Hey, he’d be oozing charisma if they had shot this in the living room section of a furniture store.

On Sunday, President JD Vance joined his wife, second lady Usha Vance, on her podcast “Storytime with the Second Lady” for a special Father’s Day edition, and things got off to a really awkward start.

So much so that a clip from the episode quickly went viral on X thanks to the couple’s painful dynamic.

It starts in the first few seconds of the episode when the second lady introduces her husband as her guest.

“Today’s special reader is my husband, Vice President of the United States JD Vance,” Usha Vance begins as jaunty royalty-free music plays in the background. “Thanks for joining us today, honey.”

“Of course, good to see ya,” the vice president responds before stiffly bending over to pat his wife on her knee like he’s greeting a small child or a pet. She appears to subtly flinch.

Critics of the Trump administration quickly latched on to the cringey moment to express their secondhand embarrassment.

Nothing says “happy marriage” quite like greeting your own wife as if you just met her. 😁

That’s how I pet the dog when I get home from work.

Initiate humon affection pic.twitter.com/V4qg6YLjU9

*pats her like a collie* ‘hello fellow human’

Did he just “tap” her like a dog?

lol may this type of love NEVER find me

If real life was AI

He may have been going for the couch, but her knee was in the way.

To be fair, there isn’t a person on Earth that JD Vance has chemistry with.

Yes, I know Usha is pregnant.But there is no way J D Vance has ever had human sex.

I’ve had mismatched socks with more chemistry than JD and Usha Vance

It's like a bad episode of Mr Roger's pic.twitter.com/EnNPUvBEJm

Hmmm... pic.twitter.com/7lq87lhnFd

This is by no means the first time social media users have had a strong reaction to the vice president’s seeming disconnection from his wife.

In October 2024, critics had a feast after JD Vance discussed his wife in an interview by saying “she’s got three kids,” rather than saying they share the three kids.

The vice president also caught flak for expressing his hope that his wife, who is Hindu, will “eventually” be “moved” enough by his Christian faith to convert. Even a meal he attempted to make for the vegetarian second lady was “disgusting,” by his own admission.

The vice president sparked divorce rumors last year when he closely embraced Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk onstage at an event honoring her slain husband, Charlie Kirk.

Usha Vance was spotted in public shortly afterward without her wedding ring.

“Sometimes I’m wearing it, and sometimes I’ve just been to the gym and showered, and I’m not wearing it,” she told USA Today, explaining that she and her husband find it “kind of funny” that people are interested in such things.

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