Vice President JD Vance traveled to Michigan on Thursday to boost Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers, but the trip generated more buzz for the audience than the message. Social media critics pounced on the size and age of the crowd at the Michigan rally, turning a routine campaign stop into an online pile-on.
JD Vance’s crowd size at Michigan rally faces criticism
Vance staged the event at the LevelUp Training Complex, an indoor sports training facility in Monroe, Mich. President Donald Trump usually fills arenas. Still, Vance’s team chose a far smaller space. A photo shared by Detroit News reporter Craig Mauger revealed folding chairs, bleachers, and a makeshift stage on what looked like artificial turf.
Critics on X mocked the sparse turnout and the gray-haired look of the crowd. One user joked, “No wonder it’s a 3 pm event. This crowd has a sharp 7 pm bedtime.” Another wrote, “‘Defend Our Future’, says a room full of senior citizens.”
Others piled on: “I’ve had birthday parties with more people” and “He got that crowd of 50 fired up.” The vice president spoke for under 30 minutes. He spent part of that time attacking Rogers’ Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed. “You deserve better than a little weasel who should shut his mouth and show a little gratitude to the country that gave him everything,” Vance said.
El-Sayed answered later that day at his own rally in the Upper Peninsula. “JD Vance called me a little weasel today. I’m like, no, no, no.,” adding that whatever he is talking about is “wolverine.” The crowd comparison stung because El-Sayed’s Upper Peninsula event appeared to draw more people than Vance’s Monroe gathering. One user noted, “lol Abdul had a bigger crowd IN THE UPPER.”
For a campaign hoping to close strong before the midterms, JD Vance’s Michigan rally handed critics an easy visual to mock.
