U.S. Vice President Parodies Himself for Halloween, Sparks Explosive Online Reaction

Reenacting His Controversial Remarks to Zelenskyy
Turning Himself Into a Joke... "A Politically Savvy Move"

In celebration of Halloween, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance posted a video on social media in which he parodied online memes about himself. By recreating a scene from a past diplomatic gaffe that sparked controversy, Vance openly mocked himself, a move that is highly unusual as a political image management strategy and has generated significant public attention.

On October 31, Vice President Vance uploaded a short video, approximately 10 seconds long, to both his X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok accounts.

In the video, Vice President Vance appears before the camera wearing a red tie and a brown curly wig. He cheerfully greets, "Kids, happy Halloween," and immediately adds, "And don't forget to say thank you."

In celebration of Halloween, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance parodied himself. Screenshot from J.D. Vance's X (formerly Twitter) account.

This was a direct reenactment of remarks Vance made in February, when Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, visited the White House for the first time since the Trump administration took office. At that time, Vance pressured President Zelenskyy by asking, "Why don't you say thank you to America?"-a comment that drew criticism for its diplomatic rudeness.

Afterward, memes mocking Vance spread rapidly across American online communities. Memes such as "Fat Vance" and "Ugly Vance," depicting him as an overweight man with a scowling expression, became popular. The brown curly wig is also a symbolic element borrowed from these memes. In other words, the video is Vance's own recreation of the meme.

The video received an explosive response immediately after its release. The TikTok video surpassed 8 million 'likes' in just one day and garnered over 160,000 comments. Users commented, "I hate that this made me laugh," while others raved, calling it "the best Halloween video of the year."

Conservative media outlet Fox News reported, "Vance has effectively won this year’s Halloween viral competition," and described his decision to respond to months of ridicule with humor as "a politically savvy move." The report also noted, "It is not easy for most politicians to make fun of themselves."

A close aide to Vance told local media in an interview, "When asked about his Halloween costume, Vance said, 'It will break the internet,' and that is exactly what happened."