Geoff Duncan: ‘JD Vance just wants to be in the cool kids club’ 3:02

A fight over an attack advertisement from Vivek Ramaswamy has pulled Vice President JD Vance into a sharp exchange with Geoff Duncan, a former Republican lieutenant governor who is now a Democratic candidate. Vance has said fellow Republicans have no business complaining about the spot, and he has described himself as disgusted by people who speak out against it, according to CNN.

Duncan, speaking in a CNN video segment published October 22, 2026, answered by suggesting the vice president is motivated by status. In his view, Vance "just wants to be in the cool kids club." Duncan also cautioned that the ad's damaging effects will not be confined to Ohio and will be felt well beyond that state.

The clash sets the vice president's defense of the ad against the criticism of a politician who moved from the Republican side to the Democratic one. Vance, for his part, has made clear that he considers complaints from within his party unwelcome.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CNN’s reporting. Read the full story at CNN →