Vice President JD Vance had some fun Thursday with one of the more unusual storylines of the 2026 midterm campaign: President Trump’s habit of complimenting Ohio Sen. Jon Husted’s build.
Fox News host Jesse Watters raised the topic during a town hall. Watters asked why the president keeps singling out the Ohio Republican’s backside at rallies. Vance laughed it off.
“Well, first of all, I’m jealous. The president’s never said that about me,” Vance said. He added that he might need to “get back in the gym” to earn the same compliment.
The vice president called the bit one of his favorites and said it shows the president’s lighter side.
“The president, as you know, is at heart a comedian, and he loves to get up there and shake things up a little bit,” Vance said. He called it a good example of a politician who doesn’t take himself too seriously.
Vance then pivoted to the race itself. He said that Husted, “in addition to his very nice body,” would make a far better senator than his Democratic opponent, former Sen. Sherrod Brown, whom Vance called a “lunatic.”
Later in the town hall, Vance joked that he’d been asked several questions that night and that only one had been about Husted’s physique, from Watters himself.
Trump has brought up Husted’s athletic frame at several rallies this month. He first raised it at an Oct. 12 rally in Youngstown, Ohio, after learning that Husted had been an All-American defensive back for the University of Dayton football team. He returned to the subject at an Oct. 17 rally in northern Kentucky. He brought it up again in Greenville, North Carolina, where he was campaigning for Senate candidate Michael Whatley.
At that North Carolina stop, Trump said that former NFL coach Jon Gruden had told him about Husted’s football career. He praised the senator’s shoulders, legs and hands and called him a “violent tackler.” Trump also claimed his comments had helped Husted in the polls. He said the senator went from being 10 points down to two points up.
Husted, who was appointed to fill Vance’s vacated Senate seat in January 2025, is running in a special election against Brown. Polls show a tight contest. Some surveys give Husted a slight edge, and others show Brown narrowly ahead.
Vance has been campaigning hard in his home state. Earlier this month, he rallied in Ohio for Husted, gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy and congressional candidate Derek Merrin. At one of those events, Vance teased the crowd that he had nothing to add to what Trump had already said about Husted.
At the same Fox town hall, Watters also asked Vance about Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton. Vance kept it brief, saying he was sure Paxton was “doing great.”
Husted has largely taken the attention in stride. He joked that the president’s praise has inspired him to hit the gym.
With Election Day on Tuesday, Republicans are betting that a little humor on the trail won’t hurt. They are also hoping that Husted’s record on lowering costs will carry him over the finish line in Ohio.
