Vice President JD Vance and Governor of California Gavin Newsom have been occupying plenty of headline space on X ever since a user named Jack Cocchiarella posted a picture collage of JD Vance’s throwback photo juxtaposed with Gavin Newsom’s old photos in a picture collage. In his X bio, Jack describes himself as a “progressive political YouTuber.” He captioned the post, “Chad Newsom > Chud Vance.”
A little context for those who require one. The slang “Chad” is “a stereotypical alpha male; a man, admired or scorned for brazen self-confidence.” Per the Urban Dictionary, “Chud describes someone with right-wing political views.”
Chad Newsom > Chud Vance pic.twitter.com/ati62oSFBQ
— Jack Cocchiarella (@JDCocchiarella) August 18, 2025
As the picture collage powered its way around the social media platform, comments from users flooded the thread, picking sides. “One is a failed Governor. One is a winning Vice President. Seems like one peaked in college and one is peaking now and possibly peaking further in 2028,” wrote a user backing JD Vance.
Vice President JD Vance is also a Marine Corps veteran and the Internet didn’t forget that. “One of these was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and played sports. The other was born from a working-class family and went to earn the title of United States Marine. They are not the same,” added a second comment. A fan of Newsom debated, “JD has no rizz.”
Gavin Newsom’s privileged background was instantly flagged widely in the comments section, with one user pointing out, “Spoiled rich kid from a crime family vs a self-made man and Marine who has risen to VP, choose your fighter.” Similar comment popped up, reading “One of these was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and played sports. The other was born from a working-class family and went to earn the title of United States Marine. They are not the same.”
This doesn’t end well for you, but you started it. pic.twitter.com/23BLlSWCzv
— Political Blasphememes (@PBlasphememes) August 18, 2025
Debate aside, a section of the Internet even schooled the user who posted the collage, arguing that the debate on looks was uncalled for. Schooling the original poster of the pictures, a user commented, “Jack, making fun of someone’s appearance does not make you a better person. It actually makes you look mean-spirited and small. VP Vance is a Marine, something Newsom could never have achieved. Just sayin.”
One is a failed Governor. One is a winning Vice President. Seems like one peaked in college and one is peaking now and possibly peaking further in 2028.
— Adam Francisco (@adamfrancisco_) August 18, 2025
This user also had some thoughts on digging out high school photos: “Who among us doesn’t use high school yearbook photos as their criteria to judge who our best political leaders are? We’re so lucky to have geniuses like Jack among us.” Here’s another input from an X user, “Peaking in high school is not a flex.” Another user seemed to agree with that school of thought and wrote, “So we should judge people by their looks. Got it.”
Several even joked about the fact that people are taking into account high school photos to win an online debate. “So desperate for a win they want to take looks in high school into account,” a user wrote. Another one wrote, “Had to go back in time over 30 years to find a W for Gavin Newsom. That’s tough.”
Meanwhile, amid the chaotic government shutdown, JD Vance announced his return on TikTok. He says in the clip, “Hey guys, JD Vance here. Just wanted to let you know that we are relaunching The VP’s TikTok page. I got a little lazy the last few months. Was focused on the job of being VP and not on TikTok… That’s about to change.” He also promised to keep his TikTok followers updated on what’s happening in The White House, business of state, on what’s going on politically and “maybe some sombrero memes here and there.”
The Vice President also featured in headlines all week for hosting a dinner date for President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and his wife and lawyer Usha Vance at his official Residence on October 3 amid the tumultuous environment to shutdown and layoffs in America.
