JD Vance's Biggest VP Blunders Have Everyone Saying The Same Shady Thing

As JD Vance once explained to Katie Miller, his position as the vice president gives him a degree of autonomy and flexibility. In some instances, that means there's a seemingly large amount of downtime, leading to Vance's reputation for laziness. However, VP duties are essentially contingent on presidential needs, something Vance affirmed his readiness for early on. "I'll help out wherever I'm asked to help out," he declared in July 2024 (via NBC News). At the time, Vance was perhaps envisioning an assignment closer to home. Unfortunately for the VP, he's been sent abroad quite a bit instead, and some of his international trips haven't gone well, to say the least. Now, everyone is calling him something like a curse.

"Visits the pope → pope dies ... leads Iran negotiations → talks collapse ... flies to Hungary to prop up Orbán → Orbán loses in a landslide. Man's got a streak," remarked one person on X, formerly Twitter. "JD Vance: international reverse luck charm," joked another. "Next time he boards a plane, check who he's meeting and bet against them."

Jokes aside, Vance's 2025 visit to Pope Francis right before his death was an unfortunate coincidence.  As for his other assignments, those may have been an uphill battle from the start. For instance, during his April 2026 trip to Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was already facing electoral difficulties well before Vance arrived. While his journey to Pakistan a few days later for ceasefire negotiations was a more direct opportunity for his diplomatic skills, he might have been recruited specifically because of Donald Trump's ego. "If it doesn't happen, I'm blaming JD Vance," Trump claimed before the trip (via The New York Times). "If it does happen, I'm taking full credit."

JD Vance was pretty outspoken in his criticism of Donald Trump during the president's first term, even comparing his future boss to Adolf Hitler. However, Vance eventually changed his tune, appealing to Trump's ego in private and in public several years prior to the 2024 presidential campaign. Shortly before election day 2024, Vance's adulation had even escalated to giving Trump some bizarre anti-aging compliments.

Trump may have returned the favor by selecting him as VP, but he hasn't exactly been helping Vance's future career. In February 2026, the president declined to give an advantage to either Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio for the 2028 election. Instead, Trump ambiguously declared (via Reuters), "I would say one is slightly more diplomatic than the other." When Vance went to Pakistan for negotiations with Iran, Rubio kept Trump company at home, joining him for a big UFC fight. However, other than Trump's quip about making Vance a scapegoat, he didn't divulge the specifics of his decision-making process.

In addition to taking heat from people on social media, Vance was also getting razzed by other politicians. California Governor Gavin Newsom has a reputation for directing scathing tweets at Vance. In an April 2026 post on X, Newsom's press office gleefully declared, "JD = 'Just Disappoints.'" Senator Chuck Schumer also jumped in with his own sarcastic request, writing, "Republicans — please put this guy on the campaign trail."