If you've heard that Vice President-elect JD Vance's wife filed for divorce in the past few weeks, you've fallen for a hoax. And that's the opposite of what the person who first originated the rumor wanted.
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00:00If you've heard that Vice President-elect J.D. Vance's wife filed for divorce in the
00:05past few weeks, you've fallen for a hoax. And that's the opposite of what the person
00:10who first originated the rumor wanted.
00:13In the months between Donald Trump selecting the Ohio senator as his running mate in July
00:17and Election Day on November 5th, misinformation was incredibly easy to come by, especially
00:23on social media. The internet swirled with salacious stories about Vance that led to
00:27plenty of dunks at his expense.
00:30From debunked rumors about inappropriate relationships with couches, to Vance's uncertain, but still
00:35possibly true, use of eyeliner, to the all-too-real horror of that donut order,
00:40"'Just everything, yeah, it'll be a lot of glaze to here, some sprinkle stuff, some cinnamon
00:45rolls, just whatever makes sense.'"
00:47Vance has definitely gone through the wringer.
00:49One viral TikTok from September 30th alleging his wife Usha Vance had filed for divorce
00:54took the world by storm. And it didn't even mean to.
00:58For the first 30 seconds or so, the TikTok user spins a yarn about Usha filing for divorce
01:03because she was worried that she wouldn't be able to leave J.D. after he possibly became
01:08vice president. But then, she reveals her hand.
01:11"'See how easy that was? See how easy it is to make up stories?'
01:16The video was meant to teach viewers a lesson about the spread of misinformation during
01:20election season. Specifically, it seemed to be a reaction to Vance's false claims about
01:25Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio abducting and eating people's pets. Vance himself even
01:31seemed to acknowledge that those claims were fabricated.
01:34"'If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to
01:40the suffering of the American people, then that's what I'm gonna do.'"
01:43Unfortunately, the TikTok meant to point all this out seemed to just create another rumor
01:47people could believe, too. And the original poster even seemed to know the reason why.
01:52"'You know how many people watch about five to ten seconds of a TikTok and scroll on and
02:00never search?'
02:01To be extra clear, there's no evidence Usha Vance is seeking a split. In fact, she was
02:07a mainstay on the campaign trail, often seen alongside her husband or in the front row
02:11of his speeches and rallies. Usha even quit her high-profile law firm job to join J.D.
02:17as he successfully jockeyed for the number two position in the United States government.
02:22And J.D., for his part, always has wonderful and supportive things to say about his wife.
02:27The two really do seem to share an authentic bond, even if Usha did support Hillary Clinton
02:32back in 2016.