Fact Check: Did JD Vance say Labor Day should be a celebration of 'women who go through labor'?
WASHINGTON, DC: As Americans marked Labor Day on Monday, September 1, a viral rumor involving Vice President JD Vance lit up social media. The claim? Vance said the holiday should celebrate “women who go through labor.”
First surfacing on Threads, the quote quickly spread across platforms like Facebook and Instagram, sparking confusion and debate. But did he really say it?
Claim: JD Vance linked Labor Day to childbirth
A Facebook post shared by Rob Hegarty on September 2 featured an image of Vice President JD Vance alongside a controversial quote attributed to him. The image read, “WASHINGTON—JD Vance stirred controversy on Monday by suggesting that Labor Day be a celebration of 'women who go through labor.’”
The alleged quote continued, “The woke mob has distorted the true meaning of Labor Day,” Vance reportedly told Fox News. “Honoring workers might please people who work for a living, but it doesn't delight me and Donald Trump.”
It went on to claim that Vance said Labor Day should be “a time to pay tribute to the one thing that gives women's lives meaning: reproducing,” and concluded with, “Only women who have given birth should be allowed at Labor Day picnics. No baby, no hot dog.”
The post quickly fueled backlash online. Some users took the quote at face value, believing it to be real. One commenter asked, “Isn’t that what Mother’s Day is for??” Another added, “Any working person that votes for Vance after this statement is definitely in a cult!!”
Others called the quote “incredibly hypocritical,” and questioned Vance’s judgment with comments like “Is crazy catching?” and “Is this for real??”
Fact Check: Viral rumor traced to satire
There is no evidence to support the viral rumor that Vice President JD Vance made the controversial comments about Labor Day.
A Google search turned up no credible news reports or confirmations from reputable media outlets regarding the alleged statement. Given Vance’s high-profile position, such remarks would have likely received widespread coverage from major national news organizations, but none did.
In reality, the quote originated from Andy Borowitz, a comedian and satirist best known for The Borowitz Report, a long-running satirical news column.
According to the site’s About page, he shared, "I've been writing satirical news since I was eighteen. This represents either commitment to a genre or arrested development."
He continued, "In high school, I became editor of the newspaper solely because it produced an annual April Fool's issue. Later, as president of The Harvard Lampoon, I published parodies of the college newspaper, which got me hauled into the office of Dean Archie C. Epps III, which was his actual name."
"For the next two decades, I took a break from news satire while I waited for the Internet to be invented. Then, in 2001, I started emailing made-up news stories to friends. One suggested that creating a "website" would make it easier to "blast" my "posts." Soon, The Borowitz Report was live at BorowitzReport.com, and my free newsletter was reaching untold dozens of people," it emphasized.
The viral claim about Vance appears to have been lifted almost word-for-word from a satirical article Borowitz published in September 2024, titled “JD Vance Says Labor Day Should Celebrate Women who go Through Labor.” That story resurfaced in 2025, misleading some readers into thinking it was real.
Notably, the image used in the viral Facebook post was taken from a January 2025 Fox News interview with Vance. However, he made no mention of Labor Day during that appearance. The viral quote, it turns out, was entirely fabricated for comedic effect.
This article contains remarks made on the internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.
