JD Vance's 'Weakest Moment' Remark About Simone Biles Draws New Scrutiny - The New York Times
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The gymnast won a second Olympic all-around title on Thursday in Paris, three years after stepping away from competing because of a mental health issue.
Simone Biles received her second gold medal in the Olympic Games in Paris on Thursday. JD Vance criticized Biles for withdrawing from the previous Olympics because of a mental health issue.Credit...Gabriela Bhaskar for The New York Times
By Neil Vigdor
- Aug. 1, 2024Updated 6:08 p.m. ET
Senator JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, is drawing renewed scrutiny over his past remarks that the American gymnast Simone Biles, who won another Olympic all-around gold medal on Thursday, showed weakness when she withdrew from the previous Games because of a mental health issue.
Mr. Vance, during an appearance on Fox News in 2021, questioned why Ms. Biles was receiving acclaim for stepping away from the competition at the Tokyo games.
"I think it reflects pretty poorly on our sort of therapeutic society that we try to praise people, not for moments of strength, not for moments of heroism, but for their weakest moments," Mr. Vance, who was running for the Senate, said at the time.
Democratic operatives were eager to call attention to the remarks now that both Mr. Vance and Ms. Biles are back in the spotlight. Aida Ross, a spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee, said on Thursday that Mr. Vance was in "no position to be talking about anyone's else's 'weakest moments.'"
"While the rest of the country is celebrating the U.S.A. women's gymnastics team's performance at the Olympics, JD Vance is facing his weakest moment amid a gaffe-filled rollout that has left him as the most unpopular V.P. pick in decades," she said.
American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic super PAC that conducts research and tracking on Republican candidates, posted a clip of Mr. Vance's comments on X.
In it, Mr. Vance says that the public's empathy toward Ms. Biles, who is now 27, was emblematic of what was wrong with the country.
"But instead, what our press has done, I think, has turned this into this weird therapeutic moment," he said.
His comments began ricocheting online as Ms. Biles was competing in the individual all-around competition in Paris, where she added to her haul of medals. She is only the third woman to win a second all-around title at the Olympics, after winning her first in 2016.
Her decision in 2021 to remove herself from the competition sparked a national conversation over mental health. It earned her both accolades from those who praised her for putting her well-being first and criticism from others who called her a quitter.
"We've tried to turn a very tragic moment, Simone Biles quitting the Olympic team, into this act of heroism," Mr. Vance said earlier in the same Fox segment.
Some of Mr. Vance's other past comments and criticism of women have similarly drawn scrutiny since former President Donald J. Trump selected him as his running mate on July 15.
During another appearance on Fox News in 2021, he complained that the nation was governed by "childless cat ladies," including Vice President Kamala Harris. Those comments prompted a bipartisan backlash and touched off a back-and-forth between Mr. Vance and the actress Jennifer Aniston, who has been open about her fertility struggles.
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This is the kind of crap that Fox News and right wing busy bodys have specialized in over the past decade or so. They want to lecture everyone on cultural "failings" that are really none of their business. JD Vance has no moral authority to try and lecture a world class athlete.
Vance would be best advised to withdraw from his nomination for Vp. He is having a real weak moment.
he's a closet nazi...
Godwins law in practice ….
Goodwin would likely disagree with you ...
The Washington post disagrees with my wallet.
I prefer Vance right where he is. Keep on keeping on, Vance, you are doing wonders for Trump's election chances.
Oh, I think he should stick with it.
Simone Biles could take the pathetic weirdo Vance any day of the week. He wouldn't stand a chance.
Obviously I disagree with Vance (or whatever name he's using this week). Her stepping away from competition for any reason is a point of strength, not weakness. It takes a lot of strength to step away from something you love to do. To be honest about those reasons and gather yourself for a comeback is something everyone should note with praise. She's 100% a better American than James Donald Bowman.
I have to wonder if someone like Aaron Rodgers stopped playing football for mental health reasons and talked it about it publicly to come back and win a Superbowl would Vance have the same opinion?
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Geezus, what an asshole.
A perfect running mate for someone who thinks POWs are not heroes because they were caught (e.g. McCain) and ostensibly said (very believable) that dead soldiers were losers and suckers.
I'm going to assume that Simone Biles knows gymnastics better than J. D. Vance does, and knew her own abilities at the time. I'm glad she withdrew from competition and didn't risk the team's performance or her own neck.
And really, making the choice to bow out, doing it publicly, and then coming back from it to win gold medals were all signs of profound courage.
Vance is a jackass.
Agreed on all points.
Besides being a jackass, Vance is a fool to take on this fight. She is far and away more popular and admired than he is. She's America's sweetheart right now.
Well, as my father used to say: There is no accounting for taste.
What a conceited asshole and the perfect running mate for Trump.
Well let's see. You can't perform because you've got the spinnies, so instead of going out there and falling down and disappointing your team and your country, you make the decision that you will not go out and fall on the ground. Hard decision there. I think that Vance had ought to be compelled to emulate her performance yesterday. He can get back to me on how easy it was.