Bernice King, the daughter of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is pushing back against Vice President JD Vance’s recent comments about white privilege in the United States.
In a post on social media, King wrote: “@ JDVance Help me with this. In my 62 years, I don’t recall white people ever having to apologize for being white in America. The courage to tell the truth about the advantages white people have had in this country is the real issue.”
She continued: “It’s time to stop reframing accountability as injury and start reckoning honestly with history, power, and responsibility—so we can move toward repair justice, and a shared future where dignity is not selective.”
What did JD Vance say about white privilege at AmFest 2025?
Over the weekend, Turning Point USA’s America Fest (AmFest 2025) took place for the first time since Charlie Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10, 2025. During his remarks, Vance encouraged people to join ICE, but one line in particular about white privilege quickly became the focus of online reaction.
“In the United States of America, you don’t have to apologize for being white anymore,” Vance told the crowd.
The comment sparked immediate backlash. Among those criticizing him was rapper Ice Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., who co-hosts the No Contest Wrestling podcast.
“When the f**k did you have to?” Jackson wrote on X.
Others echoed that sentiment more forcefully, arguing the statement sends a broader signal about race and power in public life.
“When JD Vance declares that white people no longer have to apologize for being white, what he’s truly signaling is a license for them to embrace open racism without remorse—emboldening them to spout bigoted rhetoric with brazen impunity, just as he and Trump do,” another person wrote on X. “This isn’t about pride in identity; it’s a dog whistle for unchecked prejudice, freeing supporters to echo their leaders’ divisive slurs against immigrants, minorities, and anyone who challenges the status quo.”
Another commenter added: “If being white is the only thing going for you I really feel sorry for you.”
Not everyone agreed with the criticism, however. Some pushed back on the very premise of white privilege, arguing class and economic hardship cut across racial lines: “I know plenty of white Americans living the exact same struggle as people in the Black community same wages, same bills, same stress, same lack of opportunity,” one person commented under The Jasmine Brand’s Facebook post.
JD Vance also took aim at Rep. Jasmine Crockett at AmFest 2025
Vance’s speech also included remarks about Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, who is running for the U.S. Senate in Texas.
“The record speaks for itself. She wants to be a senator, though her street girl persona is about as real as her nails,” Vance said.
Crockett responded during an appearance on MS NOW’s The Weekend: Primetime, dismissing the insult and urging attention on policy outcomes instead.
“When they can tell me about their policies that are helping Texas, then we can have a conversation, until then, take whatever shots you want to take at me, because I have been a Black woman my entire life,” she said.
She also argued that Vance’s position is tied more to political circumstances than performance.
“Baby, let’s talk about your record, because the only reason you’re the vice president is because the current President tried to have his last [vice] president killed,” she said, referencing the January 6 Capitol attack in which Trump supporters chanted “Hang Mike Pence” following Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
