Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance has claimed that US children don’t know how to do basic maths because they are being taught “radical ideas” such as there are “87 genders”.
Ahead of his debate with vice-presidential rival Tim Walz, Vance was speaking at an event in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, hosted by Lance Wallnau, a right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ evangelical preacher who has said vice-president Kamala Harris is summoning the “the spirit of Jezebel”, apparently meaning she is using witchcraft.
“First of all, the American education system used to be the envy of the world, rich or poor alike,” Vance said on Saturday (30 September). “We believe in this country that every person deserves a quality education.
“Well, now we’ve got American children who can’t add five plus five, but they can tell you that there are 87 different genders and I think both of those things are related.”
Vance went on to say: “We’re not teaching them the basics. We’re not teaching them reading, writing, arithmetic, the things that every child needs in order to live a good life. [There is] creeping socialism in our schools. We’ve got to get it out of there, and I think we cut off the money. Stop spending your tax dollars on radical organisations that are poisoning the minds of our kids.”
The clip was shared on X/Twitter by NBC’s Mike Hixenbaugh, prompting other social media users to reply.
“Nope, not true,” one wrote. “While there are massive gaps in learning in parts of the country, the answer is more resources, not less, Meanwhile, Vance/Trump and their ilk are fighting to remove resources from public schools. It’s abhorrent and the opposite of our civic responsibility.”
Another person sad: “My public-school-educated kids can add 5+5. They can also tell you that JD Vance is a craven creep.” A third joked: “Well, according to Trump, he [won] all 76 states. So, there’s that.
Someone else simply branded the claims “complete bulls**t”.
This is not the first time Vance’s comments have attracted attention on social media.
Earlier this month, a clip shared showed the anti-trans Republican senator accidentally misgender himself – resulting in a wave of sarcastic memes and posts – and he has been at the centre of unproven allegations that he engaged in sex with a couch.
Vance has also faced a backlash for labelling women who do not have kids “childless cat ladies”, been accused of hypocrisy when a picture of him in drag resurfaced, and courted further controversy by backing Trump’s false and racist claim that Haitian migrants were abducting and eating pet cats and dogs.
Meanwhile, the politician was left red-faced earlier this week after being denied entry to a restaurant where he was due to speak.
A campaign spokesman said Vance never directly spoke to Wallnau, described by The Washington Post as a figure in the New Apostolic Reformation, which preaches Christian supremacy through a blend of prophecy and hard-right politics.
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