JD Vance ‘José’ Remark Offensive To Latinos – And To The Vice Presidency
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During a brief visit to Los Angeles on Friday, Vice President JD Vance criticized California Senator Alex Padilla, who was handcuffed and forcibly removed by federal agents from a Homeland Security press conference on June 12.
Asked about the incident, Vance said, “Well, I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question. But unfortunately, I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn’t the theater.” He called Padilla’s actions “pure political theater.”
The key word here is “José.”
Vance’s misnaming Senator Alex Padilla as “José” drew pushback from Democrats. “Calling him ‘José Padilla’ is not an accident,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X. Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) posted on X, “This wasn’t a slip – It was disrespectful.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called out Vance for his comment, saying, “I guess he just looked like anybody to you. Well, he is not just anybody to us. He is our senator.”
Leave it to JD Vance to needlessly start a divisive controversy. Referring to a Latino senator as “José” appears at best a casual unawareness of his status or at worst an inappropriate jab at his heritage. This was no gaffe by Vance – it was more like a slap in the face to Hispanic Americans.
JD Vance and Padilla are not strangers. They served in the Senate together for two years before Vance left to become Vice President. In that capacity, Vance currently serves as the president of the U.S. Senate, where Padilla is one of only six Latino members. Given that Padilla made headlines as the first Latino elected to the Senate from the Golden State, Vance’s mangling of his name appears suspect. “He knows my name,” Padilla said on MSNBC this weekend. “Look, sadly, it’s just an indicator of how petty and unserious this administration is.”
Padilla may have something there. It is a common racist trope to refer to Latinos as “José” or “Pedro,” regardless of their actual name. Indeed, after Vance tagged Padilla as “José,” many rightwing accounts on X were quick to disparage the senator, along with making bigoted comments about his ethnicity.
If there were any doubts whether Vance made an honest mistake calling Padilla “José,” the vice president put them to rest on Saturday. In a statement, his spokesperson said that Vance “must have mixed up two people who have broken the law.” This is a likely reference to José Padilla, a convicted terrorist serving time in prison.
For the record, Senator Padilla did not break any laws by showing up at the Homeland Security press conference. Nor has he been charged with any crime.
Perhaps Vance thinks he was being clever, belittling Padilla as “José.” Yet this invocation of another stereotype – that of Latinos as criminals – is not conduct befitting an individual one heartbeat away from the presidency.
If anyone could be expected to show sensitivity to people’s correct names, it should be Vance. According to the Associated Press, over the course of his lifetime the vice president’s first, middle, and last names have all been altered in some way. And Vance cannot remember the distinction between “Alex” and “José”?
Then again, Vance has yet to carve out an effective role for himself in the administration. He is known for his false claims about Haitian migrants eating pets in Ohio and for being the least-popular vice president in modern history.
So maybe Vance was seeking attention with his race-baiting. He is certainly not acting like the vice president of all Americans, let alone the 65 million of Latino descent. How sad that the Yale graduate and father of multi-racial children would lower himself to a cheap shot at a high-achieving Latino.
JD Vance’s reference to “José” Padilla was disrespectful to the senator, to Latinos, and to his own office. Vance should act like the vice president, not like a partisan troll.
Raul A. Reyes is an attorney, journalist, and television commentator in New York City. Follow him on X: @RaulAReyes, IG: @raulareyes1.
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
