Vice President JD Vance shared an infamous joke meme of himself on X shortly after denouncing the sniper shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Dallas, which he claimed was “an attack on law enforcement.”
An hour after decrying the apparent anti-ICE Texas attack, the vice president shared the meme in response to a clip of former MSNBC host Joy Reid talking about diversity, equity and inclusion, as she speculated about how Vance was admitted to Yale.
“Maybe the way JD Vance got into Yale is because they were tired of just letting in white men from New York from the elite schools and they wanted an Appalachian white,” Reid said. “That’s how that man got into Yale, I promise you.”
“That’s also affirmative action and DEI,” she added Tuesday on the Don Lemon Show.
His last post before that had been a serious one about the unfolding drama in Dallas. Vance posted on X, “The obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop. I'm praying for everyone hurt in this attack and for their families.”
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News that no ICE agents were injured in the shooting.
“We believe he was shooting at law enforcement and detainees from an apartment building,” McLaughlin told the network. “Detainees were among the victims of the shooting.”
In a statement, ICE said the shooter was “firing indiscriminately,” according to CBS News.
At a press conference, the FBI said ammunition at the scene contained “anti-ICE messaging” but officials refused to share further details about the shooter or the victims.
The vice president was immediately called out for jumping to conclusions so early on in the investigation.
Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was killed during the 2018 Parkland school shooting, asked the vice president why he didn’t share a similar sentiment after three police officers were killed in a shooting in Pennsylvania last week.
“Hey @JDVance, did you say anything about the law enforcement shooting in PA last week where officers were killed? Did that just not fit your narrative?” Guttenberg said. “Maybe I missed it but I don't think so.”
MSNBC anaylst Tim Miller said it was “irresponsible and sick.”
“The Vice President is live-tweeting a mass shooting to try to score political points and he's got it totally wrong,” Miller said. “The people who were killed were detainees, not law enforcement.”
The meme craze surrounding Vance appeared to blow up in October 2024, when a user on X posted a picture of the then-senator with slightly rounder cheeks.
In March, the vice president told Julio Rosas of the rightwing outlet The Blaze that he thinks it’s a funny trend.
