'Freudian slip': JD Vance's answer on Canada takes an awkward turn
JD Vance:
— Viory Video (@vioryvideo) August 24, 2026
We have to remember, Canada state, sorry, Freudian slip. That was actually an accident. pic.twitter.com/LDCrrvZWDK
WASHINGTON, DC: Vice President JD Vance stumbled while discussing Canada's status on Monday, August 24, briefly calling the country a state before correcting himself.
Vance's slip came as he discussed Trump's trade war with Canada and its impact on Maine.
He was campaigning for Republican House candidate Paul LePage in Brewer, Maine, when reporters questioned him.
JD Vance catches himself on Canada
Vance acknowledged Maine is a border state with Canada and said the administration was trying to get a fair deal before his response veered off track.
“We have to remember, Canada is a state—sorry, Freudian slip,” Vance said. “That was actually an accident. Canada is a country.”
The remark came after President Donald Trump had previously suggested Canada should become the 51st state.
As recently as Monday morning, Trump suggested he would treat Canada like a state “no longer” while issuing trade threats.
Later Monday, Trump also intentionally referred to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as “governor.”
The Canada question produced one of several moments during the appearance in which he stumbled over his words.
Vice president stumbles over fraud warning
The vice president also struggled while delivering a warning to people committing fraud against the government.
“If you are defrauding the taxpaper—payer—we’re going to do everything we can to put you in prison and send a message to the other fraudsters: the gig is up, commit fraud against America and go to jail,” Vance said.
The phrase he appeared to be reaching for was “the jig is up.”
Vance then faced a question about the deadly shooting by an ICE agent in Biddeford last month.
JD Vance defends ICE killing a man in Biddeford: "When the officers approached the person they were trying to arrest, that person, like, broke away from the scene, and what at least the law enforcement officers argue is that person posed a danger to the community ... when I look… pic.twitter.com/dhIGDyChoe
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 24, 2026
A reporter noted that Democrats had accused the Trump administration of not investigating the shooting, an allegation Vance pushed back on.
But Vance declined to fully comment on the case, saying, “In that particular case, I don’t want to comment on it; I don’t want to prejudge all the details.”
JD Vance takes a cautious approach
Vance said law enforcement officers argued the person involved “posed a danger to the community” before launching into a lengthy explanation of why he did not want to prejudge the case.
“Again, I’m not going to prejudge the case because I think everybody is entitled to their, their case not in the court of public opinion but a court trial by their juries, an actual real investigation if that’s what ultimately happens,” he said.
Vance added that people are entitled to understand what they are accused of and whether those accusations are legitimate, saying that a criminal prosecution would entitle them to “a jury by their peers.”
He also said he sees a country “trying to enforce its laws, and it hasn’t for a long time,” while accusing Democrats of being more concerned about an ICE shooting than overdoses among Mainers.
Vance said Democrats should “have a little bit of perspective.”
The vice president also tried to win over the crowd with jokes, including recalling a past conversation about becoming Trump's running mate.
“The second lady said, ‘Well, you can have one of two things. You can be vice president, or you can have a fourth child’. Ladies and gentlemen, I must be pretty persuasive, because I got both,” Vance said.
