Once upon a time, in a country that hadn’t completely surrendered to chaos, calling a sitting U.S. Senator by the wrong name—say, calling Senator Alex Padilla “Jose”—might have warranted an apology. Maybe even a headline. Maybe especially if it came from the newly minted Vice President of the United States.
But in today’s America, where public life is basically an improv set on fire, JD Vance decided to refer to Padilla—California’s first Latino Senator—as “Jose.” And then… nothing. Crickets. A shrug. A soft chuckle from the same reporters who would’ve started a war over tan suits or Dijon mustard.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t a slip of the tongue. This was JD Vance, not your drunk uncle at Thanksgiving. This is the man now a literal heartbeat away from the presidency, casually renaming colleagues like he’s checking off names in a Home Depot breakroom. And what did the press do? They blinked. Maybe shifted in their seats. Then asked about the economy.
Imagine calling a white senator the wrong name. Imagine calling Chuck Grassley “Gary” or Mitch McConnell “Marvin.” You’d be corrected on the spot. Probably sued. But for Padilla? Nah. Just call him Jose. Why not toss in “Julio” or “Speedy Gonzalez” while you’re at it, JD?
This is what happens when you lower the bar so far that it becomes a trip hazard. We’ve become numb to the incompetence. The press corps now treats racism, sexism, homophobia, and good ol’ fashioned ignorance like background noise. Like, “Yeah, he just confused a U.S. Senator with a completely different name and ethnicity, but let’s pivot to the price of chicken.”
Even Padilla, bless him, didn’t make a scene. And honestly? That’s part of the problem. When decency is outnumbered by lunacy, even the decent start to conserve their energy. Why burn calories correcting a man who thinks being second in command means you get a walkie talkie and a raccoon skin hat?
If a Democrat had done this, Fox News would’ve declared it the downfall of Western civilization. There’d be congressional hearings, themed mugs, and a “JoseGate” segment on loop between ads for gold bars and miracle knee ointments. But JD Vance? Just a quirky faux pas, folks! Harmless gaffe! He’s new at this!
New or not, let’s not pretend this was innocent. This is the same man who cosplays as populist while quoting tech bros. Who lectures others about American values while forgetting which Latino is which. He didn’t just say the quiet part out loud—he monogrammed it, slapped it on a baseball cap, and gave it out at campaign stops.
And the White House? Silent. As if correcting Vance would be rude. As if calling him out would somehow rock the boat more than letting the second-most powerful man in the country treat the Senate like an Olive Garden seating chart.
Reporters, too, have given up the ghost. The same profession that once prided itself on holding power accountable now treats moments like these like awkward typos. They’ll interrogate weather balloons with more urgency than they ask why the Vice President thinks every Latino man’s name is José.
But hey, it’s 2025. Why should we expect more? We’re living in a country where candidates mistake cities for sandwiches, where congressmen believe wind turbines cause depression, and where you can openly question someone’s citizenship and still get a press pass and a pension.
This isn’t just about names. It’s about the erosion of basic competence. It’s about a political culture so bloated with mediocrity that we’ve stopped demanding better. If JD Vance can’t remember the name of a U.S. Senator sitting across from him, what else is he forgetting? Nuclear codes? State capitals? Which country we’re at war with?
And let’s be honest—“Jose” wasn’t just a name mix-up. It was a Freudian slip soaked in every lazy stereotype about Latinos. The implication wasn’t “I forgot your name.” The implication was “You’re interchangeable.” That’s not harmless. That’s disqualifying.
But here’s the punchline: it’s not even shocking anymore. We’ve built such a deep tolerance for political incompetence that this barely rates a mention. We’ve let clowns run the circus for so long, we forgot it used to be a Capitol building.
And the rest of the world? They’re watching. Laughing. Horrified. Wondering how the country that put a man on the moon can’t put a man in office who knows how to use Google before a press conference.
This is the JD Vance era: folksy ignorance passed off as relatability. Racial microaggressions played as “everyman charm.” And a press corps too tired, too timid, or too jaded to call it out. The guy’s got all the gravitas of a substitute teacher who forgot to read the syllabus—and now he’s in charge of succession planning.
So no, calling Alex Padilla “Jose” isn’t just a goof. It’s a symptom. Of the rot. Of the apathy. Of a political machine that no longer rewards intellect, empathy, or even basic fact retention.
We deserve better. We used to demand better. Now we’re just hoping they don’t say something worse.