JD Vance Explains Why He Kept Making the Viral 'Jim Halpert' Face During the VP Debate

In a surprising twist during the recent vice-presidential debate, Senator JD Vance became a viral sensation—not for his political joints, but for a subtle facial expression that quickly drew comparisons to the character Jim Halpert from The Office. Vance, who was on stage with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, was frequently caught glancing toward the camera with a look that many viewers interpreted as breaking the ‘fourth wall,’ similar to how Halpert would acknowledge absurd moments on the hit TV show. But according to Vance, this viral moment wasn’t intentional. Speaking on The Ruthless Podcast, Vance explained the reasons behind his now-infamous look.

As per The New York Post, he said, “This thing that has gone super viral of me kind of doing the Jim from ‘The Office’ thing, looking into the camera,  it’s because — I wish I could take credit for it — but it’s because I guess the timer is right by the camera.” He then revealed the practical reason behind the glance, asserting, “I was trying to, like, you know, pay attention to what [Walz is] saying, but then you have to be ready for, like, when his time’s up because then it’s your turn to speak. And so I was looking at the timer.” For Vance, the unintentional meme wasn’t a bad outcome. He remarked, “It spawned a million viral memes. So, I’m glad they did it like that.” 

The viral moment added a humorous note to the otherwise tense political debate. Despite the meme-worthy reaction, Vance confessed he was nervous during the debate. He said, “You don’t really know when you’re doing this, your adrenaline is going, and you’re trying not to say anything stupid. You don’t actually know how it’s going really.” He confessed that his anxiety didn’t ease until after the debate concluded, when his wife, Usha Vance, joined him on stage.

As per The Independent, he recalled, “But my wife comes out at the very end, just sort of like this one final, you know, segment for the TV cameras. Gwen Walz comes up, my wife comes up, and I look at Usha’s face and I just knew.” He explained that his wife’s expressions are always honest with him, and her post-debate reaction gave him confidence that things had gone well. He remarked, “I was like, oh s—, we must have done a very good job. Usha doesn’t lie to me, and her face especially doesn’t lie to me, and I knew that minute that we had a very good debate.”

Moreover, Vance also felt a particular sense of satisfaction during the debate when Governor Walz stumbled over a question about the Tiananmen Square protests. Walz admitted he had ‘misspoken’ about being in Hong Kong during the time of the protests, and Vance seized the opportunity to stay quiet. He quipped, “It’s like the old Sun Tzu quote, right? When your enemy is making a mistake, don’t interrupt him. I was just like, shut up. Do not say a damn thing, JD. Silence.”