JD Vance has now been accused of committing a “crime against humanity” after he stopped by a famed Philadelphia cheesesteak joint and asked why they don’t have Swiss cheese.
The Republican vice presidential candidate cracked the joke at Pat’s King of Steaks during a campaign stop on Monday, having worked up an appetite by making a speech at a waste management facility.
“I don’t like Swiss cheese either, but everybody says it’s insulting,” Vance asked at the Pat’s register, according to The Daily Beast.
“Why do you guys hate Swiss cheese so much?”
Founded by two brothers in 1930, Pat’s credits itself as the “originator and inventor of the steak and cheesesteak sandwich,” and serves its sandwiches with only American, provolone or cheez whiz.
“We don’t hate it, we just don’t use it. We usually use cheez whiz,” responded the employee taking Vance’s order.
Vance appears to have been intentionally making reference to the notorious faux pas made by John Kerry during his 2004 presidential campaign, when he asked for a cheesesteak sandwich with Swiss cheese during a visit to Pat’s.
Kerry went on to lose the election to George W Bush, getting 48.3 per cent of votes.
While Pat’s manager, Sammy Garcia, brushed off the quip, saying the team “thought it was funny” to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Democrats, anti Trump-Vance Republicans and social media users dragged Vance for the gag.
“Today, in my beloved city of Philadelphia,” Democrat Philadelphia representative Brendan Boyle posted on X.
“JD Vance committed a crime against humanity,” he added, along with the hashtag #WorstVPpick.
Meanwhile, Republicans against Trump simply but damningly wrote: “Trump just lost Pennsylvania.”
“He sunk his battleship,” another person chimed in.
“He’s weirder than we thought,” added another, playing off the line first coined by Tim Walz that Republicans are “weird”.
The cheesesteak saga comes as Donald Trump and his running mate ramp up their campaign as the Democratic National Convention is in full swing in Chicago.
During the first night of the convention, President Joe Biden passed the Democratic party’s torch to Kamala Harris, asking the crowd: “Are you ready to vote for freedom? Are you ready to vote for democracy and for America? Let me ask you, are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?”
The Republican ticket has some ground to cover, according to polls – with Harris pulling away from Trump on a 2.5 point lead.
