JD Vance’s Miss South Carolina joke on Kamala Harris backfires: ‘Try to have some fun,’ he tells outraged critics

JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, tried to mix politics with humor by sharing a throwback clip of Miss South Carolina Teen USA, Caitlin “Caite” Upton, in what he hoped would be a clever dig at Kamala Harris. The move, however, blew up in his face, turning his joke into a major political faux pas.
In a tweet that screamed “awkward,” Vance posted a clip from Upton’s infamous 2007 pageant interview where she struggled with a geography question.His caption, “BREAKING: I have gotten ahold of the full Kamala Harris CNN interview,” seemed to link Upton’s blunder with Harris’s recent interview hiccups.

But instead of a chuckle, Vance got a tidal wave of backlash. Critics pounced on the tweet, accusing him of being a women-hating troll. One user retorted, “Keep attacking women. Even more will show up to vote against you.” Another added, “Tell me you hate women without telling me you hate women.”
Upton, who has since moved beyond the pageant circuit to a career in commercials, opened up about how the clip’s aftermath had a dark impact on her life. “I had some very dark moments where I thought about committing suicide,” she shared tearfully. “It was awful, and it was every single day for a good two years.”
When called out, Vance’s response was almost comically casual. “Look, I’ve said a lot of things on camera; I’ve said a lot of stupid things on camera,” he quipped. “Sometimes when you’re in the public eye, you make mistakes. And again, I think the best way to deal with it is to laugh at ourselves, laugh at this stuff and try to have some fun in politics.”

Despite the uproar, Vance stuck to his guns, saying, “I’m not going to apologize for posting a joke, but I wish the best for Caitlin. I hope that she’s doing well. And again, what I’d say is, one bad moment shouldn’t define anybody, and the best way to deal with this stuff is to laugh at ourselves.”

Upton’s final word was a reminder that some jokes just don’t land well. “It’s a shame that 17 years later this is still being brought up,” she said. “Social media and online bullying need to stop.”