JD Vance Drag Photo Sends Internet Into Meltdown

A photograph appearing to show Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance dressed in drag has gone viral on social media.

The unconfirmed image appears to show the Ohio senator dressed in women's clothing and wearing a blonde wig.

The image is reported to have been taken in 2012 by one of Vance's classmates while he was studying at Yale Law School, according to The Daily Beast. It was subsequently sent to podcast host Matt Bernstein, who posted it on X, formerly Twitter.

"New: I have obtained a photo of JD Vance in drag while in Yale Law School," Bernstein wrote on Sunday. The image was viewed over 9 million times by Monday morning.

A spokesperson for Vance did not deny the authenticity of the image when approached by The Daily Beast and did not offer any further comments.

Newsweek contacted Vance's campaign for comment outside normal working hours.

User @plasticmartyr, a model and actor who is transgender, wrote on X "Yo,@JDVance, you look slay mama. What's your drag name? Sofa Loren?" in reference to the Italian movie star Sophia Loren and the widely-circulated lie that Vance wrote about having sex with a couch in his memoir Hillbilly Elegy.

The post was viewed 2.1 million times by Monday and led to "Sofa Loren" trending on X, peaking as the 12th most trending topic on the site.

Many memes and jokes were posted including references to former Republican Congressman George Santos admitting he once performed in drag after having previously described allegations that he had performed in drag as "outrageous" and "categorically false."

User @RonFilipowski, the editor of Trump-critical news site Meidas Touch wrote on X "George Santos or JD Vance. Who did it better?" The post was viewed 181,000 times by Monday.

User @RpsAgaintTrump, an anti-Trump conservative account wrote "JD Vance is so weird (yes this is a real photo.). The post was viewed 249,00 times by Monday.

Drag shows have been a target of Republican lawmakers in Texas, Tennessee, and Florida.

While Trump and Vance do not have an official policy against drag, they do intend to cut funding to schools which promote gender transition, and to reverse President Joe Biden's administration's law which currently seeks to give gay and transgender students protection from discrimination at school.

This is not the first time a picture from Vance's college days has gone viral. Last month a picture surfaced of the Ohio senator wearing a Soviet hammer and sickle shirt while surrounded by others dressed as professional wrestlers.