Kathrine Frich
Vice President JD Vance poked fun at his four-year-old daughter.
Kids say and do the funniest things around the holidays, especially when parents ask them to share.
Most families keep those cute moments at the dinner table, but on the campaign trail, even a preschooler’s habit can get turned into a political punchline.
Toy box politics
Speaking at a midterm rally in Rome, New York, US Vice President JD Vance poked fun at his four-year-old daughter, Mirabel, while backing Republican congressional hopefuls Anthony Constantino and Kailee Buller, according to the Irish Star.
Early in his remarks, the father of four brought up his Dumbledore Halloween outfit, telling the crowd he wore it after he “lost a bet” with his kids and looked “more like an Iranian Sheik than an American Vice President.”
Then he shifted to a family holiday drive for Toys for Tots. When he asked his children to donate playthings, Mirabel picked out two toys belonging to her brother rather than her own.
“I realized, despite my best efforts, I raised a Democrat,” Vance told the cheering crowd, adding that she was “Stealing her brother’s toys to give to somebody else” before he pivoted to “defeating the Democrats.”
Backlash online
Viewers on social media were far less amused, the Irish Star reported. Critics branded the remark “tone-deaf” and slammed the vice president for turning his young child into rally material.
“I hope his daughter never finds out he said this. What a horrible man. He’ll try to shame his own 4yr old for cheap laughs,” one person wrote online.
Others cheered the little girl on. “She’s got more compassion than he does and he thinks she’s doing a bad thing,” a commenter noted, while another wrote, “Thank you for admitting that Democrats are compassionate and Republicans are selfish and hate helping others.” One X user quipped, “‘Democrats donate to the needy’ is one helluva attack line.”
Teleprompter stumbles
That family story was only part of a rocky outing in upstate New York, according to the Irish Star.
Reading from the teleprompter, Vance stumbled over the word “district” and the line “Rome has stood tall,” while also calling New York Governor Kathy Hochul “Katie” and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer “Shuck.”
After one X critic joked that he “Takes after his illiterate boss,” Vance closed by calling Democratic candidate Blake Gendebien an “a–” on stage. He quickly apologized to parents in the room, blame-shifted his foul mouth onto a grandmother who “cursed like a sailor,” and told young listeners, “Do not talk like the president of the United States.”
