JD Vance turns viral meme into Halloween hit, his costume post racks up 15 million views

WASHINGTON, DC: Vice President JD Vance fully embraced Halloween this year — and the internet loved every second of it. Taking inspiration from a viral meme that once poked fun at him, the VP transformed into “fat JD with curly hair,” turning self-parody into a social-media sensation.

Vance donned a dense, curly blond wig, a red tie, and a navy-blue blazer to complete the look. He shared the photo on X with a simple caption, “Thank you,” a direct nod to one of the meme’s most famous lines. The post racked up more than 15 million views within hours. On Instagram, he followed it up with a short reel that also went viral. 

JD Vance channels viral meme for Halloween

The vice president’s Instagram video, filmed at the Naval Observatory residence, showed him stepping onto his front porch and cheerfully saying, “Happy Halloween everyone, remember to say thank you while you trick or treat!” The video played under eerie purple lighting to the 'Twilight Zone' theme — a clever reference to the original meme where he appeared to chastise someone for not saying “thank you.”.

Vance then gave fans a perfect reenactment of the meme’s signature close-up selfie, posting it separately on X (formerly Twitter). In the photo, he widened his eyes to match the exaggerated, photoshopped version of himself that once spread across social media.

Both posts quickly exploded online. The Instagram reel drew more than 239,000 likes, over 7,000 comments, and 2.5 million views, while the close-up selfie gathered 16.4 million views in just a few hours.

“MAKE SURE YOU SAY THANK YOU,” the White House joked, resharing the image on its official X account with the caption, “Have you said thank you once?”

Internet can’t stop laughing at JD Vance’s transformation

The meme that inspired Vance's look originated after a tense White House meeting between Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February. Online users quickly edited photos of Vance, exaggerating his features and adding messy curls, alongside captions like, "@JDVance you’re the absolute GOAT."

"You did it. You actually did it. Thank you sir for saving the republic, the country, and the west," another one shares. 

Another user shares, "And just like that, you win 2028." 

Another user comments, "I absolutely cannot wait to vote for you for president. This is amazing."

Someone else shares, "Best VP in US history!!" 

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