A surprising exchange in the Cabinet Room saw President Donald Trump, 79, seeming to question his vice president’s competence in a televised meeting. JD Vance, 41, was seated directly across from Trump as the critique took place.
The incident happened on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, during a Cabinet meeting. Trump began a disjointed discussion on Tim Walz and the vice presidential debate that took place in October 2024. “I think the man’s a grossly incompetent man,” said Trump, initially seeming to reference Walz before the conversation took a baffling detour.
Trump’s scattered remarks appeared to many to be aimed at Vance, but the White House later clarified that the president was referring to Biden and Walz as the incompetent ones in the debate, not his own vice president.
This unusual moment caught the nation’s attention as cameras recorded the exchange while Trump continued his roundabout commentary. The vice president’s reaction was noticeable throughout the awkward moment, even though the president’s words seemed to be unmistakably aimed at the vice president’s performance in the October 2024 debate.
The confusion arose from Trump’s typically tangled sentence structure and unclear use of pronouns during the Cabinet meeting. When Trump said, “I was saying, who is more incompetent, that man or my man? I had a man and he had a man; they were both incompetent,” many listeners interpreted “my man” to mean JD Vance, since Vance was Trump’s vice presidential debate partner. However, Trump was actually comparing his debate opponents: “my man” referred to Biden, while “he had a man” referred to Walz.
Fact-checking site Snopes definitively dismissed the widespread claim, stating: “The quote is correctly attributed, but the claim that Trump called Vance incompetent is not accurate.” Snopes noted that the White House confirmed Trump was referring to his own debate opponents—Biden and Kamala Harris—as incompetent, not Vance.
This interpretation was further supported by Trump’s continuation: “I had a man and a woman. I thought she was very incompetent too,” clearly pointing to Harris. Snopes concluded that media outlets and social media posts likely used “attention-grabbing headlines for clicks and views as opposed to factual reporting,” with some posts admitting in their text that “the ‘they were both incompetent’ part could possibly have meant Walz and Biden” despite their misleading headings claiming Trump labeled Vance as incompetent.
More recently, Vance has taken a proactive role in defending Trump’s stances, sometimes going further than the president himself. At the Munich Security Conference, Vance criticized European leaders on democracy and free speech, shocking international audiences with his confrontational tone.
Vance also made news for a heated exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During an Oval Office meeting on February 28, 2025, Vance called Zelenskyy disrespectful, harshly criticizing the Ukrainian leader’s approach.
Vance’s confrontational style was also evident in the Ukraine discussion, where he said Zelenskyy should thank the United States for its support. The vice president’s aggressive stance coincided with Trump’s threat to withdraw American support for Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia. The United States has provided between 175 billion and 185 billion dollars in assistance to Ukraine.
The October 2024 vice presidential debate that Trump referenced during his Cabinet Room comments saw Vance square off against Walz in a nationally televised event. The debate became a major talking point during the campaign, with supporters of both candidates claiming victory for their respective nominees.
In addition to foreign policy confrontations, Vance has faced backlash over immigration remarks, especially considering his wife, Usha Vance’s, background. The vice president called mass migration a theft of the American Dream on December 7, 2025, prompting critics to highlight the apparent contradiction with his family situation.
Vance has also ventured into other contentious issues. He warned that Trump may take further action on Iran as tensions escalated in the region. His statement came as the administration faced challenges in Tehran, Iran, with Vance suggesting military options were still under consideration.
The incident in the Cabinet Room has reignited discussions about Trump’s communication style and the unusual dynamics within his administration. The president’s comments about incompetence, delivered with Vance present, marked another unconventional moment in an administration characterized by unpredictable interactions and public disagreements.
As the administration continues to face domestic and international challenges, the relationship between Trump and Vance remains under scrutiny. The vice president’s role as both a defender and occasional target of presidential commentary reflects the complex political environment surrounding the current White House.
