US Vice President JD Vance has been mocked on social media in brutal comparison to King Charles. The 41-year-old had been staying at a manor house in the Cotswolds this week, accompanied by his wife Usha, 39, and their children – Ewan, eight, Vivek, five, and Mirabel, three.
Taken by a shocked onlooker, a 58-second video has been posted on social media showing the “ridiculous” scale of his motorcade – with a comparison to the King mentioned by one user. Alastair Campbell, who was Tony Blair’s Downing Street spokesman during his time as Prime Minister, shared his view on his podcast, The Rest is Politics, with co-host Rory Stewart.
Speaking to Rory, Alastair said: “He’s then going around and, you know the Cotswolds, I mean, why does he have to have this? It’s like a status symbol.”
He added: “I was talking to somebody who saw the security operation around Vance. They said it was ridiculous. To do a three-point turn the convoy needed about an hour, you know, when it got stuck down one of these little country roads.
“And he has an ambulance going after him. I mean, he’s only the f****** Vice President of America.’
Comparing him to the King, he added: “When the King—when your friend the King—wanders off down to Highgrove, what does he have? A couple of cars?”
Agreeing, Rory added: “Exactly. Or when he’s doing the Windsor Flower Show, he’s going around shaking hand after hand after hand in the middle of a crowd in a way that American presidents or vice presidents never would.”
After seeing a video posted on X, one user wrote: “Dear [U.S. flag], can you please come and get Vance back from our country?
The tweet, which went viral after collecting 1.6 million views and 40k likes, continued: ‘He’s turned up with a 27-car entourage and is demanding to know the social media handles of local residents. It’s not what we do here. Please come quickly.”
Based in Gloucestershire, the King’s Highgrove House is often dubbed his main family home – and is the place he loved to raise his two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry.