Y'all know that I love a good J.D. Vance meme, and I sharing them with friends (I see you, Bretton!) is my love language. Well, imagine my delight when I found out recently that there's a whole dang mural highlighting one of the original bald baby Vance images that launched a thousand J.D. Vance memes.
The mural is located in Philadelphia, on the corner of Berks Street and E. Girard Avenue, and is painted on the side of the restaurant Sulimay's. FUBAR PAC created it with, what Nadira Goffe of Slate describes as "$300, 12 hours, and a dream." FUBAR PAC was founded by Jack Inacker, a native of Philadelphia and a veteran of the Air Force. On FUBAR PAC's website, they describe themselves as a "veteran-led Democratic opposition, waging a ruthless year-round campaign against MAGA cowards and their allies." They continue:
Our mission is to win back the House in 2026. We're haters. We'll admit it. We're hellbent on holding Republicans accountable for wrecking the economy, gutting health care, and destroying our government. America is currently Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition. But our country is still worth fighting for.
On their website, FUBAR PAC also provides information about the J.D. Vance mural, asking, first, of course, "Have you said thank you once??" before explaining that "Philadelphia is a city of murals. We're also a city of haters. So we wanted to add to that rich tapestry with some dumb bullshit. While silly, our bald baby JD Vance mural is exposing people to the terrible harm caused by this administration."
FUBAR PAC has another page devoted entirely to the mural and press coverage of it. There, they describe the mural of the "infamous bald baby JD Vance meme in Philadelphia" as a "repudiation of the Trump administration and our joke of a vice president."
People seem to really bond over their hatred of J.D. Vance and their love of the new mural. Tourists have been flocking to the mural since it went up in mid-August, taking selfies of the scary baby-fied Vance and sharing their photos all over social media. FUBAR PAC states that over four million people have seen it online and in person. Nadira Goffe of Slate writes that it's not surprising that the mural has become a "viral sacred site of sorts," because folks in Philly love "making a mockery of kakistocracy."
Goffe was lucky enough to make the pilgrimage to Philly to see the mural with her own eyes, and I love how she describes it:
Like the original image, the mural is unbelievably blue, pairing a cobalt backdrop with a cartoonishly rendered Vance whose head seems even more misshapen than what's depicted in the meme. Despite the grotesquery, it's evident that the mural was created with care: The shading technique resembles mini heat maps that get darker as you get lower, signaling even more danger as the viewer imagines what horrors lie below Vance's shoulders. On the egglike face is a scraggly painted beard that looks fake in all the right ways. But the mural's standout feature is certainly the eyes, complete with the vice president's all-natural emo eyeliner and orbs so light blue they couldn't possibly have life behind them.
What's even better, though, is her description of how staring at a grotesque, baby-fied J.D. Vance made her feel. This is pure gold, folks:
Vance's gaze piereced my soul; I could feel it trying to cull every ounce of humanity I had left. My staring contest left me shaken: I felt as though I had unlocked all the dark secrets to the world, at the cost of my hypothetical firstborn child. I also, for some inexplicable reason, felt as though I needed to go home and say sorry to my mother.
I hope with every fiber of my being that I will be able to see the mural in person soon! It sounds glorious!
And if you're like me and cannot get your fill of J.D. Vance member, rejoice! FUBAR PAC's work is not going to stop with this mural, thankfully. They've got more Vance-related projects in the works—they tease on their website: "COMING SOON, CREATE YOUR OWN JD," which I personally cannot wait to see. And there's even more, as Slate's Goffe quotes part of an email she received from Inacker that states, "J.D. Vance gets a lot of hate. But it's not enough. We can do better." Goffe also explains that Inacker followed up with another email that stated, "Wait 'til we start adding hats for Halloween."
I, for one, am here for it.
Learn more about FUBAR PAC and the J.D. Vance mural at their website, YouTube, Xitter, or Instagram. And here's a 30-second video that captures the entire creation of the mural.
Previously:
• JD Vance memes are still going strong and are better than ever
• European tourist denied entry to US over JD Vance meme on his phone
• JD Vance had Army Corps adjust river levels for personal boat ride
• Amusing: Golf ball outsmarts JD Vance on putting green (video)
