J.D. Vance Side Eye

About

J.D. Vance Side Eye, also known as J.D. Vance Smirk, refers to an image of Ohio Senator J.D. Vance looking at the camera and smirking, performing a Side Eye expression, during the 2024 Vice Presidential Debate against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. The photo of Vance became a reaction image on Twitter / X and elsewhere in October 2024, often compared to a Tim Walz expression during the debate known as the Tim Walz Worried Face. The image was used to portray skepticism in memes. Vance was also compared to Jim Halpert from The Office because of the fourth-wall-breaking expression. Others noted that Vance repeatedly did the expression throughout the debate, inspiring speculation that he was trying too hard to become a meme, thereby making him cringe.

Origin

On October 1st, 2024, the U.S. Vice Presidential Debate was held on CBS. At one moment during the debate, Donald Trump's running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, looked into the camera and smirked, giving a "side eye" expression. A screencap of the moment was first posted by X^[1] user @itslinklauren on October 1st, who wrote, "JD Vance breaking the 4th wall anytime Walz talks has me chuckling," receiving over 19,000 likes in a day (shown below).

Spread

Within the hour, more X users shared their own screencaps and posts showing Vance's Side Eye face. For instance, on October 1st, 2024, X^[2] user @RubinReport tweeted, "Anyone else noticing JD glancing at the camera like Jim in The Office?" receiving over 51,000 likes in a day (shown below).

Later on October 1st, X^[3] user @BasedTorba tweeted a screencap of J.D. Vance's smirk, comparing it to a screencap from the debate of Democratic candidate Tim Walz looking worried, captioned, "Visual summary of the debate," gaining over 53,000 likes in a day (shown below).

Later on October 1st, X^[4] user Libs of TikTok copied the abovementioned post, receiving roughly 92,000 likes over the same timeframe.

Similar memes surfaced on TikTok, like a video shared by TikToker^[5] @cheeseburger.walrus on October 1st, which captioned a video of Vance's side eye, "'Yeah we're only going to go out for one drink,'" gaining over 335,900 plays and 43,200 likes in a day (shown below).

Others mocked J.D. Vance for making the face in question. For instance, on October 1st, X^[6] user @youngestwoman quoted a tweet that asked, "Why is Vance looking at camera like this every 2 minutes lol," responding with the word, "millennial," thereby labeling Vance cringe, receiving over 51,000 likes in a day (shown below).

J.D. Vance vs. Tim Walz

After X^[3] user @BasedTorba compared Vance and Walz in a viral tweet, others online posted memes that compared the facial expressions of Vance and Walz from the debate. For instance, later on October 1st, 2024, X^[7] @netcapgirl tweeted a full-screen screencap of Vance's side eye, captioned, "jd vance like 'chat, how we feeling about this?'" referencing a livestream chat, like on Twitch. In a day, the tweet received roughly 46,000 likes (shown below).

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External References