Donald Trump appeared to say that his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), isn’t weird because he’s “so straight.”

Trump was speaking at a town hall event in LaCross, Wisconsin, yesterday with former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii when he discussed how the Harris-Walz campaign has been calling Republicans – and especially Vance – “weird.”

“They picked this guy,” Trump said, referring to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), who has been vocal about calling Vance and Trump weird. “He is weird! Right? I’m not weird, he’s weird.”

“No, he’s a weird guy, he’s a weird dude,” Trump continued. “You know, they come up with soundbites, they always have soundbites, and one of the things is that J.D. and I are weird.”

Then Trump defended himself and Vance from the weird charges, calling Vance “so straight” and a “top student.”

“This guy is so straight? J.D. is so… He’s doing a great job, smart, top student, great guy, he’s not weird and I’m not weird. I mean, we’re a lot of things, we’re not weird.”

Totally straight and not weird.

  • enkers
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    2452 months ago

    It’s honestly hilarious how badly being called “weird” gets under their skin.

    Like, normal people are pretty weird. If someone called me weird, I’d be like “Yeah, true.” But these guys are so out there that they feel a need to deny their own weirdness so that people can identify with them. It’s just weird, TBH.

    • @[email protected]
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      1032 months ago

      This ticket is steeped in a toxicity that wants to be masculine but is not, and a deeply rooted misogyny.

      It’s like the quote attributed to Atwood says, that what men fear from women is that they will laugh at them. This “weird” label hits a little too close to that for them to handle.

      It’s fantastic. And so obvious.

    • @[email protected]
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      402 months ago

      One of the key features of authoritarian follower personalities is that they’re desperate to be normal. Like, they’re terrified of the idea that they’re not just like everyone else despite the fact that they are big weirdos. People who are afraid of being weird, or who get weirdly judgemental about weirdness, is a big red flag for me, personally.

      • @Carrolade
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        132 months ago

        Yea. Their entire structure of “give me power to fix your problems” quickly falls apart if people start to wonder whether the solutions will be ones they can empathize with or not.

        They’re sort of operating in this “I am your warrior” framework, making it seem like people are empowering one of their own, themselves, basically, to fix their own problems. That whole thing requires the chosen champion to be “one of them” though.

      • @[email protected]
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        82 months ago

        I’ve been called weird my whole life. The only ways to handle that are to betray your own nature, or to own it.

        “Yeah, and the weirder I got, the more your mother liked it.”

    • @CharlesDarwin
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      2 months ago

      They honestly have spent their whole lives either wanting to define what is weird and/or associating with a set of people they think get to define what is weird.

      It’s an obsession with the conservative brain, I think. You could tell who many of these people were when they were in kindergarten or first grade. They could not STAND any kind of deviation from what they (or their parents, etc.) thought was a “normal” thing. So they’d yell taunts at anyone eating “weird” food", or taking up “weird” hobbies, watching “weird” TV/movies, or looking to take up a “weird” employment track, or they went to a “weird” church (or not at all, or - gasp - were going to some other building that was not a xtian church) and so on.

      They defined themselves this way. And to have this turned around on them all so suddenly and uniformly. To be fair, people like Seth Meyers have been calling donOLD and friends weird for a very long time. It’s just now the Democrats found some people with some goddamn spine and a platform to keep saying it and not apologizing for it. The Republicans ARE very weird. They spend their time obsessing over “murdered babies” (zygotes), where trans people poop, what gay men might be doing in the privacy of their own bedrooms, what religious doctrine other people may or may not follow, and so on. These are very deeply weird obsessions in a FREE country.

      Free country means I and anyone else has freedom FROM their weird obsessions, including their little book club. I don’t ever have to GAF about what they say their Jehovah/Yahweh/Allah (all same thing) says, because I have freedom FROM religion, just as they have freedom OF religion and can choose to stay in the religion they were likely born into.

    • @linearchaos
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      142 months ago

      It’s because that used to be their code word for gay, trans, queer (basically anybody that doesn’t fit in their view of society) before they decided that woke worked better.

      They’ve been using weird as a soft-insult for a decades.

    • @paddirn
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      52 months ago

      Human existence in general is pretty weird. The “normal” state of affairs for humanity is being weird. We’re just all individually weird. So to deny that they’re weird, is actually kind of weird in and of itself.

      • @Jiggle_Physics
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        22 months ago

        There is “good weird” and “bad weird”. They are specifically being called bad weird. They aren’t the weird that is made of odd people, with personality quarks, that make them unusual, eccentric, and possibly interesting. They are fucking creeps.

        • @t3h_fool
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          32 months ago

          Vance is the creepy kind of weird that wants to spy on women and track their periods.

          • @Jiggle_Physics
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            32 months ago

            Listen, I NEED to see your genitals. I NEED to know about your menstrual cycle, in detail. I NEED to know about your sex life. This isn’t weird, it isn’t creepy, this is about SAFETY and saving CHILDREN!

