WASHINGTON, D.C. — Vice President J.D. Vance fired back at former MSNBC host Joy Reid on Wednesday after she leveled a pointed attack, suggesting his Yale admission was a form of “affirmative action” geared toward an “Appalachian White.”
Reid, who was dismissed from MSNBC in February, made the claim during an interview with ex‑CNN anchor Don Lemon. She speculated that Yale may have been “tired of just letting in White men from New York … from all the elite schools, and they wanted an Appalachian White. That’s how that man got into Yale, I promise you.” She framed this as part of what she sees as a broader misuse of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Her critique went further, arguing that “White people who are essentially mediocre in scale compared to a Black person” may receive advantages under DEI schemes. She tied her own advancement to such policies, stating, “Right‑wingers, you have the ability to know who I am … because affirmative action brought me your way.”
https://t.co/agmI0CLpQs pic.twitter.com/NuCp7NfiqS
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 24, 2025
In response, Vance chose not to engage in a lengthy defense — instead posting a meme featuring himself. The image appears to be part of an ongoing meme trend that has cast him in satirical caricatures online. Many of his supporters amplified the moment by creating and sharing additional humorous edits.
This is the first time Vance has directly joined the meme wave himself, though he has acknowledged his amusement with these portrayals in prior remarks. The meme rapidly went viral, drawing significant attention from both supporters and critics.
Vance’s meme retort is a savvy way to turn Reid’s ridiculous rhetorical weapon into social media fodder.
