JD Vance Ridiculed For Defending Confederate Soldiers: 'Weird Stance For The Vice President'

Vice President JD Vance defended Confederate soldiers in a recent podcast appearance, a move social media users called a "weird hill to die on."

During an appearance on This Past Weekend with comedian Theo Von, Vance brought up the Civil War, claiming he had family members who fought on both sides.

"I feel like something happened like 10 years ago where, it's like, you have to think that every single person that who fought for the Confederate side was an evil person," Vance said. "I just think that's so stupid."

Online, the comment drew criticism for what many saw as historical revisionism and downplaying the Confederacy's defense of slavery.

"Defending the Confederacy... Is certainly a take from the Vice President..." an X user wrote above an image reading, "Weird hill to die on."

Critics pointed out that the Confederacy's foundational documents explicitly stated their intent to preserve slavery, with many questioning why a sitting vice president would adopt such a sympathetic tone toward a treasonous movement.

"The Confederacy was at WAR with the United States," another critic posted. "They were fighting to overthrow the government of the United States. Does he not get that at all?"

Others noted the irony in Vance implying that the moral clarity about the Confederacy only emerged "10 years ago."

"Yeah, it was actually more like 160 years ago, and not so much evil as treasonous traitors to the union. Hope that clears it up," said one user.

Vance went on to discuss the Ken Burns Civil War documentary, speculating how it would be received had it been released "at the height of the woke thing."

"There are a lot of things they would try to cancel Ken Burns over," Vance said.

As an example, Vance cited the documentary's spotlight on a letter from a Confederate soldier. "It's sad and it's tragic and you try to empathize with that person, and what's that like," he described. "That wasn't okay in 2021."

The Trump administration has taken an active stance against "woke culture," including the renaming or removal of monuments honoring members of the Confederacy.