Photos of Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) wearing a yellow wig and a long flowing skirt are going viral on X, sparking accusations of hypocrisy given the American conservative movement is currently in a full-throated war against drag shows.
The first photo dropped on Sunday afternoon and shows a blurry image of Vance wearing a black T-shirt and loopy necklace. He’s standing in front of a pair of red Solo cups next to what looks like the edge of a kitchen countertop.
The photo was first posted by podcaster Matt Bernstein.
Another photo of Vance wearing what looks like the same outfit dropped on Monday morning.
A “second photo has hit my inbox,” wrote Bernstein.
Bernstein hosts the “A Bit Fruity” podcast, which covers politics and culture.
That photo is much clearer and shows Vance voguing while looking down at the camera in a Polaroid shot. He’s also carrying a dark blue handbag over his shoulder in a dimly lit room. There appears to be a second person behind him wearing a white skirt with an exposed midriff.
According to a post on X by Travis Whitfill, a biotech entrepreneur and an assistant adjunct professor at the Yale School of Medicine, a friend of his sent Bernstein the photo after Whitfill passed it to them.
“This was taken in 2012 (the same time I was at Yale),” Whitfill posted. Vance started at Yale Law School in 2010 and graduated in 2013. “Photo was taken by a classmate and sent to me. Thanks for sharing,” Whitfill added.
Whitfill also told the Daily Beast that the photos were from a Halloween party.
Whitfill didn’t immediately respond to questions from the Daily Dot about the provenance of the images.
The Daily Dot couldn’t immediately confirm the authenticity of the images. The Daily Beast reported that a spokesperson for Vance didn’t deny the photo was of Vance and did not comment any further on the matter.
The GOP’s farthest right posters have been engaged in a lengthy war against the transgender community, demonizing them as pedophiles and groomers. Drag shows have been caught in the crossfire, with state parties introducing bills aimed at criminalizing drag performances in public spaces in at least 14 states.
In Vance’s home state, Ohio House Republicans backed a bill in 2023 calling for criminalizing drag queen story hours by classifying them as adult cabaret performances.
Vance recently criticized his opponent, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) over his support for gender-affirming care and trans rights.
Posters quickly slammed Vance, mocking him and calling him out for hypocrisy.
“Maybe he was born with it?” joked @TheSnarkTank99 over a parody Maybelline ad. Posters have speculated in the past that Vance may use a little bit of eyeliner.
Others said that Vance looked at ease in the photos.
“He actually looks comfortable in his own skin for once,” posted @ArtCandee.
“Bro is in his element im crying,” added @HumansPersonOh.
It’s not the first time Facebook photos made an appearance since Vance got the vice presidential nod. A photo of Vance passed out at Ohio State circa 2007 circulated on the platform at the end of July.
According to Whitfill, Vance was “actually a good guy” in law school. “Not sure what happened after though…” he added.
Some posters corrected the conception that Vance is in drag though.
“We have to be clearer on what this is. This is a photo of JD Vance CROSSDRESSING. He is a crossy, NOT a Drag Queen. Hope this helps…” posted Shea Couleé, a drag performer who won RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars in 2020.
Vance is not the first GOP politician to have old drag photos surface. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), who has been vocally anti-drag, was outed for performing as a female cheerleader at his high school’s Powder Puff game in the 1970s.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
