J.D. Vance Loses Pokémon Trainer Vote After Telling Story About Asking His Son To 'Shut Up About Pikachu'

After a week that saw J.D. Vance hurt himself with the single woman demographic as his comments calling them "childless cat ladies" resurfaced, he may have hurt himself with the potentially more important Pokémon trainer demographic with an anecdote about receiving the phone call to be Donald Trump's running mate.

Earlier today, the Full Send Podcast posted their interview with Vance. Vance recalled receiving the phone call from Trump, and in his hotel room, his 7-year-old son Ewan was excitedly talking about Pokémon cards. With Trump on the phone, Vance says he told Ewan to "shut the hell up about Pikachu."

Vance's story was likely intended to be a relatable tale for parents who have had similar experiences with their children talking about their inane interests while the parent is doing something important. However, coming off a week where Vance became the poster child for the "Republicans are Weird" messaging pushed by Democrats thanks to salacious rumors regarding Vance, a couch and dolphins, the apparent insult to Pikachu was the final straw for many.

Vance has historically poor favorability among recent VP picks, which has led to some speculation that Donald Trump may drop him. When asked about Vance at a recent, incendiary meeting with the National Association of Black Journalists, Trump said of Vance, "Historically, the choice of a vice president makes no difference. You're voting for the president. You can have a vice president who's outstanding in every way, and I think JD is. I think that all of them would have been. But you're not voting that way. You're voting for the president. You're voting for me."