Vice President Vance's Biden joke falls flat before troops

Vice President J.D. Vance faced a muted reception from U.S. service members on Wednesday after making a joke about former President Joe Biden’s history of stumbling during a public event. Speaking at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Vance’s remarks came during an official ceremony marking the 250th anniversary of the American military.

Addressing a crowd of more than 700 service members inside a hangar, Vance began with a self-deprecating comment about his own fear of tripping on his way to the podium. He then introduced a metaphor about an angel and a devil on his shoulders to frame his next comments. Vance stated the angel was urging him to keep his speech nonpartisan for the troops, while the devil wanted to talk about “every time that Joe Biden fell up or down the stairs.” He added that the media did not hold Biden accountable for such incidents but claimed a single stumble by him would become a “major, major story.”

The attempted joke was met with silence from the audience, with multiple reports describing a lack of audible laughter or reaction. Video from the event showed service members listening with neutral expressions.