JD Vance Has No Regrets About Fat Joke Aimed at Fellow Republican: ‘I Feel Pretty Good About That’

Vice President JD Vance called into Hugh Hewitt’s Salem News Channel show on Thursday and defended his mean-tweet fat joke on Wednesday directed at Fox News contributor and Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen.

“Yesterday you took a punch at Marc online from the burrito thing. So I’m curious, do you ever regret that night that you took a punch at a fellow Catholic in your parish?” Hewitt asked in a conversation about Vance’s new book, which is about his conversion to Catholicism.

“You know, it was a joke, Hugh. I think there are ways in which you’re allowed to punch back, and you’re allowed to be a little bit humorous. I’m sure it was not as charitable as I should have been, but, you know, one thing is — look, I think he’s a good Catholic,” Vance replied, adding:

I certainly wish him the best. I think he’s been a little unfair to me over the last couple of weeks, and so I decided to hit back with a little spice. I will say that if you read the Gospel, you know, Jesus has remarkable humility. He also has a remarkable way with words. And so I’m always going to fall short of that example, but I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with being a little spicy from time to time. And, you know, maybe in two years you’ll look back and say, “I wish I hadn’t said that,” but right now I feel pretty good about that.

Vance jabbed Thiessen as part of an ongoing online conversation about the current price of burritos and people’s spending habits.

Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet wrote on X to start the exchange, “One of our TPUSA college students gave me his take on affordability: ‘A burrito shouldn’t cost $20.’ Yeah, a lot of this is a hangover from Covid and Biden-era inflation, but the lived experience is the same: It just feels like basic things cost too much.”

Thiessen replied, “Cry me a river. The burritos in the college cafeteria are included in your meal plan.”

Vance then jumped in. “I’m surprised to hear Mark say this. If you’ve ever met him in person, it’s quite obvious the man has never missed a burrito,” he wrote. Vance’s post drew comments from across the political spectrum, with many on both the right and left arguing it was unbecoming of a sitting vice president.

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