JD Vance is facing a fresh wave of online ridicule in the US after his latest Fox News appearance on Tuesday, 16 June, where viewers claimed the vice president was wearing conspicuously heavy eyeliner and sporting a sharp 'cat eye' look while discussing national security and foreign policy.
For context, speculation about JD Vance's eye make-up has become a running joke on social media over the past year. The vice president's apparent 'guyliner' has spawned memes, parody accounts and endless side-by-side comparisons with pop stars and fictional villains.
His team has repeatedly pushed back, saying the effect is simply down to his naturally dark, thick eyelashes, and his wife has previously insisted his lashes are 'au naturel.'
JD Vance Eyeliner Jokes Erupt After Fox News Hit
The latest round of mockery followed Vance's appearance on Fox News to promote his memoir, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, while also weighing in on what he described as an alleged Iran agreement and on breaking reports that the FBI had disrupted an alleged drone plot targeting Sunday's UFC event at the White House.
Within minutes of the segment airing, users on X were less focused on Iran or counter-terror operations and more fixated on the vice president's eyes. One commenter sneered that Vance had 'went heavy on the eyeliner this morning,' while others joked that the Maybelline supply chain must be under strain.
An attorney on X leaned into the gag by posting an old photograph of Vance in drag during his Yale days and writing: '@JDVance will soon (to coin a phrase) come out w/ a line of male mascara, eyeliner & long blonde wigs (for those who're into that).' The line was half joke, half not-so-subtle reminder of how visuals from a politician's past never truly die online.
Another user folded in a more serious controversy, referencing the recent uproar over UFC fighter Josh Hokit, who made a vile viral remark at the White House about former First Lady Michelle Obama. 'Talking about turning the rhetoric up? They called the former First Lady a man!' the user wrote, suggesting the current obsession with make-up and gendered appearance is part of a wider, nastier culture-war playbook.
Others kept it simple and snarky. One post branded Vance 'alpha boy' and said he had 'cat eye going on,' a dig at what critics see as his textbook fixation on projecting toughness and masculinity.
JD Vance were heavy on the eyeliner this morning pic.twitter.com/4LVUbaafbp
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 16, 2026
Another user turned one of Vance's own favourite lines back on him, quoting his warning about political extremism: 'This is very, very dark stuff,' and adding, 'Clearly referring to his guyliner.'
Perhaps the most brutal comparison came from a user who wrote: 'One makeup-wearing tyrant was enough,' linking Vance's alleged eyeliner habit to Donald Trump's famously orange-tinged look. It was a reminder that, in this administration, even the foundation shade is political.
Online Meme Culture Meets JD Vance's Political Reality
It can be recalled that Vance has never directly addressed the make-up rumours himself. His staff have previously told reporters that he does not wear eyeliner and that cameras and studio lighting exaggerate the darkness of his eyes. Beauty writers have quietly backed that up, noting that naturally long, dark lashes can cast shadows along the waterline that mimic liner on HD television.
None of that has stopped the jokes. And here is the awkward part for the White House: the eyeliner meme is landing at the same time as Vance's standing with the public is sliding into historically weak territory.
According to national surveys cited by CNN data analyst Harry Enten, Vance's net approval rating has dropped by 21 points since the start of his term, from a positive 3% to a negative 18%. That makes him one of the least popular vice presidents at a comparable stage in office.
Enten's comparison places Dick Cheney at +37%, Joe Biden at +4%, Kamala Harris at -13% and Mike Pence at -7% at similar points. Against that backdrop, Vance's -18% stands out. The vice president's office has not publicly disputed those numbers, though allies tend to argue that the political environment is more polarised now than it was for Cheney or Biden.
For starters, Vance is still widely viewed inside the Republican Party as a top-tier contender for the 2028 presidential nomination. Polling cited in recent national coverage suggests he is running roughly neck and neck with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in early GOP primary surveys. He also appears tightly bunched with other would-be candidates in betting markets and informal donor chatter.
That means every minor visual detail, every photograph, every Fox hit, every close-up of his eyes, becomes raw material for supporters and critics alike. In an era when image consultants can charge eye-watering fees to stop this kind of thing happening, Vance's camp is watching a meme mushroom over something they insist is just genetics.
There is no official comment from Fox News on the chatter around Vance's appearance. The network simply aired the segment as one of several interviews with senior administration figures.
The FBI, for its part, has confirmed it disrupted what officials described as an alleged drone plot linked to Sunday's UFC event, although specific operational details remain scarce and subject to ongoing investigation.
Supporters of the vice president tend to bristle at the focus on eyeliner, arguing that the fixation is frivolous at best and sexist at worst. But the sheer volume of posts, memes and jokes after his latest Fox News hit suggests the JD Vance eyeliner narrative is now baked into his public image, whether he likes it or not. And unless he chooses to confront it head-on, the internet will probably keep filling in the blanks for him.
