It’s definitely not the first time digitally altered photos of Vice President JD Vance have made their way around the internet. But recently, the photo in question was shared by the Republican Party itself. On August 2, the GOP wished the vice president a happy birthday on social media. The birthday image featured a photo of Vance, and some people saw it as an obvious Photoshop fail.
The original image of Vance was taken on Inauguration Day in January 2025. When comparing the birthday image to the original, some eagle-eyed critics noticed that Vance looked thinner in the birthday version.
One critic on X claimed: “They heavily photoshopped JD Vance to make him look like he weighs 160 lbs. What a joke.” They added that the difference between the two images was “so embarrassing.”
— GOP (@GOP) August 2, 2025
Others also noticed the difference. “@JDVance is not that snatched!” someone else wrote on X.
“What in the Ozempic Photoshop is this?” Another person commented, “Why did you photoshop him lmfaooooo.”
“Wow! JV Vance dropped 50 lbs on the same day!” a fourth critic joked.
OMG. They heavily photoshopped JD Vance to make him look like he weighs 160 lbs. What a joke.
— Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) August 2, 2025
Nothing is real with this administration. NOTHING.
Original on the left. Doctored on the right.
So embarrassing. https://t.co/olSEKJjS3H pic.twitter.com/4rEnxvmqYx
In addition to looking slimmer in the birthday photo, Vance’s arm appeared misshapen. Others pointed to his thumb, which looked like it had been erased. “And why would they not see they cut off his thumb?” one person questioned.
Someone else quipped: “Seriously? They couldn’t find anyone to make it look a bit more believable? Check out his right arm on the photoshopped picture.”
Another critic compared the photo to “Photoshop from the ’90s.” They added, “The connection between the shoulder and the right arm is so awful I can’t believe they actually published it like that.”
And why would they not see they cut off his thumb?🤣 pic.twitter.com/bayt34WVin
— Farrah Oxford (@OxfordFarr66929) August 2, 2025
After the apparent photo editing mistakes were brought to light, some people continued to defend the birthday photo, saying that the differences between the two images might be explained by the “angle” rather than any editing. Others admitted that the GOP might’ve edited the image, but they didn’t care.
“They literally just did a mediocre Photoshop job on his arm for text layover,” someone argued.
