Vice President JD Vance leaned into a months-long internet mockery of himself this Halloween, posting a short video of himself wearing a curly brown wig to mimic a viral meme.
In the TikTok clip, filmed at the Naval Observatory, Vance opens the door in a dark suit and red tie, smiling as he tells trick-or-treaters, “Happy Halloween, kids … remember, say thank you!”
The line nods to the “you didn’t say thank you” meme before he twirls under purple lights to the eerie theme from “The Twilight Zone.”
The 41-year-old vice president’s post quickly went viral, earning more than 250,000 likes and 14 million views within hours, an unusual milestone for a political video. It has since surpassed 15 million views.
It also drew thousands of comments across Instagram, X, and Facebook.
Vance first became the target of the “fat JD with curly hair” meme following a tense White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February. In the viral image, his eyes are widened, brown curls fall to his shoulders, and his chin and cheeks are exaggerated.
Since then, the image has frequently resurfaced online as a way to poke fun at the vice president. Critics paired the edited photo with captions such as, “you didn’t say please” or “you didn’t say thank you.”
Rather than shy away from the jokes, Vance embraced the humor. Earlier this week, the White House X account joined the trend, posting mock “costume package” images of political figures, including a “JD Vance Costume” that humorously says: “does not include the fat JD curly hair.”
His Halloween video effectively added that missing element.
Within hours, the post was trending online. Screenshots circulated widely, with one user calling him “the best VP ever” and another declaring, “JD just won 2028.” Elon Musk reacted with a simple laughing emoji.
Here, Vice President JD Vance speaks to the media about the impact of the government shutdown on the aviation industry on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Washington. The vice president make a video of himself dressed as his own online meme for Halloween. AP
Even some critics acknowledged the effort, with one commenter on X writing, “He did the meme lol.” Users quickly remixed the Halloween look with the original meme, adding jump cuts and special effects as it spread across platforms.
Some critics found humor in the stunt, with comments like, “I don’t like JD Vance but going as your own meme for Halloween is funny asf.” A self-described liberal added: “this is genuinely really funny. Good on Vance.”
Others praised his relatability and boldness, saying, “Having a VP that isn’t soft is awesome” and “Happy Halloween, 48!”
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