JD Vance's Strange Pants At CPAC Make His Eyeliner Controversy Look Like Child's Play

Donald Trump's choice of JD Vance as vice president came completely out of left field, considering the "Hillbilly Elegy" author turned Ohio senator was a pretty harsh critic during his first administration. Since then, Vance's appearance has gotten just as much scrutiny as his actions. Numerous rumors have swirled that Vance uses eyeliner to achieve his intense stare, for instance. The latest installment of "Vance Watch" occurred during his February 20, 2025 appearance at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference in Maryland. While the MAGA faithful audience cheered Vance's statements, critics at home couldn't take their eyes off his outfit. From the waist up, he looked properly official in his suit jacket and blue tie. But long camera shots showed Vance's pants riding up as he sat — showing not only his socks, but also a good bit of skin above them too.

JD Vance praying for longer pants 👖 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/TEbvH1DUTd

— Scott Simpson (@NimblewNumbers) February 21, 2025

CPAC commentator Mercedes Schlapp wisely avoided saying anything about the VP's wardrobe mishap but online commenters weren't nearly as diplomatic. "JD Vance is such a Constitutionalist that he wears 1700s britches and stockings," joked one user on X, formerly known as Twitter. Another referenced the vice president's recent controversial remarks in Germany by quipping, "Looks like JD Vance is expressing his newfound interest in German politics by wearing lederhosen to CPAC." One commenter even added an Elon Musk reference to the mix for good measure, noting, "DOGE said JD Vance was spending too much on suit pants and removed 20% of their length. Tragic."

In all fairness, Vice President JD Vance's appearance at CPAC came right on the heels of a week of hard work in Europe, followed by a quick jaunt over to San Diego to attend a friend's wedding, so he was understandably a bit tired. Still, he's probably wishing he'd been more careful choosing his outfit for the big conservative event. If Vance had just taken a moment to sit down on his bed before leaving the house, he might have noticed his exposed legs and reached for another pair of slacks. Now, the "Tiny Pants" jokes could rival even the most brutal nicknames Elon Musk has been given ("Space Karen," anyone?).

The style fail was also unfortunate in light of his message. As seen on X, Vance advised the men in the crowd to embrace their natural masculinity: "[D]on't allow this broken culture to send you a message that you're a bad person because you're a man, because you like to tell a joke, because you like to have a beer with your friends." Setting aside the wildly offensive, and completely outdated, "real guys like to drink beer and tell raunchy stories" narrative, imagine the reaction the former Ohio senator would have received if he'd shown up at an average red-blooded American bar wearing that outfit. 

Those Budweiser-drinking manly-men would probably have cracked a few jokes about the guy in capris and guyliner. Either way, we just hope the vice president watched the CPAC footage on YouTube afterwards and immediately tossed his pants into the donation pile.