JD Vance says Watergate would have been a '12-hour news story' today ⁠16%

By Fernando Cervantes Jr.⁠0% USA TODAY⁠13%

6/26/2026, 8:57:25 PM

BS Summary: This article contains 21 faulty reasoning types, including Self-Serving Bias, Attempt to Sell a Product or Service, and Post Hoc (False Cause), with Appeal to Authority as the most egregious example at 24.2% saturation with 166 hits. Analysis detected 738 faulty-reasoning hits from 685 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 31.7% and a BS Rank of ⁠16% (18,517 of 21,887 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 84.60% of the article peer group.

During a talk at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in California, Vice President JD Vance said that the Watergate scandal, which led to former President Nixon's resignation in 1974, would have been a "12-hour news story" in today's media environment. 
Vance's appearance with the Richard Nixon Foundation on June 26 came as the vice president was promoting his new book, "Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith," which explores his conversion from Protestantism to Catholicism in the summer of 2019. 
"The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy," Vance said in reference to Watergate. 
Nixon resigned from the presidency in 1974 after the Washington Post revealed that his administration and reelection campaign were involved in a plot to spy and gather information about Democratic candidates ahead of the 1972 election. 
Nixon then inserted himself into an obstruction of justice case by talking with an aide about blocking the FBI investigation, which eventually led to an impeachment inquiry by the House of Representatives and his eventual resignation. 
Vance continued, saying he "always liked" Nixon, and went on to draw parallels between the former president and "deep state" actors he said were trying to take down his boss, President Donald Trump. 
"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 administration," Vance said. 
During the same conversation, Vance went on to compare himself with Nixon, saying that he and the former president shared some similarities. 
"Young senator, vice president, writes some bestselling books, is hated by the media," Vance said. 
"Kind of sounds like JD Vance." 
Is JD Vance running for president? 
As of now, Vance has not formally announced his intention to run for president in 2028. 
Trump has also so far declined to name Vance to be his successor in 2028. 
During an event on May 11, Trump said Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio – another potential White House hopeful – would make a "perfect ticket" for a run in the next presidential election. 
"I do believe that's a dream team, but these are minor details. 
That does not mean you have my endorsement under any circumstances," Trump said. 
"I think it sounds like presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate." 
What happened during Watergate? 
The Watergate scandal began in the early morning of June 17, 1972, when a night guard at a Washington, DC, hotel and office complex was making his rounds and noticed a suspiciously taped-open exit door, according to the FBI. 
From there, the scandal unfolded, as then-Acting FBI Director L. 
Patrick Gray was notified about the break-in at the Democratic National Committee's headquarters. 
Through the teletype sent on the day of the incident, Gray learned that one of those arrested was the security officer for the committee to re-elect then-President Nixon. 
Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein were able to connect the dots between the Watergate burglars. 
At first, their stories received little attention, and Nixon was reelected in November 1972. 
However, as evidence continued to pile up, the duo's reporting laid bare a conspiracy involving "break-ins, political dirty tricks, laundered money, illegal spying, and obstruction of justice," according to Investigative Impact. 
"Nixon had turned his White House, to a remarkable extent, into a criminal enterprise," Bernstein and Woodward later wrote in 2012. 
One of the primary sources for the journalists was code-named "Deep Throat," who, years later, would be revealed as Mark Felt, a top FBI official during the scandal, per Investigative Impact. 
Felt initially denied being the secret source during an appearance on "Face the Nation" in August 1976; however, before his death, his daughter persuaded him to come clean. 
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. 
Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_. 
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: JD Vance says Watergate would have been a '12-hour news story' today 
Article reasoning-pattern comparisonThis article: 6.1%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 4.6%Associated Press: 2.2%Confirmation Bias6.1%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 1.3%Anchoring Bias0.0%This article: 1.6%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.8%Associated Press: 2.9%Availability Heuristic1.6%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.8%Representativeness Heuristic0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.4%Hindsight Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 4.0%Associated Press: 1.4%Overconfidence Bias0.0%This article: 1.5%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 1.5%Associated Press: 5.3%Framing Effect1.5%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.8%Loss Aversion0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.5%Status Quo Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.1%Sunk Cost Effect0.0%This article: 1.8%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.4%Associated Press: 1.7%Optimism Bias1.8%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 1.3%Pessimism Bias0.0%This article: 3.1%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 1.3%Associated Press: 7.3%Negativity Bias3.1%This article: 10.2%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 4.3%Associated Press: 1.6%Self-Serving Bias10.2%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 1.5%Associated Press: 0.7%Fundamental Attribution Error0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.1%Actor-Observer Bias0.0%This article: 6.1%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 3.9%Associated Press: 0.8%In-Group Bias6.1%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 2.7%Associated Press: 0.2%Out-Group Homogeneity Bias0.0%This article: 2.6%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 1.2%Associated Press: 3.8%Halo Effect2.6%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.2%Horn Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.0%Dunning-Kruger Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 1.4%Recency Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.4%Primacy Effect0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.0%Blind-Spot Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.7%Ad Hominem0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.1%Straw Man0.0%This article: 24.2%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 7.3%Associated Press: 4.1%Appeal to Authority24.2%This article: 0.9%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 1.4%Associated Press: 1.0%False Dilemma0.9%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.3%Slippery Slope0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.1%Circular Reasoning0.0%This article: 1.6%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 6.6%Associated Press: 3.3%Hasty Generalization1.6%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.3%Red Herring0.0%This article: 5.1%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 1.3%Associated Press: 0.7%Bandwagon5.1%This article: 2.6%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.7%Associated Press: 4.6%Appeal to Emotion2.6%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 1.5%Associated Press: 0.6%Begging the Question0.0%This article: 8.2%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 3.6%Associated Press: 1.8%Post Hoc (False Cause)8.2%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.1%Tu Quoque0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.5%Burden of Proof0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.1%Appeal to Nature0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.2%Composition/Division0.0%This article: 4.1%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 1.6%Associated Press: 1.8%Anecdotal4.1%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.1%No True Scotsman0.0%This article: 2.2%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.5%Associated Press: 1.6%Ambiguity (Equivocation)2.2%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.0%Gambler’s Fallacy0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.1%Middle Ground0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.7%Associated Press: 0.1%Personal Incredulity0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.2%Special Pleading0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.1%Genetic Fallacy0.0%This article: 4.1%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 1.0%Associated Press: 2.0%Unattributed Quote4.1%This article: 1.8%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.9%Associated Press: 1.4%Quote-first Misdirection1.8%This article: 8.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 2.0%Associated Press: 6.0%Biased Writer Voice8.0%This article: 3.1%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.8%Associated Press: 1.8%Indoctrination3.1%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 0.0%Associated Press: 0.5%Politically Left Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 0.0%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 2.7%Associated Press: 0.2%Politically Right Leaning Bias0.0%This article: 8.9%Fernando Cervantes Jr.: 2.2%Associated Press: 3.6%Attempt to Sell a Product or S…8.9%

