JD Vance Calls Himself the Coolest Vice President in History & Brags About It
A vice president publicly embraced self-congratulatory acclaim, reinforcing a politics where personal branding displaces the governing seriousness our institutions require.
Mar 2, 2026
Sources
Summary
JD Vance repeated and embraced an introduction calling him the “coolest vice president” in U.S. history during a recent event in Wisconsin. The moment reflects a shift toward self-promotional performance by senior executive-branch figures as a public-facing posture. The practical consequence is a public discourse that centers personal image over governance, further conditioning our politics to reward spectacle.
Reality Check
When top officials normalize governance as performance, we train the public to accept image management as a substitute for accountability. That shift weakens democratic guardrails by lowering expectations for transparency, competence, and institutional restraint. Over time, a politics rewarded for spectacle makes it easier to evade scrutiny, dismiss oversight, and treat public office as a stage rather than a trust.
Media
Detail
<p>During a public event in Wisconsin, the U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator introduced Vice President JD Vance by describing his “humble beginnings” and saying he was “probably the coolest vice president we’ve ever had.”</p><p>After the introduction, Vance returned to the remark and restated it without the qualifier, saying the Administrator said he was “the coolest vice president in American history.” He then described telling her the standard was “a very low bar,” and added that he believed he “clear[s] that bar.”</p><p>Video of the remarks circulated on X and Instagram. Social media responses criticized Vance for boasting and compared the moment to President Donald Trump’s style of self-praise, with users also referencing reports of Vance being booed at public appearances.</p>