Democrats are trotting out a bizarre new messaging strategy against Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) after the announcement that he would be former President Donald Trump’s running mate.
Instead of taking a critical look at his policy stances or his career in the Senate, they are relying on a particular talking point: JD Vance is “weird.”
That’s right, folks. Democrats on the airwaves and interwebs have gotten the memo and, for some reason, it is telling them to convince the public that Vance is too weird to be vice president. This is an odd departure from the usual “Everyone who opposes us is racist,” but perhaps the left is trying to branch out?
The talking point appears to have originated with Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who recently used it during an interview.
In the days since Vice President Kamala Harris has taken over the campaign against former President Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance, Democrats are leaning into a new attack line against the Republican ticket: that they’re just really weird.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz , a potential Harris running mate who’s been using this description for months, said it during his first viral TV appearance of the week, and then in others. The Democratic Governors Association, which Walz leads, amplified it on social media. And the Harris campaign has adopted it as well, incorporating the label repeatedly this week in press releases and posts on X and TikTok.
As this simple and quintessentially Midwestern description of Trump and Vance catches on, it marks a notable rhetorical shift — away from Biden’s apocalyptic, high-minded messaging toward a more gut-level vernacular that may better capture how many voters react to far-right rhetoric of the kind Vance in particular trades in.
“It perfectly describes the uneasiness people feel. It’s how people who don’t live and breathe politics every day react to hearing the Republican vice presidential candidate denigrate people without children,” said Tim Hogan, a Democratic strategist who worked on the 2020 presidential campaign of another Minnesotan, Sen. Amy Klobuchar. “It’s simple. It’s how you might talk to your neighbor about the crazy political climate we’re living in.”
I’m telling you: these guys are weird. pic.twitter.com/fvNRNf7T7T
— Tim Walz (@Tim_Walz) July 24, 2024
Now, other Democrats and members of the activist media are trotting out the “weird” trope against Vance and Republicans — but it didn’t take long for right-leaning social media users to point out why this messaging strategy is fatally flawed.
Social media commentator Rogan O’Handley, AKA DC Draino, posted a picture of Ella Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter, who appears to be dressed up as a woke watermelon.
“JD Vance is weird” pic.twitter.com/2GDYROIlOu
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) July 29, 2024
The Washington Examiner’s Siraj A. Hashmi joined in on the fun with a picture of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) kneeling in the Capitol while wearing a kente cloth ostensibly to express solidarity with black Americans.
“JD Vance is so weird.” pic.twitter.com/8IBxJwO24M
— Turd Ferguson (@SirajAHashmi) July 29, 2024
Kyle Mann, editor-in-chief of The Babylon Bee, posted a picture of a drag queen reading to children, something the left has been pushing in public libraries.
“JD Vance is weird.” pic.twitter.com/OKFM9RehGK
— Kyle Mann (@The_Kyle_Mann) July 29, 2024
Social media influencer Hollaria Briden meanwhile posted a picture of what appears to be two crazed feminist women dressed in costumes depicting female genitalia and holding an obscene sign.
Donald Trump Jr. also chimed in with a video of Harris meeting with a man dressed as a woman at the White House.
“JD Vance is weird” – Team Kamala Harris pic.twitter.com/avMgy4Kp8M
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) July 28, 2024
Twitchy’s Sam J posted a picture of President Joe Biden nibbling his wife’s hand while she was speaking at a podium during an event.
JD Vance is weird. pic.twitter.com/DgpVhf3BNg
— The🐰FOO (@PolitiBunny) July 29, 2024
Lastly, Vance himself also weighed in, posting a video of Harris introducing herself at an event by proclaiming her pronouns.
“JD Vance is weird” pic.twitter.com/a91dVSnp1V
— JD Vance (@JDVance) July 29, 2024
For his part, the vice presidential nominee has brushed off the “weird” label Democrats have been employing against him.
Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), the GOP vice presidential nominee, said this weekend his feelings are not hurt by Democrats labeling him “weird” as past comments he made before being tapped as former President Trump’s running mate are resurfaced.
“No, not at all,” Vance told a Fox News reporter in an interview that aired Sunday. “It doesn’t hurt my feelings.”
“Look, the price of admission — meaning, the price of getting to serve the people of this country — is the Democrats are going to attack us with everything that they have. I think it’s an honor,” Vance continued.
“As Harry Truman once said, ‘if you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen,’” he said.
The fact that Democrats even went with this strategy reveals a remarkable inability to read the room. If you think men can get pregnant, dress up in explicit costumes, wear African garb when you’re a white woman, and call other people “weird,” then perhaps you might consider taking a look in the mirror.
The reality is that there is weirdness in each political movement. Indeed, one has to be at least a little weird to run for office. But when parts of your political party resemble a Ringling Bros. circus, it is not a good idea to call other people “weird,” especially when social media is a thing.
