After Vice President JD Vance completely bombed a joke about New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during a Board of Peace press conference, Ocasio-Cortez mocked him in a post on X.
President Donald Trump debuted the Board of Peace during last month's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, presenting it as a body meant to manage the next stage of his proposed peace plan for Gaza.
The board’s current charter no longer explicitly references Gaza at all. Instead, it outlines a sweeping mandate for a new international organization tasked with “promot[ing] stability, restor[ing] dependable and lawful governance, and secur[ing] enduring peace” in regions affected by or at risk of conflict.
The group's inaugural meeting nonetheless included an announcement from Trump of a $10 billion U.S. contribution to a new international reconstruction effort for Gaza but did not reveal the source of that funding. Nine countries have pledged an additional $7 billion for security and reconstruction.
At one point, Vance took the mic and made the following joke—to not a single laugh from anyone in the room—that mocked Ocasio-Cortez for pausing during the Munich Security Conference before answering a reporter's question about the future of Taiwan:
"I knew exactly what I wanted to say but after the president said I was so smart and I didn't want to repeat our congresswoman over in Munich. Now I'm tempted, sir, just to freeze, just for 20 seconds and maybe they'll say nice things about me like they do about Congresswoman [Ocasio-] Cortez."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
The awkward moment quickly caught Ocasio-Cortez's attention and she replied:
"The only thing longer than my pause to think was their silence to his joke."
You can see her post below.
Others also dragged him in response.
Vance really can't seem to make jokes that land.
No one laughed when he attempted to make a joke mocking liberals and "pink-haired people" during his appearance at the Ohio Republican Party dinner last year and his decision to hold up his middle finger at the punchline.
Vance also had people cringing after he made a deportation joke while remarking how the 2026 World Cup will see visitors "from close to 100 countries" enter the U.S. He told the audience that those who violate the terms of their visas will "have to talk to" Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Vance's comments came at a time when the Trump administration was facing fresh criticism for planning to deport migrants without legal status to Libya as part of its immigration crackdown.
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