J.D. Vance traveled with his dog to a campaign event in Milwaukee, and many saw that as a stunt intended to soften his image.
The Republican vice presidential candidate has been trying to run away from the "weird" descriptor that's seemingly stuck to him since his Democratic rival Tim Walz applied it last month, but taking his German shepherd Atlas to a campaign stop in the city where he officially joined Donald Trump's GOP ticket doesn't seem to have worked as well as he might have hoped.
"This is ridiculous," said former Trump campaign adviser A.J. Delgado, who is now an outspoken critic. "'Let's try to make him seem normal.' Taking a dog on a plane all the way to Milwaukee is not kind to the dog. Moreover, he never once campaigned with his dog when he ran for Senate. This is using a dog for pandering. Try-hard and WEIRD."
ALSO READ: 'Disqualifies himself': Veterans blast Trump for 'disrespectful' remarks about war heroes
Vance and the dog got out of a Secret Service vehicle in the rain, and the Ohio Republican held an umbrella in his right hand and loosely held a leash tethered to a harness that appeared to be improperly buckled around the dog's upper torso.
"Did Atlas shrug?" asked X user Kes Bretagne.
"Why are you showing me a video of a man who looks like he has never held a leash in his life?" said X user 504yaknow.
" JD Vance five minutes before this video: We have a dog?!" joked X user Ashley Hawthorne.
"All working dog trainers are cringing at that harness situation right now," added X user Brando Marlón.
"Cringe," said X user Trixe- I. "He just keeps getting weirder by the day."
