JD Vance's TPUSA Event Is Another VP Embarrassment (No Wonder Erika Kirk Bailed)

JD Vance's decision to appear at multiple Turning Point USA events has caused him all kinds of difficulties with his popularity. Ahead of his engagement at an October 2025 event in Mississippi, people accused Vance of laziness, asserting he should have prioritized his governmental duties. Things got worse after he took the stage there, with Vance's cozy hug with Erika Kirk jumpstarting affair rumors. Now he's even being criticized for appearing without Kirk.

While she was supposed to headline an April 2026 TPUSA event with Vance, Kirk backed out at the last minute, claiming she didn't feel safe after alleged threats. This decision left Vance in a dilemma. "About two hours ago, as you know, I was a little worried that we were going to have to cancel the event because Erika was not going to come, and she was very worried about it," Vance explained onstage (via Fox News). However, he felt confident with his Secret Service staff and decided to go ahead anyway. In hindsight, based on the number of empty seats at the event, Vance could have stayed home and saved himself some awkwardness. 

Turning Point USA seems to have misestimated crowd size for Vance. Akins Ford Arena less than 25% filled for the vice president. pic.twitter.com/K2SnkmuATh

— Jake Traylor (@jake__traylor) April 14, 2026

Turning Point seemed to overestimate the turnout when planning the event. They chose the Akins Ford Arena in Georgia, which seats more than 8,000 people, meaning that around 6,000 seats were left unfilled. Disorganization added to the issues. According to Matthew Boedy, a professor at the University of North Georgia, the event started an hour earlier than intended. "A few logistics issues," Boedy wrote on Blue Sky, adding that the doors closed early and non-students were still on a waitlist until the day before the event. "But enthusiasm [is] also a problem," he added. That enthusiasm may have been dampened by the multi-step process needed to secure a free ticket.

Besides the low turnout, things weren't any better for JD Vance during his time onstage, with the vice president being interrupted multiple times. When Vance was talking about the war with Iran, someone shouted (via X, formerly Twitter), "Jesus doesn't support genocide." It didn't take long for Vance to get snarky in response. "Random dude who's shouting, can I finish my point and then I'll respond to what you just shouted?" he replied. 

When the individual interrupted a second time, Vance repeated himself. "Hey, random dude screaming, I told you I'd respond to your point." When the discussion turned to the situation in Gaza, they yelled (via X), "You're killing children." Vance addressed the commenter by using one of Donald Trump's favorite strategies — blaming Joe Biden. The person seems to have been booted from the event shortly after this, allowing Vance to continue speaking without interruption for nearly another hour.

While this back-and-forth tension was likely difficult enough, the scene outside might have been even more embarrassing for Vance, since hundreds of people were parading with homemade signs. One read, "JD stay off my couch" (via Flagpole). Another person went a step further and brought an inflatable black couch. Even though talk of the vice president having an intimate encounter with a couch has been refuted, this persistent rumor about Vance seems destined to remain a continual source of mockery.