Former Miss Teen USA contender Caitlin Upton is calling vice presidential nominee JD Vance “embarrassing” for resurfacing an embarrassing clip of her to mock Kamala Harris’ first primetime interview as the Democratic nominee.
Then, 18-year-old Upton stumbled over an answer in the 2007 contest, triggering an embarrassing moment captured on video.
The humiliating images went viral, and in an interview with New York Magazine in 2015, Upton said the notoriety had triggered “dark moments” and suicidal thoughts.
Trump’s running mate Vance posted the clip of his response, comparing it to Kamala Harris’ responses during her first interview with CNN on Thursday night.
‘I have obtained the full report from Kamala Harris CNN interview,’ he joked on X.
Former Miss Teen USA candidate Caitlin Upton calls VP candidate JD Vance “embarrassing”
Harris was torn apart for her “word salad” interview on CNN conducted by former Obama official David Axelrod and others.
Now, Upton is taking to X to criticize Vance for resurfacing the video that caused her mental health to deteriorate.
“It is a shame that 17 years later this issue is still being raised,” he writes.
“There’s not much more to say about this at this point. Regardless of political beliefs, one thing I do know is that social media and online bullying needs to end.”
Upton apparently contemplated suicide after the incident, something Vance says he was unaware of.
He was asked to respond to Upton’s allegations of “online harassment” during an interview on CNN on Friday morning.
“My heart goes out to her and I hope she’s okay,” he replied, adding that he has said “a lot of stupid things on camera.”
“The best way to deal with it is to laugh at ourselves,” he said.
“There’s nothing that says we can’t tell a few jokes along the way as we deal with the very serious business of taking back our public policies,” he told CNN’s John Berman.
Harris’s critics said she failed to address three issues plaguing her campaign during the interview with CNN’s Dana Bash: the border crisis, sky-high inflation and the cover-up of Biden’s health.
Upton took to X to criticize Vance for resurfacing the video that caused a deterioration in her mental health.
Miss Teen USA Hilary Cruz, Donald Trump, Caitlin Upton, Donald Trump Jr. and Vanessa Trump attend the launch party for the Trump Soho Hotel rooftop condominium in Tribeca on September 19, 2007
David Axelrod, Obama’s former strategist, delivered a brutal verdict in CNN’s postgame analysis, claiming Harris had not “moved the ball forward all that much.”
Former Bush adviser Scott Jennings has issued an ominous warning that Donald Trump will be “salivating” ahead of the September 10 presidential debate, their first face-to-face meeting.
Frank Luntz, the GOP polling guru, echoed that sentiment, tweeting: “A lot of people think Kamala Harris has done well so far in this interview. I disagree — a good debater will have an easy time challenging her.”
Donald Trump, Miss USA Rachel Smith and Caitlin Upton
He added: “If tonight’s interview is judged not on policy but on performance, Kamala Harris will be exposed.”
Bash, a CNN loyalist who has worked at the liberal network since graduating from college, was accused of failing to land any major blows. Harris’s headquarters presented the interview as a major triumph. Donald Trump told his Truth Social followers it was “BORING!!!”
Daily Mail columnist Andrew Neil said Harris “absolved herself of responsibility in covering up Biden’s cognitive decline” and added that CNN gave a “masterclass in how not to hold politicians to account.”
Former Trump adviser Steve Cortes called it a “disaster.”
Harris sometimes appeared nervous and hesitant in her responses, which many on social media described as “word salad.”
Axelrod said Harris was forced into the precarious position of taking “credit for the things that are good and trying to get away from the things that aren’t.”
Harris sometimes appeared nervous and hesitant in her responses, which were labeled “word salad” by many on social media.
Harris’s critics said she failed to address three issues affecting her campaign during her interview with CNN’s Dana Bash: the border crisis, sky-high inflation and the cover-up of Biden’s health.
New York Times political reporter Astead Herndon agreed, admitting: “I don’t think there’s a political separation that (the Harris campaign) has created with Biden.”
On economic news, Harris sought to blame Trump for “price gouging” on food, a stance on inflation that has been rebuked by Wall Street as it ignores the huge increases in many commodities, particularly gasoline, since Bidenomics took hold.
Jennings told CNN: “I had no additional thoughts about the economic situation of the country or what they’ve done, other than the idea that Joe Biden and I have done a great job.”
On immigration, Harris said her work “on the root causes” had reduced the number of illegal immigrants.
But the vice president, who was appointed “border czar” by Biden, has presided over record immigration that has seen American cities, including those thousands of miles from Mexico, overrun by crime and homelessness.