In today’s newsletter, what the photo edits say about the Vice-President’s character and politics. And then:

The Mutable, Meme-able J. D. Vance

Jessica Winter
Winter is a staff writer covering family and education.

J. D. Vance’s politics have taken a striking hard-right turn since his best-selling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” was published in 2016; Vance went from disparaging Trump to snagging the V.P. spot in less than a decade. As soon as he joined the Republican ticket, Vance, and his public persona, began to build up a Dan Quayle-like residue of gaffes and negative charisma, thanks to a string of awkward campaign-trail moments, along with a pornographic meme (it involved a couch) so inescapable that the Associated Press ran and then retracted a piece, debunking it. And, once Trump’s second Administration was under way, Vance appeared to be eclipsed as Trump’s second-in-command by Elon Musk, whose DOGE force took a chainsaw to vital government funding and services.

But then, on February 28th, Vance tag-teamed with Trump in the Oval Office ambush of Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine. All at once, Vance had made an obstreperous return to the center of the national stage—and so did the memes. It was as if the entire internet had spontaneously rededicated itself to the belief that Vance was put on this earth to be memed. For weeks, Vance-related photo edits blanketed social media. Yassified Vance. Emo Vance. Minion Vance. Furby Vance. Chubby-kid Vance in a propeller hat, holding a lollipop. Vance with the beard and curly tendrils of a cult leader. These Vances were so varied and so plentiful that they started to interact with one another and cross-pollinate; their identities blended and melted into a psychedelic, pixelated goo that leaked into every corner and crevice of the web.

Why does Vance lend himself to such fascination? There is a certain anime cast to his round face and thick eyelashes, which perhaps are ripe for infantilizing caricature. On a deeper level, though, the photo edits are an expression of Vance’s essential mutability—his willingness to change his positions and convictions according to the prevailing winds of the political moment. The man who is endlessly meme-able, it seems, is also the man who is whomever you’d like him to be.

For more: Revisit Winter on Vance’s sad and strange brand of family politics, and on the story that “Hillbilly Elegy” doesn’t tell.

Editor’s Pick

The Subversive Love Songs of Lucy Dacus

“Dacus is now in a committed relationship with Baker”—with this short aside, Amanda Petrusich’s profile of Lucy Dacus, who, along with Julien Baker and Phoebe Bridgers, is part of the indie supergroup boygenius, sent the band’s devoted fan base spinning in delight. Dacus and Baker have kept their relationship private, though not necessarily secret. “It’s been interesting, because I want to protect what is precious in my life, but also to be honest, and make art that’s true,” Dacus explains. Petrusich’s intimate portrait delves beyond the newsmaking revelation to explore Dacus’s songwriting process, her continuing work as a solo artist, and the risks that come with giving ourselves fully to something. “Whenever you love anything a lot,” she says, “you’re booked for grief.”

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Video: Lucy Dacus shares advice on therapy, friendship, and sexuality that she would give to her younger self. Watch now »

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