Quote · The Rest Is Politics: US
200. Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Will Backfire
Where this was said
JD Vance Rehabilitates Nixon — and Why It Matters
At 50:43 · chapter starts 45:40
JD Vance's trip to the Nixon Library — where he declared Watergate a 'nothing burger, a 12-hour news story' and drew parallels between Nixon's 'deep state takedown' and Trump's own legal troubles — prompts a sharp exchange [1] — Katty Kay "Vance showed up at the Nixon Library to declare Watergate a 'nothing burger.' Katty Kay's read: he's pre-emptively minimising corruption so…" 45:40 . Katty Kay's read is precise: Vance is pre-shrinking corruption narratives ahead of what she expects will be a wave of post-midterm congressional investigations into the Trump White House. If he's going to run for president, he needs an answer to the corruption charge, and normalising Nixon is the groundwork. Scaramucci adds private colour: Trump has been delivering the same stream-of-consciousness monologue about Nixon — that he wasn't tough enough, that he should have ridden out the storm — for 25 years. Vance is simply amplifying it. But Scaramucci also credits Vance for something Democrats have abandoned: going on Bill Maher's show and getting blistered for nine minutes. AOC and Kamala Harris both turned down Maher invitations. Harris went on Fox News once and should have gone 30 times. The political lesson of 2024, Scaramucci argues, is that facing hostile audiences and softening independents is how elections are won.
Vance showed up at the Nixon Library to declare Watergate a 'nothing burger.' Katty Kay's read: he's pre-emptively minimising corruption so that whatever investigations follow the midterms look like a deep-state hit job rather than legitimate accountability — exactly what Trump has been saying about Nixon for 25 years.
JD Vance went on Bill Maher's show and got blistered — and Scaramucci, who dislikes Vance, gave him credit for it. AOC and Kamala Harris both declined invitations. The lesson: going into hostile territory and taking the heat is a political skill that Democrats have abandoned and that cost them 2024.
