JD Vance turned a campaign appearance into a parenting confession after revealing that he burned his finger while playing with fireworks. The vice president admitted that a questionable decision during an experiment with his children left him with a painful blister.
Vance shared the story during a rally in Kinston, North Carolina, where he campaigned for Republicans ahead of the November midterm elections. He showed the injury to the crowd and joked about his poor judgment while handling fireworks.
JD Vance recounted the incident at a North Carolina rally
According to the Mirror, Vance said the incident happened three or four days earlier while he was playing with fireworks alongside his children. They wondered what would happen if someone let a firework explode outside its launch tube.
“What I should have said as their father is, ‘We’re not going to find out.’ What I did, in fact, say is, ‘I don’t know,’” he recalled.
Vance said he positioned his children “behind a tree very far away” before trying the experiment. However, one child suddenly emerged from behind the tree. He had to ensure the child returned to safety before he could deal with the firework.
“And anyway, long story short, I burned the hell out of my finger,” he said. Vance added that the injury still hurt days later. He had also bumped the finger on his way to the rally, aggravating the pain.
The vice president joked about another downside of the incident: the number of people who learned about his mistake. He said approximately 35 Secret Service agents and 25 staffers knew what had happened and offered him burn cream and medication.
“I now have 60 people who know, and now I’ve got about 500 more beyond that, who know that I should not be trusted with fireworks,” Vance joked.
Beyond the personal anecdote, Vance used the rally to campaign for Republican Michael Whatley. The candidate is facing Democrat Roy Cooper, a former governor, in the race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.
Vance pitched an optimistic vision for younger Americans, emphasizing affordable housing and opportunities to raise families. He also accused Cooper of working for “far-left activists” and said he did not want the government to act as a “nanny.”
The rally combined Vance’s personal story with a final push for Republican support ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.
