JD Vance dossier, firefighters and couches: Which rumors will make it to the debate? (2025)

JD Vance's comments about cat ladies and migrants are bound to come up in Tuesday's vice presidential debate. Some of the online rumors about him might get referenced, too.

The Republican vice presidential candidate from Ohio has been the target of some bizarre viral rumors since he was announced as Donald Trump's running mate in July. There will be plenty of fact-checking during Vance's debate against Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz. So, consider this your rumor-check.

Here's the truth behind some of the most-Googled rumors about the Ohio senator.

Ken Klippenstein and the JD Vance dossier

A 271-page research document on Vance, allegedly created by the Trump campaign to vet him, was mysteriously emailed to news media this summer.

Trump's campaign said it was hacked by an Iranian group in June, and on Sept. 27 three Iranian people were indicted for allegedly hacking the campaign, stealing emails and sharing them with media.

Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein posted the document on his Substack on Sept. 26. The Enquirer did not receive the dossier, but did review the document shared by Klippenstein.

The document has background information on Vance, including his addresses, voting and educational record, and business and nonprofit ventures. It also lists possibly every time Vance has disagreed with and criticized Trump, as well as his other "potential vulnerabilities," including Democratic policies he's supported and ties with controversial figures.

Klippenstein posted his Substack article, which includes the dossier, on X. His X account was then suspended because the post violated X's rules about posting others' private information, since the dossier included Vance's address and other identifying information.

Was JD Vance booed by firefighters?

Vance made his pitch for why the International Association of Fire Fighters should support him and Trump at the union's Boston conference in August. Vance received cheers and applause at various points throughout his speech, but he also got loud boos from attendees on two occasions: first when he took the stage, and later when he said he and Trump were “proud to be the most pro-worker Republican ticket in history.”

The crowd's response to Vance was important because just one day earlier, Walz also addressed firefighters at the convention. Both parties are vying for support from the union, which has yet to endorse a presidential candidate.

Did JD Vance write about having sex with a couch in 'Hillbilly Elegy'?

One of the more well-known Vance rumors can be traced to a July 15 post on X shared by the account@rickrudescalves. Shortly after Vance was announced as Trump's running mate, the X user claimed Vance admitted to a sexual act with couch cushions in his 2016 memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy."

The post, since deleted, read, "can't say for sure but he might be the first vp pick to have admitted in a ny times bestseller to (expletive) an Inside-out latex glove shoved between two couch cushions (vance, hillbilly elegy, pp. 179-181)."

A quick glance at Vance's book "Hillbilly Elegy" shows the claim was fake, but it spread like internet wildfire. It even popped up in TV shows like "Last Week Tonight" hosted by John Oliver and "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

The joke circulated, and people believed it, so much that Snopes and the Associated Press wrote fact-checks debunking it. AP later deleted its fact-check.

The rumor's originator, @rickrudescalves,told Business Insiderhe identifies with the political left and does not work in politics. He said he made up the joke because he does not like Vance and thought it was funny. He hid the post within a week because he was uncomfortable with the amount of attention it got, and admitted to creating misinformation, though he said that was not his intent.

Luke Schroeder, Vance's spokesperson, earlier declined to comment to The Enquirer about the false claim.

What did JD Vance post about dolphins?

On Feb. 17, Vance posted a screenshot on X of another account's post. The post, from @crazyclipsonly, shows an image of two men and one woman on a dock where two dolphins are jumping out of the water. The post is captioned, "Woman gets violated by a dolphin and enjoys it."

Vance joked about the terrible things one can find online, writing, "Maybe the internet was a mistake."

However, the post took a turn in July, after Vance was announced as Trump's running mate, when X users pointed out that the words "Woman" and "dolphin" are bolded in the post, indicating those were the words Vance had searched on X. This led commenters to question why Vance was searching for posts about a "woman" and "dolphin."

"WHY ARE THOSE TWO WORDS HIGHLIGHTED?!?!?" one person commented on July 26.

"I dread to think what the rest of your search history looks like dude," another wrote.

Since X bolds searched terms, it's possible Vance had seen the post earlier and searched for it in order to make the joke. The senator does not follow @crazyclipsonly.

The X post is still up, and Vance did not respond to commenters.

Does JD Vance wear eyeliner?

Viewers have noticed and commented on an aspect of Vance's appearance since he stepped into the national spotlight: his eyes. The senator has blue eyes and dark eyelashes, causing some social media users to claim he wears eyeliner.

Theories about Vance's eyes are all over TikTok, where some users even think they've nailed down what specific product he could be using.

Others on social media, however, pointed to old pictures of Vance, such as his Marine Corps photo, to show that he's always had dark eyelashes.

Vance has not addressed the speculation. Schroeder also previously declined to comment to The Enquirer about the rumor.