Vice President JD Vance has defended a “racist” sombrero meme that President Donald Trump posted to troll House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, insisting it was funny.
Speaking in the briefing room on the first day of the federal shutdown, the vice president also promised Jeffries that the posts would stop—provided he helped Republicans reopen the government.
“The president’s joking, and we’re having a good time,” Vance told reporters when asked about the meme, which Democrats had branded as bigoted.
“You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun at some of the absurdities of the Democrats’ positions.
“And I’ll tell Hakeem Jeffries right now: I make this solemn promise to you that if you help us reopen the government the sombrero memes we’ll stop.”
The comments came two days after Trump posted a contentious AI-generated video of Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaking outside the White House.
The video portrayed the House Speaker with a handlebar mustache and a sombrero while mariachi music played in the background.
WATCH: Trump Trolls Hakeem Jeffries With Sombrero Meme on Truth Social. 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/LSxluRCOZL
— Kristin Sokoloff (@ksoklower48) October 1, 2025
Jeffries branded the deepfake as “disgusting”, furiously telling reporters at a press conference on Tuesday: “Mr. President, the next time you have something to say about me, don’t cop out through a racist and fake AI video. When I’m back in the Oval Office, say it to my face.”
But asked on Wednesday if he thought the meme was racist, Vance laughed off the question.
“I honestly don’t even know what that means. Like, is he a Mexican American that is offended by having a sombrero meme?” he asked.
“The American people recognize that he did not actually come to the White House wearing a sombrero and a black curly animation mustache. Like, give the country a little bit of credit.”
Vance made his first solo appearance in the briefing room on Day 1 of a shutdown that has left about 750,000 federal workers facing furloughs—or in some cases, permanent job cuts.
The shutdown is the first in seven years, and took effect just after midnight on Tuesday after a deadlocked Congress failed to reach a deal on funding.
But there is now uncertainty over how long it could last, with Republicans and Democrats remaining at odds over enhanced Obamacare subsidies and each side lobbing the blame at the other.
While critical services continue to operate, such as Medicare and Social Security benefits, numerous other federal functions have come to halt.
The post Vance Laughs Off Trump’s ‘Racist’ Sombrero Meme Posts appeared first on The Daily Beast.
