Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) turned the tables on a CNN anchor on Friday after he attempted to to guilt-trip him after posting a meme making fun of Vice President Kamala Harris’s interview the previous night.
Vance posted a long-running clip of a young woman competing in a 2007 beauty pageant attempting to answer a complicated question about politics.
The contestant did her best to deliver a word salad of a response, which is so bad it has remained viral for years.
But the effect it had on young Caitlin Upton was devastating, she revealed in an interview.
“I thought about committing suicide” as a result of the attention she received from the infamous clip, she told New York Magazine.
BREAKING: I have gotten ahold of the full Kamala Harris CNN interview. pic.twitter.com/c6nfcJrFJy
— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 29, 2024
CNN anchor John Berman asked the Republican vice presidential nominee if he was aware of Upton’s struggles before sharing the meme, which he captioned, “I have gotten a hold of the full Kamala Harris CNN interview.”
Harris was slammed for her disastrous performance in her first interview with Dana Bash, in which she delivered nonsensical answers that conflicted with her past statements.
However, Vance didn’t take the bait.
“My heart goes out to [Upton] and I hope that she’s doing well” before admitting he’s made his own mistakes on camera.
“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. 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” is the problem, according to Vance.
“There’s nothing that says we can’t tell some jokes along the way.”
READ: JD Vance Obliterates Kamala Harris for Botched Afghanistan Withdrawal: ‘Go to Hell!’
“I’m not gonna apologize for posting a joke, but I wish the best for Caitlin. I hope she’s doing well. As I’ve said, one bad moment shouldn’t define anybody, and the best way to deal with this stuff is to laugh at ourselves.” With nothing left to go on, the anchor changed topics.
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