Donald Trump's running mate JD Vance has got caught in another controversy after posting an old clip of a teenage pageant queen. His aim was quite clear, to shame Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris by linking her to the young girl for her meandering responses in her CNN interview.
But little did he know that the post would come back to bite him and give fodder to Kamala's supporters who labelled him a women hater.
Vance posted an old viral clip showing 18-year-old Caitlin “Caite” Upton, who was Miss South Carolina Teen USA at the time, fumbling over an answer on Americans’ knowledge of geography. Vance captioned it as, “BREAKING: I have gotten ahold of the full Kamala Harris CNN interview.”
Vance faces rebuke for using Miss Teen USA's video to attack Kamala
Vance's post immediately attracted a lot of criticism for his misogynist remarks, “Keep attacking women. Even more will show up to vote against you,” one user commented. “Tell me you hate women without telling me you hate women,” added another.
{{/usCountry}}Vance's post immediately attracted a lot of criticism for his misogynist remarks, “Keep attacking women. Even more will show up to vote against you,” one user commented. “Tell me you hate women without telling me you hate women,” added another.
{{/usCountry}}Upton, who has since appeared on several commercials, has said that she dealt with depression and suicidal thoughts over the fallout from the incident. “I had some very dark moments where I thought about committing suicide,” she told the magazine, beginning to tear up. She added: “Sorry, it’s just really emotional. This is the first time I’ve actually been able to talk about it. It was awful, and it was every single day for a good two years.”
When confronted with Upton's story and how Vance used her without knowing the full story Ohio senator claimed he was unaware and went on to say that it would be best to just laugh it off.
“Look, I’ve said a lot of things on camera; I’ve said a lot of stupid things on camera,” he said. “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.”
Lamenting that “politics has gotten way too lame” and “way too boring” Vance refused to apologise, “you can have some fun while making a good argument to the American people about how you’re going to improve their lives."
"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.
Vance's joke wasn't too funny for Upton as well, who commented, “It’s a shame that 17 years later this is still being brought up. There’s not too much else to say about it at this point. Regardless of political beliefs, one thing I do know is that social media and online bullying needs to stop.”
Upton’s account appears to have since been deleted.