“Caitlin Upton was 18 and competing in the Miss Teen USA 2007 pageant when her stumbling response to a question about why some Americans couldn’t find their own country on the map became an early viral sensation,” Yahoo News begins the story here.
Since then, that video has served countless times to reinforce a stereotype of beauty contestants as airhead bimbos. Upton isn’t actually that dumb; there’s a simple explanation for what happened: She clenched under pressure. It happens.
The repercussions were serious. She was widely mocked. In a magazine interview 8 years later, “she disclosed that the widespread backlash contributed to a period of severe depression and suicidal thoughts,” according to Wikipedia (see article here).
But even though the video of her embarrassing moment has been seen by millions of people, most either didn’t know or wouldn’t remember her name. All that changed this week when J. D. Vance made her famous all over again.
He did it by reposting that video and recaptioning it, “BREAKING: I have gotten ahold of the full Kamala Harris CNN interview.” For Upton, now 35, and a mother of two working as a real estate agent, reviving her teenage humiliation is devastating.
It’s a terrible thing to do to someone. But after it was done, Vance made it worse. Yahoo News reports,
“When [CNN] anchor John Berman confronted him with her previous comments about contemplating suicide, the Republican vice-presidential candidate dismissed the video as ‘a 20-year-old meme’ and said the best way to deal with mockery is to ‘laugh it off.’”
Vance then added,
“Politics has got way too lame. You can have some fun while making an argument to the American people about improving their lives,” he said. “I’m not going to apologize for posting a joke but I wish the best for Caitlin and hope she’s doing well.”
Fun? This is him having fun at her expense. Where’s the “fun” for her? This is a man with no feelings. She’s not doing well, asshole, because of you.
The irony is that Upton “has posted conservative memes, wild claims of voting fraud and Students for Trump material” on social media. In other words, she was on his side. She probably was going to vote for him. Here’s what she says now: “Regardless of political beliefs, one thing I do know is that social media and online bullying needs to stop.”
Exploiting someone’s vulnerability for political gain is beyond the pale. Vance’s lack of feelings proves he’s unfit. This should end his vice presidential campaign. There have been stories in the media that Trump is unhappy with his running mate; now, he has an opportunity to fire him from the ticket. He should take it.