JD Vance was widely ridiculed online when he went to the grocery store and complained about the high price of eggs, and he also ruined the photo.
The Republican vice presidential candidate and his sons visited a Reading, Pennsylvania, supermarket last weekend to illustrate how grocery prices have been affected by “Kamala Harris' policies,” claiming that a dozen eggs cost $4.
The problem? When footage of the visit surfaced, Vance was quickly accosted by viewers who noticed that the price tag on a dozen eggs behind him was actually $2.99.
“If you look at the prices here, things are way overpriced and they're way overpriced because of Kamala Harris' policies,” he told buyers.
He was interrupted by his son, who pointed to the egg cartons behind him. “Let's talk about eggs,” Vance continued. “'Cause these guys actually eat about 14 eggs every morning,” the Ohio senator said, pointing to his sons.
“When Kamala Harris took office, a dozen eggs cost less than $1.50. Now a dozen eggs will cost you about $4. Because of Kamala Harris's inflationary policies, Pennsylvania has actually seen some of the worst grocery price increases in the entire country, and again, that's because she cast a decisive vote on the inflation-blasting bill.”
While some eggs cost more than $4, the average price of a dozen in August was $3.20, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. By January 2023, the price was much higher, averaging $4.82 per dozen.
Television producer and filmmaker Morgan J. Freeman posted on the social media platform X: “Even in their own damn picture you can see JD Vance lying about the price of eggs.”
Another wrote: “Hey you might want to take the price tags off next time you lie on camera. And you're holding a carton of 24 eggs. I know math isn't your strong suit but that's two dozen.”
“They did all that and then forgot to remove the price tags from the eggs before filming a video of him lying about the price of the eggs,” said another.
Harris has previously pledged to implement a federal ban on food and grocery overpricing to stop big corporations from “unfairly” exploiting consumers and making “excessive profits.”
The vice president, who has previously not provided details about her economic plans, is expected to announce a new set of economic policies this week, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump says he plans to lower the cost of groceries by imposing tariffs on food imports.
“We're going to allow a lot of agricultural products into our country,” he said at a town hall in Michigan last week. “We're going to have to be a little bit like other countries. We're not going to allow that much — we're going to let our farmers work.”
However, experts have said that imposing tariffs could have the opposite effect, Axios reported and eventually increase prices.
Vance is particularly prone to gaffes when his campaign activities involve food.
He admitted that the Trump campaign made a mistake after an awkward visit to a doughnut shop in Valdosta, Georgia, in August.
As the assembled media looked on, Vance struggled to make small talk while buying baked goods with an employee who clearly didn’t want to be on camera. The embarrassing moment went viral. “I just felt terrible for that woman,” Vance later said.
And in Philadelphia, the Ohio senator tried to make a joke when he ordered a Philly cheesesteak at the famous Pat's King of Steaks, but he was ultimately charged with committing a “crime against humanity.”
“I don’t like Swiss cheese either, but everyone says it’s offensive,” Vance told an employee of the store, who is credited with inventing the cheesesteak and who uses only American, provolone or Cheez Whiz in the delicacy. He asked, “Why do you guys hate Swiss cheese so much?”
The employee replied awkwardly, “We don't hate it, we just don't use it. We usually use cheez whiz.”
