The Most Awkward JD Vance Moments Caught On Camera

Donald Trump's left-field Vice President pick JD Vance rakes up awkward moments like it's nobody's business. While most VP hopefuls think about how they captivated crowds with their impassioned speeches, Vance might wake up in cold sweats thinking about his viral handshake disaster that was almost too embarrassing to watch. When the Ohio Senator visited a picket line for the United Auto Workers strike at Toledo Assembly Complex in October 2023, he tried to shake Democratic Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur's hand when she was going in for a fist bump. Vance made things even more awkward by turning to another man and attempting to fist-bump him, but he ignored him and walked out of frame. Kaptur added to his embarrassment by making him concede that he hadn't visited the picket line since the strike's start in September. 

When J.D. Met Marcy

Senator Vance and Rep. Kaptur both showed up to the picket line at the Toledo Assembly Complex this morning. pic.twitter.com/dc7xS0vMAq

— 13 Action News (@13abc) October 6, 2023

As you can imagine, the clip didn't help Vance break out of the "weird" label his opponents had bestowed on him. However, it doesn't seem like he is fazed by his reputation or the fact that millions have viewed his weird moments. Speaking to Dana Bash for CNN's "State of The Union," the "Hillbilly Elegy" author asserted that the Democratic Ticket members' label was likely a projection of their own insecurities. He further asserted, "They're name-calling instead of actually telling the American people how they're going to make their lives better," he continued. "I think that's weird, Dana, but look, they can call me whatever they want to." And so, the awkward moments just kept coming.

JD Vance's cringey encounter at a donut shop in Georgia had people questioning if he had ever spoken to another human being. It was obvious from the get-go that the employees at the establishment weren't interested in having a conversation with Vance. However, it didn't seem like the best-selling author read the room because he proceeded to inform a worker that he was running for VP and only received an "Okay" in response. Vance made things even harder for the employees by being vague about his order. 

"I'm JD Vance, I'm running for Vice President."

"...Okay." pic.twitter.com/wRR6D1Wf8q

— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) August 22, 2024

As expected, the cringey clip went viral. One commentator on X pointed out how Vance's image was largely centered around him being a regular person, but he still seemed like he would order a "logical" donut at a bakery. Meanwhile, others created parodies that showcased how Vance's interactions with humans felt. Of course, some commentators were glad that one of the employees made no attempt to hide their distaste for the Republican VP hopeful. 

And his disastrous haircut led many to question if he was a plant to take down Donald Trump. Vance addressed the awkward moment in a chat with NBC, saying, "I just felt terrible for that woman," he continued. "We walked in, and there's 20 Secret Service agents, and there's 15 cameras, and she clearly had not been properly warned, and she was terrified, right? I just felt awful for her."

During JD Vance's appearance on NBC's "Meet The Press" in August 2024, he shared that Donald Trump had told him that he wouldn't approve of a national abortion ban. However, a few days later, the second presidential debate took place, and the former President couldn't ever recall making that claim to his VP. "Nobody speaks for Donald J. Trump except for Donald J. Trump," he asserted, adding, "I didn't discuss it with JD," per the New York Times. 

As expected, Vance had to fall on the sword for Trump after his awkward debate fumble. The "Hillbilly Elegy" author appeared on "Meet The Press" and admitted, "I've learned my lesson on speaking for the president before he and I have actually talked about an issue." He doubled down on his statement by saying that he still hadn't asked the controversial politician for his views on a national abortion ban because he found the concept to be too far-fetched. 

Unfortunately, that wasn't the only time the duo put their discord on display. Shortly before the debate, Vance shared an X post where he claimed that he had read reports stating that the illegal Haitian immigration population in Springfield was eating the pets of local residents. Trump parroted the claim during the debate, but moderator David Muir fact-checked him on the spot by stating that there were no "credible reports" to back the claim, per CNN. In the aftermath, Vance embarrassingly conceded that reports may not have been factual. 

In September 2024, JD Vance visited a grocery store to make a point about the rising prices of necessities. The Republican VP hopeful grabbed (what he claimed) were a dozen eggs and asserted that they had gone from $1.50 to $4 because of Kamala Harris' policies. The Ohio Senator was seemingly implying that he was affected by the price hike as well because his kids consumed more than a dozen eggs for breakfast on a daily basis. However, there were a couple of discrepancies in these remarks. 

