Vance channels Nixon playbook as he positions himself for 2028: analysis

Vice President JD Vance drew scrutiny this week after praising Richard Nixon and downplaying the severity of Watergate during an appearance at his presidential library in California — but an analyst argued that historical revisionism was aimed at the present political moment.

CNN's Aaron Blake called out Vance's comments – "if Watergate happened tomorrow, it would be like a 12-hour news story, like, the idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy" – as historically inaccurate and revealing more about President Donald Trump's political vulnerabilities than admiration for Nixon himself.

"Of course, the real point of Vance’s comments probably wasn’t to make Nixon seem good; it was to make Trump seem not so bad," Blake wrote. "As some of those Nixon stories linked above noted, much of this effort to rehab Nixon’s image appears to be about downplaying Trump’s problems."

Vance drew a direct parallel between Nixon's downfall and efforts to hold Trump accountable, attributing both to the "deep state," but Blake pushed back on the premise that Nixon is undergoing genuine rehabilitation in the public eye, citing Gallup polling from December 2024 showing 54 percent of Americans rated Nixon "below average" or "poor" — the worst numbers among 10 presidents tested — with even Republicans viewing him negatively by a two-to-one margin.

"There’s a reason why Vance, ahead of a potential 2028 bid, would fear perceptions of the administration’s self-dealing resonating with the public," Blake wrote. "For many apparent conflicts of interest, there isn’t a great explanation. Trump has fed these perceptions rather unapologetically, out in the open."

Blake pointed to a Reuters-Ipsos poll showing Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of corruption issues by a 61 percent to 27 percent margin, and notes that perceptions of corruption have toppled other populist leaders, including Hungary's Viktor Orbán earlier this year.

"One way for a potential Trump successor to try to manage those optics is to muddy the waters," Blake wrote. "If Watergate’s not actually a scandal, after all, what is?"

Blake cataloged several unresolved controversies that could resurface if Democrats gain subpoena power after the midterms — including Trump's family business dealings, the administration's handling of the Epstein files, and an estimated $4 billion in self-enrichment reported by The New Yorker — all of which made the Watergate scandal sound almost tame in comparison.

"That’s because Trump has absolutely blitzed the country with actions that would be scandalous in any other era," Blake wrote. "And while Trump has proven adept at getting past these issues and keeping his base intact, it’s not so clear Vance will be so adept."