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Quick Take
Sen. JD Vance introduced his dog during a recent interview with Tucker Carlson in an effort to debunk rumors that the family pet was rented to enhance the Republican vice presidential nominee’s image. But social media posts are highlighting a brief clip of the interview to falsely claim Vance “admits he has a ‘rent-a-dog.'”
Full Story
Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, has made comments that have drawn him into a vortex of controversies involving pets.
In a 2021 interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson when he was running for a Senate seat in Ohio, Vance called prominent Democrats, including then-Vice President Kamala Harris, “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made.” Those comments were revived and went viral in July.
More recently, Vance come under fire for spreading the unfounded claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating their neighbors’ pets, as we wrote. In a post on X on Sept. 9, Vance said, “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?”
Former President Donald Trump repeated the falsehood during the presidential debate held on Sept. 10.
Now, Vance has become the target of misinformation about his own pet.
Vance appeared in a Sept. 18 video on Rumble, again with Tucker Carlson, and joked with the host about online rumors that his campaign had rented a German Shepherd in order to enhance Vance’s image.
Social media users then shared a snippet of the interview to amplify the rumors. A Threads post on Sept. 21 shows a clip from the video in which Vance is heard saying, “a rent-a-dog that was given to me by the campaign to make me seem like I’m a dog fan.” Carlson replies: “How weird.” The caption on the Threads post reads: “The campaign got JD a dog to make him appear more human. We must rescue that dog.”
Another post on Threads claims, “JD Vance admits he has a ‘rent-a-dog’ and the dog is to ‘ …make me seem like I’m a dog fan.’ Where is the ASPCA when you need them to step in and remove the poor dog?”
A longer clip from the interview, which shares the complete quote from Vance, was posted by the Tucker Carlson Network on Instagram with the caption, “JD Vance introduces us to his supposed ‘rent-a-dog’ as the Left likes to claim.”
On the Instagram post, Vance introduces his dog, Atlas, and laughingly says, “I found out on the internet a few weeks ago that he’s actually a rent-a-dog that was given to me by the campaign to make me seem like I’m a dog fan.”
Vance then tells Carlson that his family “got him when he was an eight-week-old puppy.” Vance adds, “It’s like shocking to me that anybody would think that he’s not our puppy.”
Vance also mentions that the dog accompanies him on the campaign trail. “He’s on the road with us,” he tells Carlson.
Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.
Sources
Fox News Network. “Tucker Carlson sits down with JD Vance (September 18, 2024).” Rumble. 18 Sep 2024.
Kiely, Eugene. “Vance’s Misleading Claim About Immigrants and Murders in Springfield, Ohio.” FactCheck.org. 20 Sep 2024.
Kiely, Eugene, et al. “FactChecking the Harris-Trump Debate.” FactCheck.org. 11 Sep 2024.
McDonald, Jessica. “Vance Wrong On Child Tax Credit, Harris’ Remarks About Climate Change and Having Kids.” Factcheck.org. 2 Aug 2024.
Penley, Taylor. “JD Vance says ‘anti-family’ Dems took ‘childless cat lady’ remark out of context: ‘Lie of the left.'” Fox News. 29 Jul 2024.
Tucker Carlson Network. “JD Vance introduces us to his supposed “rent-a-dog” as the Left likes to claim.” Instagram. 20 Sep 2024.
Tucker Carlson Tonight. Interview with JD Vance. Fox News. 29 Jul 2021.