President Donald Trump has publicly made questionable comments about Vice President JD Vance, and apparently, he’s feeling a bit skeptical of him behind the scenes as well. Trump’s issues with his VP seem to go beyond his fashion choices, according to a new report from The New York Times.
As people continue to speculate about whether Vance will run for president in 2028, it seems that Trump is pretty fixated on Vance’s shortcomings.
Trump is said to compare Vance to himself.
And it sounds like he doesn’t think Vance measures up. The New York Times cited “interviews with more than a dozen people who are directly familiar with the dynamic between the two men,” and reported that Trump tends to take credit for Vance’s success.
Apparently, he likes to talk about how Vance “has never won a tough race without his help.” The publication also claimed that Trump appears to have an issue with the number of vacations Vance has taken (while Vance has taken several vacations, Trump recently skipped his own son’s wedding).
There are also some awkward moments that Trump can’t seem to get over. Last year, Vance awkwardly dropped the College Football Playoff’s national championship trophy, and Trump reportedly thinks about this a lot.
He has expressed some of his skepticism publicly.
Vance: We're gonna see if the president notices my socks when we go to visit him in a couple of hours pic.twitter.com/hzsv8nsuei
— FactPost (@factpostnews) March 17, 2026
Of course, he often plays it off as a joke. For example, in November 2025, Trump asked Vance why he wasn’t more like Chinese officials. “I’ve never seen men so scared in their lives,” Trump said of the officials. Then, he made a joke directed at JD. “Why don’t you behave like that?” he asked. “JD doesn’t behave like that! JD butts into conversations! I want to have that for at least a couple of days. Okay, JD?”
In addition to thinking that JD “butts into conversations,” Trump has also had issues with JD’s socks and shoes, according to stories the vice president has told. During a recent speech, Vance recalled how he learned that he needed to dress a certain way around Trump.
“I will tell you that the president, he will note if you’re wearing anything other than a solid navy blue jacket,” Vance explained at a recent event in Missouri. “And I learned this the hard way. Not just that, but, you know, he likes more conservative dress.”
He recalled wearing shamrock socks to a St. Patrick’s Day event and finding out that Trump did not approve. “The president starts his remarks, and then he looks over, and he says, ‘What is going on with those socks?'”
People have noticed Vance acting more Trump-like as time goes on.
In this video montage, JD Vance says:
— Mia (@MiaForTrump) May 17, 2026
1. He “never liked” Trump.
2. Trump never “tells the truth”.
3. Trump is a “total fraud”.
4. Trump doesn’t “care about folks” .
5. He “can’t stomach” Trump. pic.twitter.com/iWoK0v6i9K
At times, he’s tried to tell offensive jokes in the same way that Trump does, but they do not appear to land. Each time one of his jokes starts circulating on social media, critics emerge to comment on how he has no charisma. So, if Trump is truly questioning if Vance has what it takes to successfully run for president, he’s definitely not the only one.
But in a statement shared with The New York Times, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung dismissed these claims. “Vice President Vance has done a remarkable job of helping implement the president’s America First agenda,” Cheung said. “There has been no vice president in history who has been more empowered, and that is a reflection of the strong trust and relationship between the two. Any false media narratives from unknown and unnamed sources fabricating stories clearly do not have any knowledge of the truth.”
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