Vice President J.D. Vance is facing criticism after joining in laughter at a crude joke during the promotion of his new memoir on faith on Fox News, RadarOnline.com has learned. The situation intensified later when he remarked that he might be “killed or unelectable” if he reacted to another remark about sexuality.
Vance’s recently published book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, released on June 16 by HarperCollins, is described by the 41-year-old Republican as a personal exploration of his journey from atheism to Catholicism.
Appearing as a guest co-host on The Five, Vance shared with Jesse Watters, Greg Gutfeld, Dana Perino, and Jessica Tarlov, “I’ve been on the show for half an hour. It’s about faith and religion. Y’all need Jesus! That’s my takeaway after 30 minutes.” During his appearance, Vance also discussed topics such as the economy and Iran, alongside his book.
The controversy occurred during the show’s “One More Thing” segment. After acknowledging National Fudge Day, Watters presented a cake with a joke about its appearance: “We got pickle cake here, dozens of layers of creamy green frosting.” He continued, “I was gonna do fudge [cake], because it’s National Fudge Day, for the VP, but I thought it’d be too gay, so I did pickle cake instead.” Watters added uncertainty by saying, “I’m not sure if I got it right.” Vance laughed at the comment and thanked Watters for the cake, but Watters’ remark was criticized online for seemingly referencing a homophobic slur historically used against gay men. An online critic questioned, “He didn’t have to say or do like… any of that. (What) the h–l is wrong with him?”
Later that evening, Vance continued his book tour on Gutfeld’s Fox News show. During a conversation about Trump’s reported peace deal with Iran, Gutfeld made a comment about the country’s supreme leader: “We’re looking at this new deal, VP, and I’m wondering, did we sign the deal because the new Ayatollah is gay and we wanted to focus on Pride Month?” Vance responded with laughter, stating, “I’m glad I decided to ruin my political career by spending an hour here. I’ll either be killed or unelectable if I answer that.” This clip also drew criticism online, with one user saying, “Vance is annoying. I’m sick of seeing him,” and another remarking on his laughter as “Fakest laugh I’ve ever seen.”
The incident on Fox News has brought attention to Vance’s previous statements regarding LGBTQ+ issues. He has faced ongoing criticism for his stance on same-s– marriage and transgender rights. Since joining the Trump administration, Vance has opposed the Respect for Marriage Act, a bipartisan effort to protect same-s– marriage rights. In a 2024 interview with Business Insider, Vance stated, “Most Americans, I think, don’t really care about same-s– marriage.”