  • @mipadaitu
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    1512 months ago

    Well, I guess we’re about a week away from Vance having a gay affair scandal.

    • TimLovesTech (AuDHD)(he/him)
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      2 months ago

      In his book he told his grandma he thought he was gay and she asked him if he likes “sucking dicks”, and he said “no”, so she told him he wasn’t gay.

      So no doubt he has some repressed feelings.

      Edit - This of course could have been when he discovered he was into couches and dolphin porn.

      • BlanketsWithSmallpox
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        2 months ago

        Sucking dick? Not gay.

        A bear railing me in my ass while I rail a femboy twink in his? Still not gay. That’s the secret guys. Just don’t suck dick and never gay.

        CartmanButters.jpg

        • @Tujio
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          82 months ago

          Listen. It’s just a couple straight dudes havin sex. Nothin gay about it.

      • Cadeillac
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        212 months ago

        “I’ll never forget the time I convinced myself that I was gay. I was eight or nine, maybe younger, and I stumbled upon a broadcast by some fire-and-brimstone preacher. The man spoke about the evils of homosexuals, how they had infiltrated our society, and how they were all destined for hell absent some serious repenting. At the time, the only thing I knew about gay men was that they preferred men to women. This described me perfectly: I disliked girls, and my best friend in the world was my buddy Bill. Oh no, I’m going to hell.”

        When he brought up the issue with his grandmother — known to Vance as “Mamaw” — she replied bluntly: “Don’t be a fucking idiot, how would you know that you’re gay?”

        When Vance explained his reasoning, she laughed.

        “JD, do you want to suck dicks?” she said, according to the book.

        The young Vance, apparently “flabbergasted,” said: “Of course not!”

        “Then you’re not gay. And even if you did want to suck dicks, that would be okay,” she replied. “God would still love you.”

        • @leadore
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          102 months ago

          None of that makes sense as a truthful story. First I don’t think a grandmother would use that “want to suck dicks” phrasing when speaking to her grandson, but also the laughing at him and saying “fucking idiot, how would you know you’re gay?” is in direct contradiction to the later “it would be OK, god would still love you” line. Those two things wouldn’t come from one person. I think it’s a cobbled together story of things he heard from different people at different times, presented as a conversation with his grandmother.

        • @[email protected]
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          42 months ago

          This whole interaction with his grandma is so fucked up. Even if her logic was sound what 8 or 9 year old, gay or straight, is thinking about sticking dicks. JD needs some therapy.

      • @[email protected]
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        2 months ago

        News flash: some people who want to have sex with penis-having people do not like having penises in their mouths.

        (I’m not one of them mind you, but they exist).

        • @[email protected]
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          112 months ago

          That’s kind of the whole point of that phrase being highlighted. It’s not that anyone actually thinks that because young J.D was asked about sucking dicks and he said no, that he’s magically removed of all homosexual thoughts, and to be gay you need to like sucking dicks.

          The implication is highlighting to be that he could be repressed bi or gay from his grandmothers rhetorical question.

      • @[email protected]
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        62 months ago

        If “gay” was interpreted as “weird” by young Vance, then honestly he might be hiding some genuinely weird kinks. Like… Dude might actually be a couch fucker.

        • @captainlezbian
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          42 months ago

          I cannot imagine a funnier turn of events than real evidence coming out that he fucks couches. Like we’re just joking because he seems the type and it’s gross and weird but harmless and while I don’t like the idea of people fucking their own couch I’m fully of the opinion that banning it would be government overreach. So yeah, it would be hilarious if evidence of that came forward.

        • Zeppo
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          12 months ago

          Peter Theil is overtly weird af, just saying.

        • @[email protected]
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          12 months ago

          Let me put it this way: If I went to JD’s house and he was doing the cooking, I’d look with deep suspicion at any sauce that was on the entree. I also wouldn’t leave him alone with my kids or dog.

        • TimLovesTech (AuDHD)(he/him)
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          12 months ago

          I mean he did know he wanted to find a woman into dolphins because both were highlighted showing they were his search terms.

  • Jesus
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    632 months ago

    He appears to be referencing the ”straight and narrow” idiom. So “straight” as in “follows the rules,” not “heterosexual.”

    That said, it’s funny to see how much “weird” gets under their skin.

    • @AeonFelis
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      192 months ago

      That said, it’s funny to see how much “weird” gets under their skin.

      Not that funny, really. Conservatism is all about defining normality and attacking any deviation from it. “Weird” is the very definition for not normal. It’s the antithesis of their meta value. Of course they’d hate it.

    • @[email protected]
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      2 months ago

      I personally don’t think he puts that much thought into what he says, just kinda gets into his own strange type of flow and goes for it.

