(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Vice President JD Vance almost brought Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., to tears after referring to him as “Jose Padilla” — the name of a convicted terrorist.
Vance made the remark during a Homeland Security press conference on Friday. It came days after Padilla made a failed attempt to heckle DHS Secretary Kristi Noem at a presser last week.
“I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question. I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn’t a theater,” Vance quipped, mocking Padilla’s earlier stunt in favor of illegal aliens.
I think it's safe to say that JD Vance gives zero f*cks.
Shout out to Jose Padilla (@SenAlexPadilla) pic.twitter.com/QCI1NxxzEP
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) June 20, 2025
The comment triggered Democrats, including Padilla, who appeared on MSNBC and became emotional about it.
“He knows my name. Look, sadly, it’s an indicator of how petty and unserious this administration is, but he’s the vice president of the United States,” Padilla said, his voice breaking.
Sen. Alex Padilla gets choked up on MSNBC while discussing Vice President JD Vance calling him “Jose.” pic.twitter.com/QAnJIpgbWu
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) June 21, 2025
In a press statement, Vance spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk clarified the vice president “must have mixed up two people who have broken the law.”
Vance’s mix-up appeared to conflate the California senator with Jose Padilla, who in 2007 was convicted of conspiring and providing material support to Al-Qaeda, in addition to plotting to murder, kidnap and maim individuals in a foreign country.
Then-President George Bush had designated him an enemy combatant and sent him to a military prison in 2002, arguing he was not entitled to a civil trial with constitutional protections.
He was eventually transferred to a civilian court in 2006, sentenced to 17 years, and had his sentence extended to 21 years by an appeals court in 2014.
