Georgia Republican Representative Mike Collins left X users baffled after sharing a photo of Vance that had clearly been photoshopped to give the vice presidential candidate more pronounced cheekbones and a stronger jawline.
Collins bizarrely shared a noticeably edited image of Vance’s face, altered to appear slimmer with exaggerated features, including what looked like a chin implant.
@RepMikeCollins/X
The origins of the photo appear to stem from an old meme trend of "yassifying" images to enhance someone's physical appearance, combined with the far-right's fixation on idealized male features, particularly the "Chad" archetype often seen in right-wing memes.
People were quick to mock it, sharing doctored images of their own.
Others were just plain weirded out.
Perhaps Collins' image was designed to make Vance more palatable for many voters in light of largely sexist and misogynistic remarks he's made, most notably his gripe about "childless cat ladies" having too much political capital.
Vance also generated controversy during this week's debate between him and Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate Tim Walz when he minimized the significance of the insurrection of January 6, 2021, when a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to halt the certification of the election results, and declined to admit that Trump lost the 2020 election.
Walz called Vance's response a "damning non-answer," a phrase that influenced an ad the Harris campaign put out right after the debate that included footage showing Trump's supporters storming the Capitol on January 6 and a caption that reads:
"If we elect Donald Trump, the past will be the future."
Midwestern voters in the key swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio (which Vance represents in the Senate) view Walz more favorably than Vance, according to polls from The New York Times and Siena College. Participants said they are more likely to say that Walz was honest, trustworthy, and caring than they were to say the same about Vance.
