In the latest political skirmish, an attempted attack on Senator JD Vance has fallen flat, drawing criticism not just from his supporters but even from some liberal voices. The controversy centers around a high school photo of Vance that recently surfaced, but instead of igniting outrage, it seems to have fizzled out, with many calling the attack a weak attempt at smearing the Republican vice-presidential nominee.
The image in question, unearthed by the “Daily Mail,” shows a young Vance goofing around with female friends in a boys’ restroom, humorously posing by urinals. This so-called “scandalous” picture was meant to paint Vance in an unflattering light, but the reaction has been quite the opposite.
JD might be one of the cleanest politicians of all time if this is the dirt they got on him https://t.co/JxxInNblgs
— Mostly Peaceful Memes (@MostlyPeacefull) August 15, 2024
Even Michael Tracey, a progressive journalist known for his critical stance on conservative figures, dismissed the attack as absurd. “Pretending to be scandalized or offended by JD being a typical goofball in his youth is so dumb,” Tracey commented. “This is a benignly funny picture, and you know it.”
Pretending to be scandalized or offended by JD being a typical goofball in his youth is so dumb, this is a benignly funny pic and you know it pic.twitter.com/2MnKAmuuvo
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) August 15, 2024
Jill Filipovic, a well-known liberal feminist writer, also weighed in, agreeing that the photo is much ado about nothing. “I’m positive this will be my most-hated tweet of the day, but taking a dumb and awkward picture when you’re a kid is just not that big of a deal,” she tweeted. Filipovic went on to criticize the *Daily Mail* for publishing the photo in the first place, arguing that it’s not something the public should care about. Even Chris Hayes from MSNBC agreed with her!
agreed!
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) August 15, 2024
The hope was to further cast the “JD Vance is weird” narrative when it actually shows that JD Vance is normal and goofed around in school like we all did.
