'Stick around for the laugh': Vance mocked after Diet Mountain Dew joke falls flat at hometown rally

One week after Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH) accepted the 2024 GOP vice presidential nomination on the Republican National Convention stage, the Ohio senator held his first solo rally Monday in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio.

Aside from claiming 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, and Democratic senators "lied about" President Joe Biden's mental acuity for the last three-and-a-half years, according to ABC News, the Republican senator also made a joke about his opposing party that fell flat among his hometown rally goers.

"It is the weirdest thing to me," Vance said, "Democrats say it is racist to believe — well, they say it's racist to do anything. I had a Diet Mountain Dew yesterday and one today. I'm sure they're gonna call that racist, too. But, it's good."

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A few faint laughs can be heard before silence falls over the room.

Several lawmakers and political experts responded to the VP hopeful's joke via X (formerly Twitter).

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez commented: Vance’s stump has got a nice Jeb Bush quality to it. And I mean that in the worst way possible. The lone, singular clap at the end is just [chef's kiss]."

Michigan State Senate Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow replied: "The uncomfortable silence you hear is because real ones know you either go full Dew or no Dew."

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The Lincoln Project's X account posted: "When you're in a cult of personality with no personality"

Vox's Eric Levitz wrote: "Sure, J.D. Vance has called for blanket abortion bans (w/o exceptions for rape) and nullifying the results of the 2020 election. But that baggage is a small price to pay for this level of charisma."

CNN's Bakari Sellers replied: "He's weird as hell."

The Bulwark Podcast host Tim Miller added: "Stick around for the laugh."

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