**The Internet Comes Together Over JD Vance’s Baby-Faced Memes**
Across the web, Americans are rallying—not for harmony, progress, or national security, but to distribute and chuckle at photos of Vice President JD Vance altered to look like a Gerber baby.
The beginnings of the JD Vance babyface meme are rather ambiguous, but *Know Your Meme* attributes the trend’s initiation to X user [@DaveMcNamee3000](https://x.com/DaveMcNamee3000/status/1841505527664124409?lang=en). On October 2, 2024, they shared a modified image of Vance with a rounder face and fuller cheeks, declaring, “For every 100 likes I will transform JD Vance into a progressively apple-cheeked baby.” The post rapidly gained traction, racking up thousands of shares and hundreds of thousands of likes. As the interaction surged, so did Vance’s babyish features, and before long, the internet joined in, turning the meme into a widespread sensation.
This trend soared to new levels this week after Vance made an odd statement during a February 28 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and former President Donald Trump. Vance inquired of Zelenskyy, “Have you said thank you even once?”—a remark that many X users found strangely juvenile. The phrase evoked images of a stubborn child unwilling to share their toys, an unusual demeanor for a sitting Vice President.
The internet reacted in its characteristic manner: with a torrent of memes depicting Vance as an oversized infant.
### A Unique Moment of Political Cohesion
Perhaps the most astonishing element of the meme’s appeal is its capacity to bridge political divides. Research from the [Carnegie Endowment](https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2023/09/polarization-democracy-and-political-violence-in-the-united-states-what-the-research-says?lang=en) underscores how deeply divided Americans have become, often possessing significant animosity towards those with differing political opinions. Social media is often blamed for deepening this chasm.
However, in this instance, social media has facilitated a rare moment of cohesion. The JD Vance babyface meme has been welcomed across the political landscape, with both liberals and conservatives sharing and reveling in the edits. As one X user [pointed out](https://x.com/dmc_dmcc/status/1896680136709464432), “Edited chubby JD Vance is the first meme template in ages where I can’t tell if the person sharing it is from the Left or the most extreme Nazi you’ve ever encountered. The entire political spectrum is enjoying these memes, it’s impossible to distinguish.”
Of course, not everyone is supportive. Some conservatives have reacted negatively, with one user commenting, [“The left can’t meme.”](https://x.com/AhhhhhSchmidt/status/1896712620486586672) (Despite evidence suggesting otherwise, as [Mashable has reported previously](https://mashable.com/article/meta-leftist-meme-creators-instagram).) This inevitably sparked an online debate.
While not every conservative is on board, it’s uncommon to witness such widespread bipartisan enjoyment of a single internet joke. If nothing else, the JD Vance babyface phenomenon demonstrates that, for a fleeting moment, Americans can put aside their disagreements to come together over one thing: a Vice President with an irresistibly exaggerated baby face.