Vice President JD Vance is the guest of honor on thursday United States Air Force The graduation ceremony was held at Falcon Stadium, home of the Air Force Academy’s Falcons football team. But many at the event seemed to find him unwelcome.
Vance was booed when he gave his commencement speech on the stage before the ceremony. It was so loud that J.D. Vance had to acknowledge it and respond. His approach sparked controversy, with many accusing the 41-year-old of being “authoritarian”.
More than 900 graduating Air Force cadets attended the ceremony, and most of the boos and hecklings came from them.
Vance responded: “This is the only commencement speech I’m giving this year, so I looked at some of the highlights of commencement speeches where some corporate leader was going to discuss artificial intelligence — AI — and get literally booed.”
Then he added, “Now, you can’t boo me. I’m the vice president USA“.
Here is the video:
Response sparks authoritarian accusations
This is the second time he has put many social media commentators in hot water. Many claimed his statement “You can’t boo me” was like a command and accused the vice president of being a dictator.
“So…correct me if I’m wrong, but does J.D. Vance admit that he’s not a champion of free speech? If former President George W. Bush could handle booing in 2006, why can’t J.D. Vance handle it in 2026? Neither political party likes him. It’s like the one thing they can agree on,” one user wrote.
“In my mind, someone like J.D. Vance has absolutely no problem booing Kamala Harris or Joe Biden when they’re vice president,” Say one. “To be honest, this administration doesn’t want any kind of dissent.”
Also read: Strait of Hormuz tolls, shipping rules: Inside the US-Iran peace deal awaiting Trump’s final nod
J.D. Vance mentions Iran war in opening speech
Vice President Vance twice mentioned the ongoing war in Iran during his address to graduating cadets. It is worth noting that this war has been a major concern for the US Army, with a total of 14 service members killed in the Middle East so far.
He also took time to praise those involved in the Special Forces operation that rescued two U.S. pilots from Iranian soil.
“When the president says he will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, you men and women who will join us in 60 days will deliver on that promise,” he said.
