Another day, another moment where JD Vance just cannot own up to f**king up.
The latest controversy surrounding Donald Trump’s VP pick began on Thursday when he posted a video on X (Twitter) of the 2007 Miss Teen USA pageant when South Carolina’s Caitlin Upton stumbled through an answer to a question about why she thinks a fifth of Americans cannot locate the country on a world map. The point of the post? He attempted to mock Kamala Harris’ interview with CNN this week, writing:
“BREAKING: I have gotten ahold of the full Kamala Harris CNN interview.”
Related: JD Vance Bashes Childless Teachers In Awful Resurfaced Remarks!
Take a look (below):
BREAKING: I have gotten ahold of the full Kamala Harris CNN interview. pic.twitter.com/c6nfcJrFJy
— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 29, 2024
While Vance may have thought this was a funny joke in his mind, everyone else, on the other hand? They are not laughing – whatsoever. In the comments section, many people slammed the politician for making fun of a young woman resurfacing a moment that became very painful for her years later. You see, Caitlin got bullied a lot following the competition. She told New York Magazine in 2015:
“One group of girls took me to this party at the University of South Carolina, and I walk in, and the entire USC baseball team surrounded me and bashed me with the harshest, meanest comments I had ever heard. And somebody once put a letter in my parents’ mailbox about how my body was going to be eaten alive by ants and burned in a freak fire. And then it said, in all caps, GO DIE CAITE UPTON, GO DIE FOR YOUR STUPIDITY. That’s the kind of stuff people would say to me for two years.”
OMG!?
That is horrible! The bullying got so bad she told the outlet that she became “very depressed” and even contemplated suicide. Awful. Our hearts break for her. And you can imagine how upset Caitlin is that this clip has been re-emerged online all because of Vance. On X (Twitter) Friday, she fired back at the 40-year-old author for “bullying” her with the viral video:
“It’s a shame that 17 years later this is still being brought up. There’s not too much else to say about it at this point. Regardless of political beliefs, one thing I do know is that social media and online bullying needs to stop.”
And his response? Don’t expect much. It’s very callous, to say the least. Vance once again refuses to apologize for his own actions – no matter the hurt he caused to this poor woman…
During an appearance on CNN, John Berman asked if he was aware Caitlin contemplated suicide due to the attention the moment received when he posted the video. He insisted he hadn’t — and then proceeded to double down that he just posted a harmless meme. He said:
“My heart goes out to her and I hope that she’s doing well. Look, I’ve said a lot of things on camera. I’ve said a lot of stupid things on camera. Sometimes, when you’re in the public eye, you make mistakes, and again, I think the best way to deal with it is to laugh at ourselves, laugh at this stuff, and try to have some fun in politics.”
Is he trying to suggest that Caitlin should be OK with him mocking her? A girl who was bullied so bad over this moment that she thought about harming herself? Seriously? WTF. Vance continued:
“I posted a meme from 20 years ago, and I think the fact that we’re talking about that instead of the fact that American families can’t afford groceries or health care. Young families can’t afford to buy a home to raise their families in. Those are the real crises that we should focus on. And there’s nothing that says we can’t tell some jokes along the way while we deal with the very serious business of bringing back our public policy.”
And it gets worse. Vance went on to say “politics has gotten way too lame” and “way too boring” and that politicians “can have some fun while making a good argument to the American people about how you’re going to improve their lives.” There are better ways of going about it than bringing up the lowest moment in a woman’s life. Mental health and suicide is a very serious topic, and in no way should have ever been joked about.
When Berman pressed if Vance wanted to apologize to Caitlin now, he refused. Yeah, you read that right. Vance told Berman:
“John, I’m not going to apologize for posting a joke, but I wish the best for Caitlin. I hope that she’s doing well and, again, what I’d say is one bad moment shouldn’t define anybody and the best way to deal with this stuff is to laugh at ourselves.”
Vance may not have known all the hurt the former pageant queen dealt with, but the fact that he can’t just take accountability and apologize now after finding out is just gross. But what else can we expect from the guy who repeatedly made awful remarks about people without children. Reactions, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF in the comments.
[Image via Nikki Nelson/WENN, MEGA/WENN]