Brutal Nicknames JD Vance Will Never Live Down

We thought it couldn't get any worse than the brutal nickname JD Vance earned with his goofy Disneyland run: "JD Prance." However, Vance's critics have workshopped more nicknames to saddle the vice president with. Ironically, some of them are just as wild as some of the wildest nicknames President Donald Trump has made up for his opponents. A social media user kicked off the unique creative writing experiment online by giving Vance a very unflattering moniker. "Sooooo what are all the nicknames we have for JD Vance? Drop them here. I'll start: Eyeliner Earl," they posted on Threads in April 2025.

The nickname might be a particular sore spot for Vance since it plays on the speculation that he wears eyeliner, which is one rumor he might never be able to escape. Another Threads user also felt that his purported eyeliner usage made for an easy target when they threw in their own nickname. "Captain Maybelline," they wrote. Additionally, his bestselling book "Hillbilly Elegy" also seemed to have inspired more puns at the Yale Law graduate's expense. "HillBully," a commenter posted. "Hillbilly [Eyeliner]," another one added. Based on these posts, Vance critics seem to get a kick out of discrediting his name (especially when wordplay is involved).

There are times when JD Vance's ego has even been big enough to rival Donald Trump. So, with that in mind, we think that the nickname "Shady Vance" might be the biggest thorn in the vice president's side. The label might not be as personal as other names that specifically hone in on rumors like Vance's attachment to eyeliner, or that make fun of his book's title. However, "Shady Vance" does seem to be, by far, the most popular nickname that he's been called. It's one that's followed him ever since his rise in the political world, and there might be a sign that he's more bothered by it than he lets on.

Vance posted a message on X in March 2025 announcing a trip that he was making to Greenland. However, when he said his own name in the clip, many were convinced that he accidentally called himself his most brutal nickname. "Does he say Shady Vance or JD Vance? I 100% hear Shady Vance," one X user posted. "There it is — his name, straight from the source," a poster agreed. Another X user was reminded of how many different names Vance has gone by over the years. Whether he said it or not, the Ohio native's possible verbal slip-up might've shown that the nickname could definitely be on his mind. Not only that, but it also gave more power to the nickname "Shady Vance" by making sure it's on more people's minds, too.