Vice President J.D. Vance, left, seen in a December photo, was among many conservatives accusing the Congressional Democrats of staging cringe political theater with their candlelight Jan. 6 stunt on the Capitol steps. (Caylo Seals / Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)
By Joe Saunders January 7, 2026 at 4:50pm
It probably wasn’t the effect liberals were hoping for.
When House and Senate Democrats staged a candlelight event on Monday to mark the anniversary of the 2021 Capitol incursion, it curdled quickly from melodrama to online conservative comedy.
And Vice President J.D. Vance was right in the mix.
As The New York Times reported, “several dozen” Democrats from the House and Senate, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, held a vigil on the steps of the Senate to commemorate the 2021 event while singing “God Bless America.”
The reviews were not good.
“Performative theater,” scoffed conservative actor and activist Dean Cain.
Performative theater. https://t.co/4A9K6PVsW8
— Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain) January 7, 2026
“There’s cringe political theater and then there’s whatever this is,” wrote the conservative commentator who posts under the handle “Western Lensman.”
BREAKING: Congressional Dems just held a candlelit vigil to honor the 5th January 6th anniversary pic.twitter.com/VzTdl3F7NP
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 6, 2026
And then there was Vance, who reposted an image from the event showing Schumer and Jeffries, but in a photo edited to add sombreros to both men’s heads.
https://t.co/s7uIjj5t7L pic.twitter.com/YnZ7UExSYQ
— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 7, 2026
Vance didn’t include commentary with the post. But he didn’t have to.
As Fox News noted on Tuesday, sombreros have been a staple of social media mockery of Democrats since the party engineered the government shutdown in October.
The intent was to highlight the Republican case that the shutdown was brought about by Democrats’ determination to fund health care for illegal aliens. But as Vance’s post showed, it’s also used as shorthand for mocking Democrats in general.
And there’s evidently a receptive audience for it:
Perfect-o!
— 𝐂𝐂 (@ChatByCC) January 7, 2026
Best VP ever!
Can’t wait to vote for you in 2028!
— AmericanPapaBear™ (@AmericaPapaBear) January 7, 2026
I got pepper sprayed on those stairs on J6. Can confirm it was muy picante.
— RichieMcG (@RichieMcGinniss) January 7, 2026
The “vigil” was just the latest effort by the Democratic Party to push the Capitol incursion into American history.
During the Joe Biden presidency, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi convened a handpicked committee with the goal of stirring up publicity about the event long after most Americans had moved on — and permanently damaging Donald Trump’s political prospects.
The 2024 election that brought Trump back to the White House — and made J.D. Vance the vice president — shows how well that worked out.
Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro desk editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015.
Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015. Largely a product of Catholic schools, who discovered Ayn Rand in college, Joe is a lifelong newspaperman who learned enough about the trade to be skeptical of every word ever written. He was also lucky enough to have a job that didn’t need a printing press to do it.
Birthplace
Philadelphia
Nationality
American
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
