Here's Why Social Media is Buzzing With Rumors of JD Vance Having Sex With a Couch

In the whirlwind realm of political campaigns, candidates often face a myriad of rumors and allegations. For J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential hopeful, one of the most bizarre claims that has recently taken the internet by storm is that he once had a sexual encounter with a couch. Yes, you read that right. As per Rolling Stone, the origins of this head-scratcher can be traced back to a social media post made on July 15, the day Vance was confirmed as Donald Trump’s running mate for the 2024 election. 

A user on X (formerly Twitter), jokingly suggested, “Can’t say for sure but [Vance] might be the first VP pick to have admitted in a New York Times bestseller to f***ing an inside-out latex glove shoved between two couch cushions (Vance, Hillbilly Elegy, pp. 179-181).” The tweet ignited a frenzy of jokes and memes across the platform.

Netizens were quick to believe — or at least joke — about the possibility of Vance having done the deed with a couch. However, for those familiar with Hillbilly Elegy, it was clear that no such anecdote exists in the book. Vance’s memoir, which delves into his upbringing in a working-class Appalachian family, contains its fair share of controversial statements, but a story about a couch is not one of them.

As per Vox, the rumor escalated when the Associated Press briefly published an article titled No, JD Vance Did Not Have Sex With a Couch, only to retract it shortly afterward. According to an AP spokesperson, the article had not gone through its standard editing process, leading to its removal. The retraction only fueled further speculation, with some humorously suggesting that the AP couldn’t definitively prove Vance had never engaged in such an act with a couch. AP confirmed, “The story, which did not go out on the wire to our customers, didn’t go through our standard editing process. We are looking into how that happened.”

The incident, while humorous, has added to a series of missteps for Vance’s early campaign. His recent attempts at humor, such as, “I had a diet Mountain Dew yesterday and one today and I’m sure they’re going to call that racist, too,” fell flat and were widely mocked. Additionally, past controversial comments, including a 2021 interview where Vance criticized Democratic nominee Kamala Harris,​ drew severe backlash.

He had remarked, “We’re effectively run in this country — via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs — by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too. You look at Kamala Harris…the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children, and how does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?”