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By James Bickerton
News Reporter
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Footage of vice president JD Vance answering a question about the cost of living for young people by asking why he’d only been given one question about Ohio Senator Jon Husted’s behind has gone viral on social media.
A 54-second clip of the exchange, posted on X by journalist Aaron Rupar, has received over 6.9 million views and more than 4,400 shares on the platform.
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The video was filmed at a Fox News town hall event in Fort Worth, Texas, hosted by Jesse Watters and broadcast on Thursday on Jesse Watters Primetime.
It came after President Donald Trump commented on Husted’s behind at two rallies, describing it as "like a pile of muscle" at one.
Incumbent Ohio Republican Senator Husted is locked in a tight election battle against Democratic challenger Sherrod Brown. The Democrats are hoping to flip the Senate in November. This would significantly impede Trump’s freedom to act in the final two years of his second term, and winning in Ohio would be a big step toward this objective.
Newsweek contacted vice president Vance and Husted’s election campaign for comment on Friday via email and is awaiting responses.
What Vance Said
During the town hall broadcast on Thursday, voter Kate White, from Texas Christian University, said: "A constant message that my generation hears from the right is to get married young, have kids young, have as many kids as possible. And I think what the right doesn’t acknowledge most of the time is how disincentivized we are currently because the cost of owning a home and the general expenses of raising a family.
"So my question is: how does the right and yourself expect us to start families young when you know the average price of a home in America now costs more than $415,000, which just feels out of reach for us?"
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Vance said: "Sure, well, first of all, thanks for the question and thanks for the support. I want to point out I think I’ve been asked four or maybe five questions by my count. I’ve only been asked one question about John Husted’s a**, and it was by Jesse Watters."
Watters said, "It’s what people are talking about," after which Vance added: "Maybe you should run for Senate on the Democratic side in Texas, Jesse?"
Earlier during the town hall, Watters had asked Vance why "the president keeps saying John Husted has a great a**?"
Vance said: "Well, first of all, I’m jealous. The president’s never said that about me! Get back in the gym maybe and draw that particular piece of praise."
Reaction
Vance’s response to White sparked an intense reaction on social media, including both criticism and mockery.
On X, Sarah Matthews, who served as Trump’s White House deputy press secretary from June 2020 to January 2021, shared the Rupar clip adding: "I genuinely cannot believe this is a real exchange between a voter and the Vice President of the United States."
Jon Favreau, a former President Barack Obama aide turned ‘Pod Save America’ podcast host, wrote on X: "How is this real and how is he this bad at politics? Or humor? Or interacting with other humans?"
Former astronaut Scott Kelly, the brother of Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, also shared the video, adding: "This is disgusting. But not surprising."
British American journalist Mehdi Hasan posted Rupar’s video, commenting: "If Vance is the candidate in 2028, he will be eminently beatable. He is an awful politician."
The press office of Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom also shared the footage on X, simply adding: “???"
Trump on Husted
Speaking about Husted, a former all-American defensive back at the University of Dayton, during a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on October 12, Trump said: "I looked, and I watched up and down. I looked at his a**, and I looked at the whole—and then I looked at his hands. Look at his hands. He's got these, like, claws."
The president returned to the subject during a rally in Greenville, North Carolina, on Tuesday, commenting: "I'm studying his body. I've never studied the body of a man before. It's not my thing. Nothing wrong with it, of course.
"But I looked at his a**, and then I looked at his legs. I said, 'His a**, s***, it's like, it's like a pile of muscle. Then I looked at his legs, and I said, 'Man, his feet are big.' Then I looked at his shoulders, and I tapped him on the shoulder, and it actually hurt my hand. He's like a piece of steel."
Other Trump Comments
Trump has a habit of talking about the physical appearance of his political allies.
Speaking on September 10 from the Republican midterm convention, Trump addressed Ken Paxton, his party’s Texas Senate candidate, commenting: "I'm not sure if I like your look. I'm not sure if I like the way you dress. I don't like the way you talk."
Separately, during a rally in Port Huron, Michigan, on Sunday Trump turned to his ally singer Nicki Minaj and said: "By the way, I’ve looked at one hell of a beautiful a** before. Nicki Minaj! That’s hard to miss! Stand up. That's hard to miss."
Ohio Polling
Recent polling suggests the Ohio senate battle between Husted and Brown could come down to the wire.
A Suffolk University survey of 500 likely Ohio voters, which took place from October 21 to 26, gave Brown a three-point lead, with 47 percent versus 44 percent for Husted.
Separately, an Echelon Insights poll of 508 likely voters had Brown and Husted tied at 47 percent each. This was conducted over October 16-23.
InsiderAdvantage polled 1,200 likely Ohio voters over October 21-22. This gave Brown a three-point lead, with 47 percent against Husted’s 44 percent.
Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Learn more about Martyn here.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Matthew Robinson and James Debens
Register for our November 10 discussion, 'Newsweek Webinar: How the Politics of AI Could Shape Midterms,' which will examine how AI policy played in key races, data centers, lobbying and the political lines that emerged.
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