Alright, folks, let’s talk about how Vice President JD Vance has somehow become the “internet’s” new favorite toy. And I mean that literally—his face is now stretched, shrunk, rounded, and contorted into so many bizarre meme formats that some people claim they’ve actually forgotten what the “real” JD Vance even looks like.
How did this happen? Well, it all started with last Friday’s heated exchange in the Oval Office between Vance, President Trump, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In the midst of a tense discussion, Vance hit Zelensky with a pointed question: ““Have you said thank you once?””
And just like that, the internet took over. Within hours, people were editing his face onto everything from Minions to the Las Vegas Sphere. Some made him a baby-faced cherub clutching a lollipop. Others turned him into an emo rocker, a Teletubby, or—perhaps the most viral of all—a chubby, toddler-like version of himself saying, ““You have to say pwease and tank you, Mistow Zensky.””
Yes, you read that right. JD Vance is now “the Pwease Guy”.
The sheer “speed” at which this meme exploded is something to behold. One minute, it was a niche joke among politically active Twitter users. The next, it was “everywhere”—shared by people on all sides of the political spectrum. Liberals saw it as a way to mock Vance’s Trump loyalty and aggressive questioning of Zelensky. Conservatives, particularly in meme-heavy circles, started embracing it as an ironic badge of honor.
And here’s the kicker—Vance himself has seen the memes, and according to journalist Julio Rosas, he thinks they’re “hilarious”. That’s right, the Vice President isn’t throwing a fit or demanding people stop; he’s rolling with it. Smart move. If there’s one thing the internet loves, it’s when a politician “overreacts” to a meme, turning a joke into an even bigger spectacle. Vance, at 40 years old, understands internet culture well enough to know that playing along is the best strategy.
In fact, he’s even been known to post memes himself. Earlier this week, he shared a reference to “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” in response to claims that the Trump-Vance administration was siding with Russia over Ukraine.
But not everyone finds the meme-fest amusing. Meme creator Dave McNamee told “Vulture” that part of what makes this trend so potent is that it “juxtaposes” Vance’s self-serious political persona with an exaggerated, childish version of himself. “”It completely undermines his authority,”” McNamee said.
And if you needed any more proof that the internet moves “fast”, one of the altered Vance images has already been turned into a cryptocurrency token—briefly reaching a “$20 million market cap”. Yes, people are “literally” making money off of JD Vance memes.
One user summed it up best: “”Twitter is f***ing unusable. I’m trying to get updates on whether World War 3 is happening, but all I see are fat JD Vance memes.””
