JD Vance has added a cringeworthy new title to his resume: coolest vice president in U.S. history.
The not-so-humble brag was made as the MAGA heir apparent took the stage in Wisconsin on Thursday, and drew immediate mockery and eye rolls online.
“Kelly said that I’m the coolest vice president in American history,” Vance told the crowd after being introduced by Trump’s Small Business Administration chief, Kelly Loeffler.
“And I said: Kelly, that is a low standard. That is a very low bar, but I do think that I clear that bar.”
At 41, Vance is already one of the youngest vice presidents in modern history, but whether he’s the coolest is open to debate.
The former venture capitalist who once described Trump as “America’s Hitler” has become a popular figure in MAGA world but is widely distrusted by Democrats—and some Republicans—due to his bold ambition and political opportunism.
“He’s willing to do anything to get there,” MSNBC prime-time host Jen Psaki noted last year, describing him as a “chameleon who makes himself into whatever he thinks the audience wants to hear from him.”
Nonetheless, the wild claim invited historical comparisons to other VPs—some less cool than others.
Al Gore leaned into environmental activism and a tech-forward image in the 1990s, while Joe Biden developed an “Uncle Joe” meme persona during the Obama years, buoyed by viral Onion headlines and a bromance narrative with President Barack Obama.
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden talk with senior staff following a bilateral meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in the Oval Office, Feb. 9, 2015.
Pete Souza / The White HouseThe late Dick Cheney, a key player in foreign policy and the “War on Terror,” wasn’t necessarily viewed as cool but is often considered one of the most powerful and influential VPs in history.
And Kamala Harris—the first woman and first Black and South Asian American vice president—leaned heavily into Charli XCX’s “Brat” branding, Converse sneakers, and home-cooking TikTok videos.
Vance’s trip to Wisconsin was designed to underscore Trump’s economic message following his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
It came one day after he announced that the Trump administration would temporarily halt Medicaid payments to Minnesota as part of the president’s newly declared “war on fraud.”
But during his speech, he ramped up that war by demanding Wisconsin hand over its voter rolls, reigniting concerns that Trump will try to “steal” the next election.
Asked about the Democratic state’s refusal to hand the information to the administration, Vance insisted there must be a nefarious reason.
“Ask yourself a question: why would the government of Wisconsin not want to help us kick fraud off of the welfare rolls and kick fraud off of the voter rolls, and the only answer I can possibly come up with is because they like to cheat,” he said as he toured a manufacturing plant in Wisconsin. “There’s no other real explanation.”
The move was the latest attempt by the Trump administration to access sensitive voter information ahead of this year’s midterms.
In January, Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded the same from Minnesota in exchange for federal help after U.S citizen Alex Pretti was killed by federal immigration agents.
But it was Vance’s comments about his supposedly cool status that raised the most eyebrows on Thursday—at least among keyboard warriors.
“JD Vance thinks he’s cooler than Thomas Jefferson and Theodore Roosevelt. He is not,” quipped one political observer.
“Delusional,” said another.
But Loeffler was clearly a fan.
“You all know the story of his humble beginnings and now he’s in the Oval Office. The second most powerful man in the world, and probably the coolest vice president we’ve ever had,” she said.
