A friend once told me I was the “urban version of JD Vance.” He meant that because I grew up poor in and around inner cities – homeless at times as a child – I could relate to the rural poverty and dysfunction the vice president navigated growing up.

Maybe. But since first reading Vance’s memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” I’ve come to believe he has never forgotten where he came from, or the daily struggles of working-class America, or the sacrifices that class has always made in defense of this country.

For me, that trait has been on full display in a "controversial" remark Vance recently made. It started when Turning Point USA's Andrew Kolvet posted on X that a TPUSA student told him "a burrito shouldn't cost $20."

Washington Post columnist Marc Thiessen replied: "Cry me a river. The burritos in the college cafeteria are included in your meal plan." Vance shot back: "I'm surprised to hear Mark say this. If you've ever met him in person, it's quite obvious the man has never missed a burrito."

Was Vice President Vance fat-shaming a columnist?

Cue the outrage as some called it vice presidential "fat-shaming." I'm not convinced.

Thiessen, who counts himself a conservative, seems an unlikely candidate for taking genuine offense at a jab like that. And Vance has poked fun at his own........

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