685 words analyzed.

Speakers

3speakers38%attributed speech423writer words
Voice mapSelect a segment to jump to its words
Writer's voice • 12 words • 100.0% coverageJD Vance • 40 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 40 words • 100.0% coverageJD Vance • 18 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 36 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 36 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 33 words • 100.0% coverageJD Vance • 42 words • 0.0% coverageJD Vance • 22 words • 100.0% coverageJD Vance • 15 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 6 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 6 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 16 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 15 words • 0.0% coverageTrump • 35 words • 0.0% coverageTrump • 12 words • 0.0% coverageTrump • 13 words • 0.0% coverageTrump • 11 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 4 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 39 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 10 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 13 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 28 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 18 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 14 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 31 words • 0.0% coverageBob Woodward and Carl Bernstein • 21 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 31 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 28 words • 0.0% coverageWriter's voice • 11 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 10 words • 100.0% coverageWriter's voice • 19 words • 0.0% coverage
100%flagged-word coverage
21 attributed words8.0% of attributed speech69% writer coverage
0%50.0%100.0%Indoctrination+100.0 ptsWriter: 0.0%Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein: 100.0%100.0%Attempt to Sell a Product -14.4 ptsWriter: 14.4%Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein: 0.0%0.0%Unattributed Quote-3.1 ptsWriter: 3.1%Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein: 0.0%0.0%Quote-first Misdirection-2.8 ptsWriter: 2.8%Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein: 0.0%0.0%

Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.

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Analysis

Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.