The fifth anniversary of the January 6 riots has stirred major controversy online. Adding to the shock of all was Donald Trump’s attempt at rewriting the narrative with a publicly accessible website.
It overruled rioters as peaceful protestors who were wronged, and not the other way round.
Shortly after, Democrats took it upon themselves to reassert the findings of the Selection Committee Report, which found Trump guilty of encouraging the insurrectionists.
They highlighted that the U.S. President’s pardoning of the attackers was unlawful, since there is direct evidence of their crime.
In lieu of it all, some of the top Democratic leaders hosted a solemn candlelight vigil and posted glimpses of the same on X. They held a memorial for those killed in the January 6 riots at the Capitol Hill.
The vigil also honored the slain enforcement officers, who died while defending the historic building during the violence. Some of the people present on the occasion were Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and others.
While the video drew widespread attention on social media, it also prompted a response from U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who viewed it as an act of mockery.
Echoing the approach often taken by his boss, Donald Trump, Vance shared a photoshopped image of Democratic leaders at the vigil, altering the photo so that only their heads were shown wearing sombreros.
https://t.co/s7uIjj5t7L pic.twitter.com/YnZ7UExSYQ
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 7, 2026
However, the post that intended to poke fun at and mock the action of the Democrats backfired on Vance. He became the internet’s punching bag once more as netizens voiced outrage over his insensitivity.
The comment section of the post was filled with anti-GOP comments as they highlighted Vance’s mockery to be an example of political theatre.
One netizen commented, “Going back to roasting Democrats because people realized you’re a sell-out and a scam artist who lied about the Epstein files and foreign wars? Not gonna work, JD. The American people hate you both now.”
Another social media user re-shared the post and captioned “You’re a really bad Christian.”
A third underlined how Vance completely overlooked the loss of life for officers on duty during the riots and penned, “JD Vance thinks police officers being beaten by domestic terrorists is just so funny.”
There were also some comments that ignited questions of racism against the Vice President. One of the users penned, “Explaining why Dad is a racist to your Indian children must be a lot of fun for your wife.”
But besides comments against Vance and his mockery of the Democrats, a strong section of people also supported the post.
Going back to roasting Democrats because people realized you’re a sell-out and a scam artist who lied about the Epstein files and foreign wars?
Not gonna work JD. The American people hate you both now.
— Liger (@EdbieLigerSmith) January 7, 2026
Well, this was not the first time that both Vance and Trump dropped photoshopped pictures on social media, mocking their opponents like no other. In fact, the U.S. President had personally started off the sombrero attack on Democrat leaders, specifically Jeffries and Schumer. I
n April last year, he had posted a controversial deepfake photo of the two, with a digitally added mustache and a sombrero atop their heads.Back then, it had been JD Vance who had given an easier play-by-play of what Trump’s post actually indicated and whether there was malice in it.
He had said, “I think it’s funny. The president’s joking. And we’re having a good time. You can negotiate in good faith while also poking a little bit of fun at some of the absurdities of the Democrats’ positions, and even poking some fun at the absurdity of the Democrats themselves.”
