It all started with a tweet about a couch. Within hours of Donald Trump announcing the Ohio senator JD Vance as his running mate in the presidential race, a rather lurid accusation cropped up on social media.
The user of a since-deleted X account wrote last month, “can’t say for sure but he might be the first vp pick to have admitted in a ny times bestseller to fucking an inside-out latex glove shoved between two couch cushions (vance, hillbilly elegy, pp. 179-181).”
The fake page citation from Vance’s bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy lent credibility to what turned out to be a baseless claim, as detailed in a now-removed fact check from the Associated Press. Soon, the internet was awash in memes mocking Vance’s relationship with various pieces of furniture. “I did not have sectional relations,” one X user joked, paraphrasing Bill Clinton’s infamous quote about his extramarital affair. Another user added: “Who hasn’t been excited by the thrill of the chaise?”
Even Kamala Harris’s newly launched presidential campaign appeared to get in on the fun, tweeting: “JD Vance does not couch his hatred for women.”
“So… What type of couch? I’m just asking questions!”
“Have you never had a favourite couch? That perhaps you think about sometimes. Imagine how you would feel if they took it away. You answer your door and it’s some removal men. Is it wrong to even have a favourite couch? That’s what they want you to believe. They want to remove all couches for chairs in a great replacement act. Some say they want to teach kids about dressing up your couches, making them look different in different situations. What if you wanted your couch to be blue instead of brown. This is the future they want for us.”