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In July 2024, the bizarre and amusing JD Vance couch story took the internet by storm. This peculiar story involved the Republican Vice president nominee allegedly writing about having an intimate encounter with a couch. While the story seemed absurd initially, its viral spread underscored the unique blend of humor, disbelief, and curiosity. Nearly a month later, the story is trending once again, all thanks to Tim Walz. Recently, Tim Walz and JD Vance became the topic of discussion after the Democratic VP nominee cracked a couch joke at his counterpart’s expense. Let’s delve into the origins of the peculiar JD Vance couch story, its ascent to internet fame, and why it is trending again.
The Origin of the JD Vance Couch Story
The JD Vance couch story went viral on July 15, 2024, shortly after Donald Trump announced the politician as his running mate. Social media user @rickrudescalves took to X to make a bogus post, claiming that Vance admitted to having sex with a latex glove shoved in between two couch cushions in his 2016 best-selling memoir HillBilly Elegy. The netizen, who has since deleted the post, went as far as citing the pages where Vance made the alleged confession.
“Can’t say for sure but he might be the first vp pick to have admitted in a ny times bestseller to (expletive) an Inside-out latex glove shoved between two couch cushions,” the post read.
The tweet also revealed that the fans could find the story on pages 179 to 181 of the memoir. Since most people didn’t have a copy of Hillbilly Elegy at hand, there was no way to verify the post. As such, it was only a matter of time before the JD Vance couch story spread like wildfire. It even appeared in TV references on shows like Last Week Tonight and The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert.
Did JD Vance Really Have Sex With a Couch?
A quick look at Vance’s book showed that the story was fake. Following the claims, the Associated Press posted a piece titled, “No, JD Vance Did Not Have Sex With a Couch.” However, it didn’t last very long as the outlet eventually retracted it. During a chat with Semafor reporter Max Tani, AP revealed the reason for taking down the piece. They confirmed that the story didn’t go through the wire service’s standard editing process. Or, as one X user speculated, even if the claims were untrue, the outlet couldn’t verify if the politician had never had sex with a couch in his life.
Why Is the JD Vance Story Trending Again?
On Tuesday, Tim Walz and JD Vance began trending after the former brutally roasted his Republican counterpart. Walz even cracked a joke at Vance’s expense while giving his first speech since being named Kamala Harris’s running mate. He began by blasting Vance’s exclusive education and career.
“Like all regular people I grew up with in the heartland, JD studied at Yale, had his career funded by Silicon Valley billionaires, and then wrote a bestseller trashing that community,” he said.
However, Walz revealed all of that wasn’t what Middle America was. He then referenced the recent couch story, drawing cheers and laughter from the crowd. He noted that he couldn’t wait to debate with Vance before adding:
“That is if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up. See what I did there?” Walz said.
The 60-year-old didn’t stop there as he posted a clip of his zinger to his 450,000 followers on X . Walz’s remarks prompted another host of new memes, with one fan joking, “There’s no way to cushion those attacks.” The new match-up also enthused some. Others pointed out that Harris appeared to be stifling her laughter in the background while Walz was speaking. So far, Vance has yet to comment on the viral couch story or Walz’s joke. However, viewers expect more political rumors and jokes to emerge as the US presidential election draws closer.
