JD Vance found himself at the center of online ridicule after urging supporters to “vote against the crazy leadership in Washington, D.C.,” seemingly forgetting who currently runs the government.
The comments came during a speech at a Missouri manufacturing plant on Monday, where the vice president was promoting the Trump administration’s economic agenda and rallying Republican support ahead of the midterm elections.
The 41-year-old was discussing the administration’s push to create more manufacturing jobs in America before awkwardly turning the spotlight back toward Washington’s current occupants.
“I’m not going to ask you to agree with us on every issue, because that would be impossible,” Vance said.
“What I will ask you is if you want to make America great, if you want to protect your jobs and hopefully build jobs in this beautiful factory, if you want to make our streets even safer, if you want to rebuild the American dream for the next generation, vote against the crazy leadership in Washington, D.C.”
As the crowd clapped, Vance continued, “vote for...” before taking a pause.
The vice president then appeared to attempt to clarify his comments. “Vote against the congressional leadership that will stand up and say ‘we care more about illegal aliens than we do American citizens,’ and vote for the leaders in Congress who have promised they are going to fight for you.”
The moment, however, still ricocheted across social media, with the vice president schooled on who is currently running the government.
On its X account, Democrats reposted the clip of Vance alongside a photo of Trump and Republican leaders at the White House under the caption: “The crazy leadership in Washington, DC.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to Vance’s office for comment.
The latest stumble adds to what has already been a bruising stretch for the vice president, who endured online pile-ons after being outshone by Marco Rubio and watching attempts at humor trigger fresh rounds of mockery.
On top of that, Trump refused to endorse Vance as his 2028 successor while the vice president sat nearby in the Oval Office, according to Fortune. Trump warned that choosing “the wrong person” to lead the Republican ticket would be a “disaster.”
Vance wasn’t done handing the internet material when he turned to the topic of fraud and government spending at Monday’s event, declaring that stealing from government programs amounted to stealing from Americans directly.
“When somebody steals $1.4 billion from the Medicaid program, that is theft from you, and that’s theft from people who deserve to be able to go see a doctor,” he said.
“When people steal billions of dollars from the Medicare program, that is theft from you, and it’s also theft from the people who use the Medicare program to pay their bills.”
“Look, there’s a simple principle that I have, which is, if you are committing fraud against the American people, you ought to go to prison,” Vance said.
“You should not be able to steal from all of you and give it to fraudsters.”
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg hit back, suggesting Vance wouldn’t have to look far to find examples of the behavior he was condemning.
“You could start by walking down the hall,” Buttigieg wrote on X.
“See why your boss keeps pardoning people convicted of money laundering, wire fraud, tax evasion, and securities fraud.”
Trump has issued sweeping pardons since returning to office, including more than 1,600 Jan. 6 rioters and Changpeng Zhao—the former CEO and founder of Binance who previously pleaded guilty to violating federal anti-money laundering laws.
The Justice Department announced a new $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund intended to compensate people who claim they that have “suffered weaponization and lawfare” at the hands of the federal government.
Former Justice Department officials have warned that the loosely defined program risks becoming a taxpayer-funded consolation fund for Trump allies claiming political persecution.
