JD Vance Drag Photo Sends Internet Into Meltdown
Drag shows have been a target of Republican lawmakers in Texas, Tennessee,
and Florida.

A photograph appearing to show Republican vice presidential nominee JD
Vance dressed in drag has gone viral on social media.

The unconfirmed image appears to show the Ohio senator dressed in women's
clothing and wearing a blonde wig.

The image is reported to have been taken in 2012 by one of Vance's
classmates while he was studying at Yale Law School, according to The Daily
Beast. It was subsequently sent to podcast host Matt Bernstein, who posted
it on X, formerly Twitter.

"New: I have obtained a photo of JD Vance in drag while in Yale Law
School," Bernstein wrote on Sunday. The image was viewed over 9 million
times by Monday morning.

A spokesperson for Vance did not deny the authenticity of the image when
approached by The Daily Beast and did not offer any further comments.

Newsweek contacted Vance's campaign for comment outside normal working
hours.

User @plasticmartyr, a model and actor who is transgender, wrote on X "Yo,
@JDVance, you look slay mama. What's your drag name? Sofa Loren?" in
reference to the Italian movie star Sophia Loren and the widely-circulated
lie that Vance wrote about having sex with a couch in his memoir Hillbilly
Elegy.

The post was viewed 2.1 million times by Monday and led to "Sofa Loren"
trending on X, peaking as the 12th most trending topic on the site.

Many memes and jokes were posted including references to former Republican
Congressman George Santos admitting he once performed in drag after having
previously described allegations that he had performed in drag as
"outrageous" and "categorically false."

User @RonFilipowski, the editor of Trump-critical news site Meidas Touch
wrote on X "George Santos or JD Vance. Who did it better?" The post was
viewed 181,000 times by Monday.

User @RpsAgaintTrump, an anti-Trump conservative account wrote "JD Vance is
so weird (yes this is a real photo.). The post was viewed 249,00 times by
Monday.

Drag shows have been a target of Republican lawmakers in Texas, Tennessee,
and Florida.

While Trump and Vance do not have an official policy against drag, they do
intend to cut funding to schools which promote gender transition, and to
reverse President Joe Biden's administration's law which currently seeks to
give gay and transgender students protection from discrimination at school.

This is not the first time a picture from Vance's college days has gone
viral. Last month a picture surfaced of the Ohio senator wearing a Soviet
hammer and sickle shirt while surrounded by others dressed as professional
wrestlers.

https://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-drag-photo-viral-internet-response-us-
presidential-election-1937697