Overview

• On The Katie Miller Podcast on August 11, Vance said his favorite meme features the Pope, his wife Usha, and a couch, calling it “very inappropriate” yet “very funny.”
• The explicit meme circulated after the Pope’s death and riffs on a fabricated passage from Hillbilly Elegy that falsely alleged Vance had sex with a couch during the 2024 campaign.
• Vance described the meme as “pretty good” and expressed hope that a right-wing supporter had created it, highlighting a senior official’s casual engagement with provocative internet content.
• Social media users and online commentators responded with offense and confusion, questioning both the meme’s tastelessness and the vice president’s decision to endorse a recycled falsehood.
• As of August 14, the Office of the Vice President has issued no apology or retraction, leaving debates over political norms and credibility unresolved.