Vice President JD Vance sparked backlash on Wednesday when he lobbed a pointed comparison at Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth on social media, likening her to the famous movie character Forrest Gump.
At a heated Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Duckworth repeated Rubio’s claim that the U.S. is “not at war with Venezuela.”
“If this is the case, will you advise the president to rescind his invocation of the wartime Alien Enemies Act?” she pointedly asked.
Duckworth then asked, “Are we currently at war with Venezuela?”
Rubio toed the administration’s line, claiming that gangs and narco-traffickers “waged war on the United States.”
“We have arrested people that are members of gangs, and we have deported them. We don’t want gang members in our country,” he replied.
When again asked whether he would urge Trump to rescind the act, Rubio rebuffed the notion.
“Of course not,” he said.
“When it comes to narco-trafficking gangs and criminal gangs, there’s no doubt about the fact that we’re confronting them in a war-like setting,” he said.
The exchange caught Vance’sattention, who smeared Duckworth on X.
“Watching Tammy Duckworth obsessively interrupt Marco Rubio during this hearing is like watching Forest Gump argue with Isaac Newton,” Vance posted on X.
He added: “Thank God we have a Secretary of State who knows his facts AND has the patience of Job. Great job, @SecRubio.”
Forrest Gump is a fictional character in the 1994 eponymous film, portrayed by Tom Hanks. He is depicted as a kind and earnest man with a below-average IQ.
Duckworth, notably, deployed to Iraq in 2004 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. She earned a Purple Heart after her helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, resulting in the loss of both legs and partial use of her right arm.
Vance’s comparison elicited immediate backlash on social media.
Progressive commentator Ed Krassenstein wrote on X, “Watching JD Vance go from calling Trump a ‘Nazi’ to watching him become Trump’s top henchman is like watching 1930s Germany try and repeat itself.”
The progressive veterans organization VoteVets wrote on X, “It’s disgusting to see the Vice President denigrate a decorated U.S. Veteran. We’re proud to stand with @SenDuckworth. Every American should.”
Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) wrote on X, “Comparing @SenDuckworth to Forrest Gump is classless and disgraceful. She’s a veteran who lost her legs fighting for this country. If you had any honor, you’d take this post down. But you work for Trump, so clearly you have none.”
Tim Miller of The Bulwark wrote on X, “JD smeared the corpse of a US citizen who was killed by his administration and then went silent rather than correct the record. He has reemerged to do a poor man’s version of Trump’s insult comedy bit.”
Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) wrote onX, “That’s a U.S. Senator doing her job. This is a random troll tweeting at her.”
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