      • @[email protected]
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        12 months ago

        In Trump’s head, there’s a clump of brain cells the size of a grain of rice that’s a Markov generator for bullshit. Trump has no interior monologue as we know it, and no thoughts as such. Just a random BS module and a market-testing one, to correct the BS weightings. The rest of the interior landscape is anxiety, self-loathing, greed and, more than anything, complete and utter desolation.

      • Jesus
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        102 months ago

        Well, not the “don’t have sex with the sofa” rule.

        • @[email protected]
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          12 months ago

          I’ll bet he identifies with that old Plastic Bertrand song Ça Plane Pour Moi: “I am the King of the divan!”

          Though I doubt if the divan’s at all impressed.

      • @dhork
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        2 months ago

        Well yeah, follows the traditional, conservative rules that put men at the top of the hierarchy. These uppity women are just rule-breakers who dont know their place, they’d be much happier if they just shut up and follow our rules.

    • @joker125
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      42 months ago

      Maybe so but it’s still weird af

    • @CharlesDarwin
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      32 months ago

      Also, donOLD doesn’t follow any rules and is as crooked as they get, and has been his whole life, so trying to claim that “JD” “Vance” is some kind of morally upright person by FLIP-FLOPPING on his never-donnie position and aligned himself with donnie is quite a stretch.

      BTW, I’m so glad that TikTok video of “JD” “Vance” is going viral. Everyone needs to know just how much of a flip-flopper the couchfucker is.

    • @Ensign_Crab
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      -12 months ago

      That said, it’s funny to see how much “weird” gets under their skin.

      I’m willing to bet that “creepy” or possibly “skeevy” might be a good followup.

  • @[email protected]
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    532 months ago

    “He is weird! Right? I’m not weird, he’s weird.”

    Trump: no u

    It’s pretty weird for an adult to spend this much time denying that they’re weird.

    • @CharlesDarwin
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      52 months ago

      It’s funny how well it doesn’t work for them to deny it.

      Especially when Walz does a good job of spelling out what is so fucking weird about the authoritarian party - it’s basically: “mind your own fucking business, weirdo!” Stop obsessing with thinking you get to tell others how to live their lives.

  • ThePowerOfGeek
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    2 months ago

    “This guy is so straight”

    That’s kind of a weird thing to say too tho.

  • teft
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    402 months ago

    Vance looks like he’s sucked a bit of dick in his life (it’s the guyliner). Plus he was a jarhead and those guys are super gay (i’m a former soldier so i can say this with confidence). /s

      • Diplomjodler
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        292 months ago

        And what shape are those? Super gay!

      • @[email protected]
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        102 months ago

        My neighbor is a Marine and likes to joke that there’s nothing gayer than a group of straight Marines.

      • @Volkditty
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        32 months ago

        Dude, no teeth! Take the hint from your Navy cousins.

      • @Ensign_Crab
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        -22 months ago

        Former Marine

        I thought those weren’t a thing.

        • theprogressivist OP
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          42 months ago

          Yes, once a Marine, always a Marine.

          I only said former to emphasize that I’m not serving anymore.

    • @Red0ctober
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      22 months ago

      Alright, that’s enough firemoss for you

    • @[email protected]
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      152 months ago

      Good logic.

      Same reason I don’t fuck women. Most women are interested in guys, which is something they have in common with the gays. No thanks.

    • @andros_rex
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      162 months ago

      People who don’t use gay hook apps simply do not understand. You can hop on and find nothing but “straight” men, or blank profiles which are most assuredly married “straight” men. It can be frustrating if you are looking for a relationship/human beings who are okay with themselves.

      We just need a black hat slutty queer to record themselves taking it from Mr. Couchfucker or some sufficiently big name Senator. It’s bound to happen eventually.

      • @kescusay
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        22 months ago

        Look up Larry “Wide Stance” Craig.

    • @Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In
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      52 months ago

      I know you are suggesting that many homophobes are overcompensating for something … but your particular phrasing sounds a little bit rapey.

  • Ghostalmedia
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    282 months ago

    People are assuming “straight” is a reference to his sexuality. I just assumed he meant “straight” as in what a criminal says when they’re referring to someone who isn’t breaking the law.

    • @[email protected]
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      222 months ago

      Yeah, this feels like straight and narrow by an old man using old slang. Not that I doubt Trump being a raging homophobe, it’s just the other context clues in the sentence.

    • Queen HawlSera
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      52 months ago

      To be fair. It’s a sign of stupidity to pick that word choice when LGBT Rights are a big talking point right now

  • @workerONE
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    272 months ago

    2016 election they insisted that they supported gay people

  • @ilinamorato
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    192 months ago

    Ok Donny, you got this. All you have to do is come up with the most natural and least bizarre reason that Vance (ugh!) isn’t weird. Just come up with it now and you can say it over and over again for the next two months no problem. Ok ok ok here comes the moment, what are you going to say?

    “so straight…”

    What happened? I wasn’t paying attention. Covfefe. Hamberder.

  • @paf0
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    172 months ago

    Only proves that Trump is weird. What a weird thing to say.