Vice President JD Vance made House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) a hilarious offer on Wednesday with the hopes of incentivizing Democrats to reopen the government.
Vance made a surprise appearance alongside press secretary Karoline Leavitt during Wednesday’s briefing on the first day of the government shutdown. Because Democrats refused to pass the Republicans’ clean, nonpartisan funding bill, the federal government officially shut down at midnight on October 1 for the first time in six years.
‘You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun.’
The shutdown has left reporters with many questions and millions of Americans with uncertainty. In an effort to facilitate a good-faith negotiation with Democrats, Vance made a humorous offer to Jeffries to encourage Democrats to reopen the government.
“I’ll tell Hakeem Jeffries right now — I make this solemn promise to you, that if you help us reopen the government, the sombrero memes will stop,” Vance quipped during the briefing.
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The briefing room erupted with laughter at Vance’s reference to a series of memes posted by President Donald Trump mocking Jeffries. The memes feature Jeffries with a photoshopped sombrero and an exaggerated mustache accompanied by mariachi music in the background.
Although most view these posts as the humorous memes that they are, Jeffries immediately claimed that Trump’s intent was malicious.
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Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
“It’s a disgusting video, and we’re going to continue to make clear: Bigotry will get you nowhere,” Jeffries said in response to the first meme.
Notably, Trump then posted the clip of Jeffries’ response, once again photoshopped with the same sombrero, mustache, and mariachi music. As an added bonus, Trump included edited graphics of himself as the mariachi band accompanying Jeffries.
“I think it’s funny, the president is joking, and we’re having a good time,” Vance said during the briefing. “You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun.”
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