'Trying to be non-partisan': JD Vance's Biden joke falls flat with troops

Vice President J.D. Vance was met with deafening silence after he took aim at former President Joe Biden's struggles with stairs with a joke during a speech to American troops in Virginia Beach. "You ever seen these old cartoons where you've got the angel on the shoulder and the devil on the shoulder? I've got the angel on my shoulder saying, JD, don't be partisan. We're going to make this non-partisan. Then I've got the devil on my shoulder who wants to talk about every time Joe Biden fell up or down the stairs," he said.

The 41-year-old began by telling the troops the only thing he was thinking while coming down the steps was not to fall and "bust his ass" in front of the troops, who had been a part of Operation Epic Fury, and in front of all the cameras, because they would never let him live that one down. "The media didn't care about that, but if I did it one time, if I did it one time, it would be a major, major story," he said.

Vance visited the Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia on Wednesday to celebrate 250 years of the American military, where he also highlighted the Trump administration's efforts to support American warfighters and veterans. There are multiple instances of Biden stumbling on stairs, but Vance was likely referring to an instance where the 83-year-old slipped multiple times while climbing onto Air Force One.

The Vice President may be poking fun at Biden's missteps, but the irony is that Vance's own boss has a few stumbles of his own. President Donald Trump was recently captured descending unsteadily from Air Force One while returning from France, according to the Daily Beast. The President took each step slowly, and his left hand remained on the banister for the duration of his descent, the report added, noting that Trump's gingerly stair walks have become a consistent pattern in his second term.

The 'Communion' author also congratulated the troops in Iran, claiming that Tehran's navy was at the bottom of the sea, while its nuclear program had been set back further than ever from fruition. "You destroyed their defense industrial program, so if they ever try to rebuild their military or their nuclear program, they would be hard-pressed. We engage in negotiation not out of weakness but out of strength because of you."

Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy, and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, arrived in Qatar on Tuesday for talks with mediators to implement an initial deal to end the war. The visit comes after a weekend of strikes in an effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic, as per the Associated Press. The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this month that opens up the Strait of Hormuz and gives each side 60 days to hammer out a permanent agreement.