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Sen. JD Vance hit out at people who've been calling him and his party "weird" — and blamed young people on social media for ascribing that label to the GOP campaign.
On Wednesday, a reporter asked the Ohio senator in Eau Claire airport, Wisconsin, what he thought about the label.
"I think this argument honestly came from a bunch of 24-year-old social media interns who were bullied in school, and they decided they're going to project that onto the entire Trump campaign," he said.
He then went on to say that he's a "normal guy."
Reporter: What do you make of that weird argument?
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 7, 2024
JD Vance: "I think this argument honestly came from a bunch of 24-year-old social media interns who were bullied in school and they decided they're going to project that onto the entire Trump campaign." pic.twitter.com/Dxb9mUoAiH
"I got my wife here, I've got three beautiful kids at home, I'm a normal guy who wants to live the American dream," Vance said.
Adding that he's not affected by the comment, the vice presidential nominee said he plans to wear the "weird" label like a "badge of honor."
The label "weird" has been used multiple times by Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her newly-minted running mate, Gov. Tim Walz.
"You may have noticed Donald Trump has been resorting to some wild lies about my record," she said during a fundraiser in Massachusetts on July 27. "And some of what he and his running mate are saying, it's just plain weird."
Her Kamalahq X account has used the word "weird" to describe Vance on at least two separate occasions.
And Walz already shared Harris' sentiments way before he was picked as her running mate.
During an MSNBC interview released on July 23, he said: "These guys are just weird." He added that he thought people like JD Vance and former President Donald Trump were running for a "he-man women-haters club or something."
He reiterated that during his rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
"These guys are creepy and, yes, just weird as hell," Walz said.
Walz has also made other quips about his VP opponent, telling rallygoers that he's game to debate Vance if the latter is "willing to get off the couch."
Representatives for Vance did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
