# JD Vance couch story **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 14, 2024, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715 "2024-08-14T20:38:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SpicyDuckBillyHunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@SpicyDuckBillyHunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpicyDuckBillyHunt)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/1 "2024-08-14T20:38:27Z")
I don’t understand how this made up story by one guy makes it to international news. Don’t people say bizarre untrue things on social media all the time? Can someone explain the process of one tweet becoming an international sensation. Was the guy tweeting a movie star? Can my tweet saying Camilla Harrison enjoyed sitting on a chair become a meme? ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/2 "2024-08-14T20:40:22Z")
If I could explain why some things go viral while others don’t, I wouldn’t tell you, I’d be too busy with my multi billion dollar ad agency. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/3 "2024-08-14T20:50:10Z")
Yeah, some things just take off. It helped that he put the page numbers in his cite; which is pretty funny, people believed that Vance wrote about having sex with a couch for **three** pages. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/4 "2024-08-14T20:58:39Z")
This is being discussed here: > [@What's the straight dope on J.D. Vance and couches/eyeliner?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-straight-dope-on-j-d-vance-and-couches-eyeliner/1005479): > > Recently I’ve read that Vance did not, as some believe, have sexual congress with a piece of furniture, nor does he use eyeliner, as has been claimed by his detractors. Is there a factual basis to either of these claims? Vance’s supporters seem to be denying that he wrote anywhere about the sex stuff, but on the other side, others seem to claim that he did write it but it was deleted before publication–is that accurate? If so, how can it be proven what was and what wasn’t in a deleted draft? Or … ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/5 "2024-08-14T21:02:10Z")
The tweet that started it all was an obvious joke and the author never intended it as anything but a joke. > **[The author of the viral joke post about JD Vance having sex with a couch...](https://www.businessinsider.com/jd-vance-couch-sex-joke-author-speaks-2024-7)** > > The man behind a viral joke post about Vance making love to a couch has stayed quiet — until now. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/6 "2024-08-14T21:20:27Z")
From the article: > [@](#): > > Rick suggested Vance making love to a couch may best be viewed as what Werner Herzog has described as the “ecstatic truth” — in Herzog’s words, “a kind of truth that is the enemy of the merely factual,” encompassing falsehoods that “make some essence of the man visible.” This is exactly right. Vance almost certainly did not, actually and factually, fuck a couch. But you look at him and listen to him for more than a few seconds, and he clearly is a person who _could have_ fucked a couch. Hence, the reference catches on. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2024, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/7 "2024-08-14T21:57:34Z")
Yeah, he _looks_ like someone who would do coitus with a couch, and that’s all it takes. This whole thing has shades of [Santorum](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/santorum). ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/8 "2024-08-15T01:15:57Z")
As I said before, it’s the modern-day equivalent of “Richard Gere stuck a live gerbil up his butt” or “Elton John got rushed to the emergency room and they pumped a gallon of semen out of his stomach” or “Marilyn Manson had his bottom ribs removed so he could suck his own dick”. It’s the sort of thing that feels like it could be true, implausible as it is, because you look at that person and think to yourself “Yeah, I could see them doing that”. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/9 "2024-08-15T01:31:09Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > It helped that he put the page numbers in his cite Which as John Oliver pointed out, betrays that most people have not and will not actually read the book, or bother borrowing a copy to look and check. But yeah, for some people, a _made up_ cite will work by perverse psychology: “they wouldn’t just make up something then cite specifically where to look it up”. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/10 "2024-08-15T06:27:28Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > This is exactly right. Vance almost certainly did not, actually and factually, fuck a couch. But you look at him and listen to him for more than a few seconds, and he clearly is a person who _could have_ fucked a couch. Technically, he was rumoured to have fucked a rubber glove embedded between couch cushions, as opposed to the couch itself. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/11 "2024-08-15T06:50:00Z")
Safe sex with the sofa seems prudent. ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/12 "2024-08-15T07:02:21Z")
And it bears repeating. JD Vance did not fuck a couch. As a matter of fact this is so important I’m going to say it one more time. Just to make sure everyone understands JD Vance did not, in fact, fuck a couch. But he’s the kind of guy who could have. And that’s just a little weird. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/13 "2024-08-15T09:01:26Z")
Can he prove that? I think not. Teenage boys, young adult men, possibly old coots are bound to do anything. 🤭 (Except maybe Dopers …wait, what am I sayin’?) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/14 "2024-08-15T09:25:05Z")
Does anyone **really** literally believe the couch story? As noted, it’s taken off because of Vance’s overall weirdness. He’s weirdly obsessed with childless women. He is incapable of giving normal responses to fairly basic questions. He’s running mates with a guy he not all that long ago was describing in the most scathing terms including (allegedly) “America’s Hitler”. His treatment of his wife as a political pawn is weird, while he attempts (and fails) to criticize the dynamics of the Walz’s marriage. Honestly, he should be grateful the criticisms of him are light and comic and related to an obvious fiction, because the alternative would be to constantly point out what a genuine creep he is. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/15 "2024-08-15T09:52:56Z")
Exactly. “He fucked a couch” is not literally true and while it’s possible some people may ascribe some factual belief in it they are a decided minority. Rather, “he’s a couch-fucker” is shorthand for “he makes my skin crawl but rather than allowing that weirdness to unnerve and frighten me I’m going to mock and dismiss him.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/16 "2024-08-15T10:32:09Z")
I would say that a huge part of why it went viral is that it fits the narrative about him. As people say, he’s just weird enough that you could believe he might have done this, not realizing how weird it is. (Talking about it, at least.) But another reason it’s taking off is that Democrats are embracing shitposting and other Gen Z and Zoomer (younger millennials) styles of communication online. It feels like Democrats are finally engaging in social media in the same way Republicans would make their memes popular. It’s the more extended version of the “weird” meme. All of it is is about the idea that Vance has this uncanniness about him, like he’s trying to pretend to be “normal.” And this seems fair game since he is himself so willing to completely change his views to fit his audience. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/17 "2024-08-15T12:28:35Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Does anyone **really** literally believe the couch story? Have you ever seen a picture of the guy? ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/18 "2024-08-15T12:56:14Z")
The main reason it’s taken off is the reaction. Sure, put up a one sentence denial and move on. Maybe put in a joke to indicate he has a sense of humor and can laugh at himself like a regular guy. But Vance (and a lot of folks in that political camp) is remarkably thin-skinned. It doesn’t matter that nobody literally thinks the story is true. The idea that somewhere, somebody just _might_ think it is true is enough to set him off. He can’t help but object vociferously and at length. And when that doesn’t work, try to counter-punch rather than take the L and move past it. And when normal people see a massive overreaction like that to an obvious joke, they can’t help but keep poking. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/19 "2024-08-15T13:01:32Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Yeah, he _looks_ like someone who would do coitus with a couch, and that’s all it takes. > > This whole thing has shades of [Santorum](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/santorum). Vance is _not_ a trans-sectional! ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2024, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715/20 "2024-08-15T13:09:57Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > > [@snowthx](#): > > > > Yeah, he _looks_ like someone who would do coitus with a couch, and that’s all it takes. > > > > This whole thing has shades of [Santorum](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/santorum). > > Vance is _not_ a trans-sectional! - Of course he’s not. Besides, it wasn’t a couch, it was a love seat. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-couch-story/1005715.md?page=2)