Warning: this story involves a discussion about someone considering taking their own life. If you or a loved one is experiencing this, please consider contacting the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
J.D. Vance refused to apologize for resurrecting an ancient internet meme that had caused a then-teen girl to consider taking her own life.
The Republican vice presidential nominee tried to preemptively mock Kamala Harris' hotly anticipated interview Thursday night by posting a 2007 video clip of Caitlin Upton, who represented South Carolina at that year's Miss Teen USA pageant, badly fumbling a response to a question about Americans' inability to locate their home country on a map, and CNN's John Berman confronted him over the difficulty that contestant later faced.
"So when you posted this last night, were you aware that the woman you are posting a picture of had contemplated committing suicide for the attention that it received?" Berman said.
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Vance insisted he hadn't been aware of Upton's struggles after that video clip went viral nearly two decades ago, and Donald Trump's running mate said the post was just a light-hearted attempt at humor.
"No, certainly not, John, and my heart goes out to her and I hope that she's doing well," Vance said. "Look, I've said a lot of things on camera, I've said a lot of stupid things on camera. Sometimes when you're in the public eye, you make mistakes and, again, I think the best way to deal with it is to laugh at ourselves, laugh at this stuff, and try to have some fun and politics. I posted a meme from 20 years ago, and I think the fact that we're talking about that instead of the fact that American families can't afford groceries or health care, young families can't afford to buy a home to raise their families, and those are the real crises that we should focus on, and there's nothing that says that we can't tell some jokes along the way while we to deal with a very serious business of bringing back our public policy."
"Politics has gotten way too lame, John, way too boring," Vance added. "You can have some fun while making a good argument to the American people about how you're going to improve their lives."
Berman wasn't satisfied with his evasion and asked whether he was prepared to apologize for dredging up that embarrassing moment in such a public fashion.
"I just want to be clear, though – you said you didn't know," Berman said. "Would you like to apologize to Caitlin Upton for posting that last night given what you've now learned?"
Trump's running mate declined the opportunity to apologize to Upton, who's now 35.
"John, I'm not going to apologize for posting a joke, but I wish the best for Caitlan," Vance said. "I hope that she's doing well and, again, what I'd say is one bad moment shouldn't define anybody and the best way to deal with this stuff is to laugh at ourselves."
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