JD Vance Gets Booed Everywhere He Goes & It's Surely Destroying His Self-Esteem

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There are times when it appears that Vice President JD Vance has thinner skin than President Donald Trump, and given Trump's fragile ego, that's saying something. Vance's insecurity was confirmed by Ron Howard, who directed the movie version of Vance's 2016 memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis." Howard noted that Vance didn't like it when the film failed to get positive reviews, so our guess is that he's not a big fan of getting booed in public — especially when it keeps happening.

In March 2025, JD and wife Usha Vance were perhaps hoping for a quiet night watching the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, but they were greeted by boos. Andrew Roth, global affairs correspondent for The Guardian, filmed the negative reaction to JD and Usha's entrance and posted it to X. The clip went viral, with JD appearing unbothered as he laughed, chatted with Usha, waved, and took a drink as the boos and jeers continued.

JD and Usha were at the Kennedy Center not long after Trump took over as board chair, and some performances on the schedule were canceled for being too "woke" for Trump's liking. So it could be that the boos weren't necessarily targeted at Vance. Or it could be that the audience was irritated about having to wait for security, with the second couple's arrival causing the concert to be delayed.

After Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington D.C. in August 2025, JD Vance joined Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller for a photo op of them at the Shake Shack in Union Station with the deployed guardsmen. However, people made their negative opinions known as Vance and company walked through the train station. Amidst the jeers, at least one person shouted at Vance about the debunked rumor that he'd been intimate with a couch.

In response to the protests, one person on X joked of the hecklers, "That's sofa out of line." Others thought there had to be a lasting impact on Vance for all these insults being hurled his way. "He is definitely undergoing an extreme traumatization that will probably last far longer than 4 years," wrote someone on X.

The protests continued as Vance spoke inside the Shake Shack. He even commented on it, deriding "a few crazy liberals who are screaming at the vice president," according to Sky News Australia, so he clearly noticed the public backlash against his presence. While he didn't admit that it bothered him, the fact that he mentioned it at all speaks volumes. He also clearly tried to frame the situation as just "a few" partisans who dislike him rather than the crowds of people we've seen protesting him.

There have also been times when protestors lined the streets throughout the country to boo JD Vance. People brought signs and bells and took to the streets when Vance visited Vermont in March 2025 for a family ski vacation, prompting the vice president to change hotels. When Vance and his wife went for sushi at a San Diego restaurant in July, protestors surrounded the building, with some taking him to task for dining out so shortly after the deadly floods in Texas. That same month, Vance was hassled and heckled by protestors while at Disneyland with his family. Vance has even gotten booed at the mere mention of his name, like during his visit to the Indiana statehouse in August. 

It's not just in America where Vance is getting publicly critiqued. From his disastrous trip to Greenland to all the people who turned Vance away during his trip to England, the vice president is certainly not universally beloved. In fact, polling by YouGov showed him at a 30% popularity rating, with 49% not liking him as of early October 2025.

Many people are happy that Vance is getting booed, no matter where it happens. One person wrote on X, "He should never have another day of peace." Despite Vance continuing to put on a brave face in response to all the booing, it's probably still getting to him.