JD Vance's flopped joke sparks instant mockery: 'Charm of a rattlesnake'

Vice President JD Vance laughed about President Donald Trump's particular taste over which socks and jackets his cabinet members wear — prompting the internet to mock the attempted joke.

Vance was speaking to a crowd at a manufacturing facility in Kansas City, Missouri, to address the rising cost of living ahead of midterm elections, when he tried to get a few laughs about Trump, who has reportedly gifted $145 Florsheim men's dress shoes to his male cabinet members with the expectation that they wear them in his presence, regardless of whether they fit or not.

"The president, he will note if you're wearing anything other than a solid navy blue jacket. I learned this the hard way — he likes a more conservative dress," Vance said, describing how he wore shamrock socks to welcome the Irish prime minister to the annual St. Patrick's Day event.

"And we're sitting down in front of God and everybody and probably 100 TV cameras on a live press conference and the president starts his remarks and then he looks over and says, 'What is going on with those socks?'" Vance said.

People didn't hold back in their responses on social media.

"He didn’t learn from the ridiculous Home Alone joke that flopped in a crowd full of boomers in Maine," user Mason, a frequent political commentator and Iraq war veteran, wrote on X.

"He has the charm of a rattlesnake, and the same sense of humor," online commentator and retired IT tech Paul Healey wrote on X.

"People behind him are giving serious hostage vibes," author Paul Regensburger wrote on Bluesky.

"I got news for you J.D. The socks and suit aren't the problem," Lee Phillips, former NASA engineer and retired tech executive, wrote on Bluesky.