JD Vance: "Yes, buddy. Want some eggs? Let's talk about eggs. Because these guys [pointing to his kids] actually eat about 14 eggs every single morning."

So weird pic.twitter.com/hHc4BP23Qs

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) September 22, 2024

According to an April 2024 CBS report, egg prices had risen because a bird flu outbreak had reduced egg supply. Even if that wasn't the case, it would have been more accurate to chalk the price hike up to President Joe Biden's administration instead of his Vice President's. Additionally, X users were quick to notice that the eggs Vance had picked up were priced at $2.99 by the store. If that wasn't bad enough already, others pointed out that the pack he was holding clearly contained well over a dozen eggs. 

And to top it all off, his claim that his kids, who were all under six and under at the time, could eat 14 eggs for breakfast every morning also seemed too far-fetched to commentators. As the clip started doing rounds on social media, several X users criticized Vance, with one writing, "Vance is both an obsessive liar and an idiot shopper."

After JD Vance joined the Republican ticket, he most likely only saw people cringing at his words through social media. However, before he rose to prominence, he got to witness people reacting to his jokes poorly right in front of his eyes. During his campaign for Senator, the politician took aim at Kamala Harris's laughter by saying that it had earned her the moniker of "Cackela Harris."

Back when he was running for Senate, JD Vance made some really awkward jokes in bad taste about VP Harris – his own audience booed.

In other words, he's always been a prick. pic.twitter.com/DPm5YXsUJk

— Receipt Maven (@receiptmaven) September 2, 2024

The "joke" was so terrible that he never even received a single pity laugh. Things only went downhill from there as Vance made another attempt at a joke, saying, "Bill Clinton was watching [Harris] on TV, and Bill thought, 'You know, man, she's just so condescending,'" he continued. "She's mean-spirited. She's kinda nasty. Maybe I should leave my wife and marry her instead.'" This time around, the audience booed Vance. 

JD Vance: "President Trump and I are proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history and I want to talk about why we're fighting for working peo—"

Unionized firefighters of Boston: "BOOOOOO" pic.twitter.com/4lbGkQVzHL

— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) August 29, 2024

Unfortunately for Vance, that wasn't the last time he would hear booing. While speaking at a firefighter's convention in 2024, the Ohio Senator stated that he and Donald Trump were "proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history." As he talked about how they would protect the interests of working-class folks, the firefighters started booing him. Vance received the same reaction earlier in the event as well, but he tried to make it seem like it didn't bother him by saying, "We got some fans and some haters, that's okay." To make matters even worse for Vance, his Democratic opponent, Tim Walz, fared well with the same group.

During JD Vance's 2024 Vice Presidential debate against Tim Walz, he touched on one of his favorite subjects: the growing population of illegal Haitian immigrants in Springfield. Once both Walz and JD had said their piece, moderator Margaret Brennan interjected to assert "Springfield, Ohio does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status," via CBS. Then, JD retorted, "The rules were that you guys weren't going to fact check." As the VP hopeful launched into an explanation, the moderators tried to stop him by stating that they had more pressing issues to get to. However, the Ohio Senator persisted and only stopped when Brennan informed him they had cut his mic off.

Vance bristled at @margbrennan's clarification about Springfield, Ohio and said "the rules were that you guys weren't going to fact check..." pic.twitter.com/CCJcgXoA1Y

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) October 2, 2024

Although JD wanted to continue talking at that point, he probably wished that someone had stopped him from speaking when he appeared on "The Megyn Kelly Show" in June 2024. While discussing his wife Usha Vance's Indian roots, he asserted, "I love her because she's who she is," he continued. "Obviously, she's not a white person, and we've been accused, attacked by some white supremacists over that. But I just, I love Usha. She's such a good mom" (via X). The so-called "defense" had X users seeing red. One commentator kept it simple and asked Usha to get a divorce. Others felt that his statements sounded more like an apology for marrying his wife rather than a defense. Ultimately, it doesn't seem like the awkward moments will stop anytime soon.