painfully awkward JD Vance moment is going viral,” anti-MAGA influencer Joe Gallina noted. “I’ve seen more chemistry during the Iran negotiations. This guy will never be president.”
