Vice President JD Vance is facing sharp backlash online after making controversial remarks while defending President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs during a Thursday, April 3, appearance on Fox & Friends, BuzzFeed reported.
President Trump had announced reciprocal tariffs on nearly 90 countries the day before, triggering a massive market downturn and wiping trillions off global stock indexes. The policy shift, seen as a dramatic move in his ongoing economic agenda, has sparked debates from Wall Street to Washington.
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Appearing on the morning show with co-host Lawrence Jones, Vance argued that Trump’s economic strategy signaled a shift away from a “globalist economy” that he believes has disadvantaged American workers.
“I think it’s useful for all of us to step back and ask ourselves, what has the globalist economy gotten the United States of America?” Vance said. “Fundamentally, it’s based on two principles: Incurring a huge amount of debt to buy things that other countries make for us.”
Vance then delivered the line that would quickly ignite a firestorm on social media: “To make it a little more crystal clear, we borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture.” He added, “That is not a recipe for economic prosperity, it’s not a recipe for low prices, and it’s not a recipe for good jobs in the United States of America. President Trump is taking this economy in a different direction.”
The vice president’s use of the term “Chinese peasants” drew swift condemnation across social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter), where critics accused him of xenophobia, classism, and insensitivity.
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“The epitome of external locus of control. In Vance’s mind, American workers cannot compete with Chinese peasants. Is something going wrong in your life? It’s the Chinese peasants’ fault. This is a loser mentality,” one user wrote, summing up the dominant tone of public reaction.
Others questioned whether Vance’s rhetoric could harm international relations or fan flames of anti-Asian sentiment, especially given the delicate state of U.S.-China ties. While the Trump administration has doubled down on its protectionist economic strategy, the political cost of such rhetoric remains to be seen.
For now, JD Vance finds himself at the center of controversy—defending a polarizing trade policy while trying to fend off a growing public relations crisis. Neither Vance nor the White House has issued a clarification or apology regarding the remarks as of press time.
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