'Out in the open': JD Vance blasted over photo of him standing next to swastika at gun show

27 July 2024

Before he was the 2024 Republican vice presidential nominee or the junior U.S. senator from Ohio, JD Vance was photographed at a gun show on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks just feet away from framed Nazi memorabilia.

In the photo, which Vance tweeted on September 11, 2021 without comment, the Hillbilly Elegy author is seen holding his infant child while looking at a table displaying several revolvers of various calibers. One vendor at a nearby table is seen sitting next to framed Nazi memorabilia, including a flag bearing a swastika, and two different Nazi war ensigns known as "Reichskriegsflagge" and a variety of Nazi war medals. One of the guns on the table Vance is standing over is a Luger pistol commonly used by Nazi soldiers during World War II.

Journalist Carlos Berrios Polanco, who publishes the Heavy Weather newsletter, noticed the photo of Vance on Friday night and tweeted: "They really did not do any social media vetting or clean up on this guy at all. Kind of hilarious if it wasn't so bleak."

The photo of Vance shocked several others on X/Twitter after Polanco's tweet.

"Pretty cool photo of JD shopping for some guns and/or framed swastikas," comedy writer Lon Harris tweeted. "Solid guy, seems like a good pick."

Writer and producer Grant Pardee (known for the 2016 series Nuclear Family) sarcastically observed that Vance was simply being "relatable" by "bringing [his] infant to a gun show" to "browse fetishized Nazi memorabilia." Writer Daisy Gardner (of 30 Rock fame) simply tweeted: "Nazi s—. Literal Nazi s—."

"It's so out in the open. We must stop them with all we can do," tweeted Methodist pastor Daniel Russell.

Vance has been embroiled in a tsunami of negative news coverage ever since he was officially selected as former President Donald Trump's 2024 running mate. He spent Friday trying to explain comments he made in 2021 lamenting to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that the government was being overtaken by "childless cat ladies." The Ohio senator has also been the subject of memes mocking him over a debunked rumor that he committed a sex act with a couch.

When Vance proposed in 2022 that American adults without children be taxed at a higher rate than parents, he angered MAGA influencer and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who called the idea "f—ing idiotic."

"You want me to pay more taxes to take care of other people's kids? We sure this dude is a Republican? Sounds like a moron," Portnoy tweeted. "If you can't afford a big family don't have a ton of kids."

Click here to view Polanco's tweet.

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