Vice President JD Vance sparked a fresh round of political debate on Tuesday after sharing a meme of congressional Democrats at a Jan. 6 candlelight vigil. The post, shared from Vance's verified X account, featured images of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries with sombreros superimposed over their heads.
The Vice President reposted the content from the "End Wokeness" account, which had captioned a video of the event: "BREAKING: Congressional Dems just held a candlelit vigil to honor the 5th January 6th anniversary." Vance shared the altered clip without additional commentary.
Democratic leaders held the vigil on the Capitol steps to commemorate the five-year anniversary of the 2021 breach. Schumer described the day democracy was "placed at greater risk than it has been in a century," while Jeffries labeled it a "violent insurrection incited by Donald Trump."
A History of the Sombrero Meme
The use of "sombrero memes" to mock Democratic leadership is not new. Variations of the imagery first began circulating during the 2025 federal government shutdown. At that time, President Trump and Vance used the memes to mock Democrats' positions on border security and illegal immigration.
During a White House briefing in October 2025, Vance famously quipped, “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.”
When Jeffries previously denounced the imagery as "racist," Vance brushed off the criticism, calling the memes "funny" and a way to poke fun at the "absurdity" of Democratic positions. He argued that the American people recognize the images as satirical.