Vice President JD Vance received only “tepid” applause during an at times cringey speech at the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service.
The weak applause came during an address in which Vance slammed Democrats for supposedly allowing those who injure or kill cops to have “free rein,” despite his own boss, President Donald Trump, pardoning Jan. 6 insurrectionists who assaulted law enforcement.
“You can never get rid of evil, you’re always gonna have terrible people who want to do the worst things,” Vance said Friday. “But allowing so many of those people free rein, allowing them to strike at our law enforcement officers, that was a policy choice.”
Speaking in front of the U.S. Capitol building, he continued, “So long as Donald J. Trump is the president, and so long as I am the vice president, we will never again let policy makers in the building behind us allow violent criminals to tee off on our police officers. We will fight for you just as you fight for us every single day.”
Applause followed—but, as many have noted, it was noticeably “tepid,” especially compared to the raucous response Vance got throughout his 2025 address at the same memorial.
Among the most awkward moments of the speech was when Vance spoke of putting “violent criminals in prison as opposed to letting them out of jail.”
The VP paused for applause, but only a handful of claps trickled in as he put his head down.
Another segment with minimal response occurred in the 19th minute of his speech.
“Because of you and because we’re reminding the nation once more of who stands between order and chaos, that thin blue line still holds,” Vance proudly said.
The VP paused for applause again. Some soft claps were eventually picked up by the event’s microphones—but it remained a far cry from the response he received just 12 months ago for similar talking points.
Vance tried to appeal to the crowd at multiple points, but his tone did not seem to land.
“I want you to know from the entire United States of America, from our fellow citizens and the family members of all American people, we love ya, we’re thankful for ya, we’re sorry for what ya sacrificed, but we will never forget what your officer laid down,” he said.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Border Czar Tom Homan, and FBI Director Kash Patel were among the event’s attendees, protected by bulletproof glass that separated the stage from the crowd and the public’s view. Others in attendance were family members and colleagues of fallen officers, which may have contributed to the lack of enthusiasm for the VP’s address.
Like the president’s, Vance’s approval rating has been sliding lately. CNN’s data guru, Harry Enten, revealed last month that he is the least popular vice president on record compared with predecessors at the same stage in office.
Once viewed as the clear GOP frontrunner for president in 2028, prediction markets now show him as being neck-and-neck with Secretary of State Marco Rubio to win the Republican nomination.
Vance has been on a speaking tour of sorts this month, pushing the president’s anti-fraud agenda at a time when support for the administration is cratering due to the war with Iran and high prices at the pump across the country.
The VP traveled to Bangor, Maine, to give a speech on Thursday—though it was cut short when an attendee suffered a medical episode mid-speech.
