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JD Vance: Kamala Harris Interview: JD Vance Refuses to Apologize to Beauty Contestant Over Video That Made Her Think About Suicide |

JD Vance refused to to apologize for reviving an old internet meme that had caused a then teenage girl to consider suicide. The Republican vice presidential nominee tried to steal Kamala Harris’ long-awaited interview on Thursday evening by posting a message from 2007 video clip of Caitlin Uptonwho represented South Carolina in that year’s Miss Teen USA pageant. The clip shows Upton mispronouncing an answer to a question about Americans’ inability to find their own country on a map. CNN’s John Berman challenged Vance about the difficulties the contestant later faced.

“When you posted this last night, were you aware that the woman you posted a picture of was considering having sex with her husband? suicide for the attention it got?” Berman asked.
Vance insisted he was unaware of Upton’s troubles since the video went viral nearly two decades ago. Donald Trump’s running mate claimed the post was merely a light-hearted attempt at humor.
“No, absolutely not, John, and my heart goes out to her and I hope she’s OK,” Vance responded. “Look, I’ve said a lot of things on camera, I’ve said a lot of stupid things on camera. Sometimes when you’re in the public eye, you make mistakes and, again, I think the best way to deal with it is to laugh at ourselves, laugh at this stuff and try to have some fun in politics. I posted a meme from 20 years ago and I think the fact that we’re talking about that instead of the fact that American families can’t afford groceries or health care, young families can’t afford a home to raise their families, and those are the real crises that we need to be focused on, and there’s nothing that says we can’t tell jokes while we’re doing the very serious business of restoring our government policies.”
“Politics has become way too lame, John, way too boring,” Vance added. “You can have fun while making a good argument to the American people about how you’re going to make their lives better.”
Berman was not satisfied with his answer and asked if he would be willing to apologize for bringing up that embarrassing moment in such a public manner.
“I just want to be clear, but you said you didn’t know,” Berman pressed. “Would you like to apologize to Caitlin Upton for posting that last night, given what you’ve now learned?”
Trump’s running mate declined the opportunity to apologize to Upton, now 35.
“John, I’m not going to apologize for posting a joke, but I wish Caitlin the best,” Vance said. “I hope she’s OK and, again, what I would say is one bad moment shouldn’t define anyone, and the best way to deal with it is to laugh at ourselves.”