‘Why did he depict himself as a trad wife?’: JD Vance’s Thanksgiving post is baffling the internet

Vice President-elect JD Vance did it again. He’s doing unnecessarily weird thing that make people wonder what his angle is.

He forced a collective social media double-take of confusion and criticism on Thanksgiving with a peculiar use of a meme depicting himself in a traditionally feminine role alongside President-elect Donald Trump. Let’s unpack it.

One tweet asked, “Why did he depict himself as a trad wife?” Filmmaker Franklin Leonard stated: “I’ve seen a lot of embarrassing behavior on this app, but I have never seen anything quite like this.”

The image, a modification of Norman Rockwell’s iconic “Freedom From Want” painting, shows Vance’s face superimposed on the matriarch figure serving dinner while Trump appears as the patriarch. Rather than presenting a turkey, the pair holds up a red electoral map celebrating their victory.

The post prompted immediate analysis from journalists and cultural commentators about Vance’s decision to portray himself in a submissive, feminine role to Trump’s dominant masculine figure. “JD Vance posting an image of himself as Trump’s wife,” noted journalist Mehdi Hasan, who also pointed out their relatively narrow margin of victory.

New Republic deputy editor Jason Linkins offered a particularly biting assessment, describing Vance as someone with a “fetishistic need to be ruled.” Film executive Franklin Leonard deemed it one of the most “embarrassing” posts he’d witnessed on the platform.

The term “trad wife”—short for traditional wife, in the storybook, white bread sense—has emerged in recent years to describe women who embrace ultra-traditional gender roles and submission to male authority. Vance’s seeming willingness to place himself in this position relative to Trump, even as a joke, sparked discussions and loud whispers about power dynamics in their political relationship.

The imagery becomes even more striking considering the caustic and vengeful Trump’s documented leadership style and Vance’s trajectory from Trump critic to devoted supporter. Their relationship exemplifies a clear status differential—Trump as the dominant party standard-bearer slash strong man who won the presidency, with a willing and incredibly opportunistic Vance in a supporting role despite his own political accomplishments.

While some viewed the post as an attempted trolling of critics or a subtle suggestion that Vance delivered Trump’s victory, others (like Linkins) saw it as an unusually transparent display of political submission, even venturing into masochist tendency. The post received mixed reactions along partisan lines—Trump supporters like Elon Musk found it hilarious (without qualification as to why it would be, just using an emoji), while critics viewed it as something deeply revealing about Vance’s relationship with Trump.

The post came as Trump himself marked the holiday with a message attacking “Radical Left Lunatics,” claiming a “landslide victory” despite winning by just 1.6 points—one of the narrowest presidential margins since 1960. But in the end, what does it matter?

“I don’t even have anything pithy to say about this pure foolishness,” author Jennifer Erin Valent wrote. “I’m just deeply sad that Americans have put utterly unserious, emotionally stunted people in charge of the very serious, world-impacting business of running our nation.”