People confused as Trump appears to call JD Vance ‘incompetent’ with him in the same room

Because JD Vance was present at the time, the phrasing made it sound as though Trump was grouping his own vice president into the criticism. He continued with similarly unclear remarks, saying both candidates were “incompetent,” before shifting to comments about female candidates and Democratic leadership—further muddying the message.

The clip sparked confusion online. One viewer asked, “Why is he cooking JD Vance?” while another joked, “JD catching strays is wild.”

Despite the apparent slip, Trump was not actually criticizing Vance, according to fact-checking outlet Snopes. After reviewing the incident, Snopes reported that the White House clarified Trump was referring to his debate opponent—former president Joe Biden—when he said “my man,” not his vice president.

This interpretation is supported by Trump’s follow-up comment that he had run “against a man and a woman,” which could reference either Kamala Harris replacing Biden as the Democratic nominee or Trump’s 2016 race against Hillary Clinton.

As is often the case with Trump’s off-the-cuff remarks, the confusion stemmed less from intent than from his characteristically tangled delivery, which left room for multiple interpretations.