JD Vance should have been sold by his mother for drugs, NYT columnist says
A nationally prominent columnist normalized cruelty toward a public official by invoking the sale of a child for drugs—weaponizing family trauma to replace accountable political critique.
Feb 5, 2026
Sources
Summary
A New York Times columnist posted on Bluesky that JD Vance’s mother was right to have attempted to sell him for drugs and said a parent would sell “little JD for percocet” knowing how he would turn out. The episode reflects how political discourse can be driven through personal degradation rather than accountable institutional critique. The practical consequence is further normalization of dehumanizing rhetoric aimed at public officials and their families, shifting attention away from verifiable conduct and toward cruelty as spectacle.
Reality Check
Normalizing dehumanizing attacks against public officials and their families trains our politics to reward cruelty over evidence, making intimidation and character destruction a substitute for democratic accountability. When personal degradation becomes routine, institutions lose the shared civic language needed to evaluate conduct, policy, and abuse of power on verifiable terms. Over time, this corrodes the public’s ability to demand standards from those who govern—and conditions us to accept politics as punishment rather than oversight.
Detail
<p>New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie wrote a series of posts on Bluesky criticizing Vice President JD Vance after a Daily Mail interview in which Vance declined to apologize to the family of Minnesota shooting victim Alex Pretti following Vance’s claim that Pretti showed up with “ill intent” at an immigration enforcement protest.</p><p>In the same thread, Bouie described Vance as “a wicked man,” commented on Vance’s facial expression, and responded to a remark calling Vance “pompous” by musing, “No wonder his mom tried to sell him for Percocets.” Bouie then added, “I can’t imagine a parent who wouldn’t sell little JD for percocet if they knew he would turn out like this,” and later wrote that Vance is “addicted to power.”</p><p>Fox News Digital reported it contacted The New York Times and Vance’s office for comment. The report also recounts Vance’s public discussion of his mother Beverly Aikins’ addiction history and notes that Vance marked her 10 years of sobriety at a White House event in April 2025.</p>