Do scandals still pack the same punch they used to?

From Nixon to Trump: A Tale of Two Presidencies

October 1973. The White House is in chaos. The Watergate tapes are about to drop. The walls are closing in. A political scandal, once unthinkable, now threatens to topple a presidency in months.

October 2023. A different president faces a different storm. Allegations fly. Investigations launch. Social media erupts—then moves on by dinner.

What changed?

Vice President JD Vance stood recently in Richard Nixon’s old library and made a stark observation: If Watergate happened today, it wouldn’t just be investigated—it’d be forgotten by breakfast.

This isn’t just about the speed of news. It’s about the death of memory.

The Deep State vs. The Forgetting State

Vance didn’t pull punches. Today’s "deep state," he argued, tried the same tricks on Trump that they did on Nixon. And yet—

• Nixon’s own party turned. Republicans, once his loyalists, turned investigators. Articles of impeachment passed.
• Trump’s GOP? They moved on. Faster.

The difference isn’t in the scandals. It’s in the attention span.

A dodgy trade deal? A tweetstorm erupts. By sundown, it’s yesterday’s outrage.

A pardon? A flashy business deal? A viral project? The next scandal buries it all. The cycle never stops. The feed never sleeps.

Politicians today don’t just pivot—they erase. One scandal fades into the next before the ink dries.

The Scandal That Doesn’t Stick

Back then, scandals had weight. They lingered. They shaped history.

Now? They’re just noise.

A questionable transaction. A rushed decision. A controversial pardon. It all gets the same treatment—

• Shock. A few hours of outrage.
• Distraction. Something shinier appears.
• Oblivion. By morning, it’s gone.

The public isn’t just distracted. It’s designed to forget.

The Lesson of Watergate: Scandals Used to Matter

Nixon resigned. His party abandoned him. The system worked.

Today’s system? It doesn’t just forgive scandals—it consumes them.

And by the time we realize what’s happening, the next outrage is already here.