Former Miss Teen USA contestant rebukes J.D. Vance for using her flub to attack Kamala Harris
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Mr J.D. Vance has been criticised on several occasions for comments demeaning women.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
NEW YORK – Senator J.D. Vance, who since becoming former president Donald Trump’s running mate in July, has been criticised on several occasions for comments demeaning women, found himself again embroiled in controversy this week when he used a viral clip of a beauty pageant contestant’s meltdown to attack Vice-President Kamala Harris.
On Aug 29, Mr Vance shared a video clip from the 2007 Miss Teen USA competition in which Ms Caite Upton, who was representing South Carolina, gave a mangled answer to a question about why many Americans could not locate the United States on a map.
“BREAKING: I have gotten ahold of the full Kamala Harris CNN interview,” Mr Vance wrote on social media platform X.
That evening, CNN was set to broadcast the first major interview with Ms Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee. Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr quickly reposted Mr Vance’s post, writing: “This is total Fake News from JD. We all know that Kamala isn’t that articulate.”
In a social media post on Aug 30, Ms Upton objected to Mr Vance dredging up the 17-year-old clip of her pageant struggles, remarks that were reported by The Post and Courier of Charleston, South Carolina, and later deleted, after she appeared to have deactivated her account on X.
“Regardless of political beliefs, one thing I do know is that social media and online bullying needs to stop,” she wrote, according to the newspaper.
A representative for Ms Upton, who competed in the pageant under the name Lauren Caitlin Upton, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Aug 31.
In 2015, Ms Upton told New York magazine that the embarrassment she felt over the viral video had led to depression and thoughts of suicide.
During an appearance on CNN on Aug 30, when Mr Vance was asked whether he had been aware of Ms Upton’s mental health challenges, he said he had not at the time he posted the clip.
“My heart goes out to her, and I hope that she’s doing well,” he said.
Asked whether he wanted to apologise, Mr Vance said he did not have regrets.
“Politics has gotten way too lame,” he said, adding, “I’m not going to apologise for posting a joke, but I wish the best for Caitlin.” NYTIMES
