A Slip of the Tongue

Vice President JD Vance was on the stump on Monday, Aug. 24, 2025, in Brewer, Maine, backing Republican House candidate Paul LePage when he misspoke, mixing up words in a way that drew immediate attention. At one point, Vance referred to Canada as a state, then corrected himself: "We have to remember, Canada is a state—sorry, Freudian slip," he said, according to The Daily Beast. "That was actually an accident. Canada is a country."

The remark came after President Donald Trump had previously suggested Canada should be the 51st state. On the same Monday morning, Trump said he would no longer treat Canada as a state, and later he deliberately referred to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney as "governor," as reported by The Daily Beast.

But the slip about Canada was not the only stumble. Vance also fumbled over the word "taxpayer," saying "taxpaper" before correcting himself, and he told would-be fraudsters that "the gig is up" rather than "the jig is up," according to the same outlet.

A Joke About Beads

Vance's appearance at a manufacturing facility in Brewer also featured a joke that drew attention. He acknowledged the plant's maintenance manager, Jamie Beers, and said, "I hate good-looking guys with beards because they make me feel jealous," as reported by Atlanta Black Star. The outlet noted that Vance himself has a beard and has had one for years. When Vance was picked as Trump's running mate in 2024, he became the first man on a major-party ticket with a full beard since 1880, according to Newsweek, as cited by Atlanta Black Star.

Vance's beard has been a point of discussion before. A Trump confidant told The Bulwark that Trump dislikes facial hair, but Trump waved that off, telling a radio host that Vance "looks good" and resembled "a young Abraham Lincoln," per Atlanta Black Star. Social media reactions accused Vance of "stealing Trump's material" and said "he really wants to be Trump," as reported by Atlanta Black Star.

This isn't the first time Vance has had trouble with jokes. Earlier in July, he botched a Wisconsin accent, and he previously made an online swipe at someone's weight, according to Atlanta Black Star. Italian spectators booed Vance and his wife Usha at the 2026 Winter Olympics, as reported by Atlanta Black Star.

Other Topics

During his visit, Vance was asked about a deadly shooting by an ICE agent in Biddeford, Maine, but he declined to comment on the details: "I don't want to prejudge all the details," The Daily Beast reported. This contrasted with his earlier response to . the killing of Renee Good in Minnesota, which he called a "tragedy of her own making."

Vance described the broader situation as a country "trying to enforce its laws," accusing Democrats of being more worried about "a shooting involving an illegal alien" than fentanyl overdoses, according to The Daily Beast. At the end of his remarks, he joked about being vice president and having a fourth child.