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JD Vance and his wife, Usha, were faced with the stunning realization on Friday that they had mixed up the identities of the royal couple they entertained at their Naval Observatory home.
Vance, 41, and Usha, 39, may well have wondered at the youthful looks of Jordan’s King Abdullah II, 63, and Queen Rania, 55, as they savored their milk and cookies before turning in on Thursday night.
The Jordanian couple clearly made such an impression that the vice president put out a press release through his office saying the two couples met for dinner. Always good to show prospective presidential voters he was actually doing stuff.
The only problem was that the Vances didn’t dine with Jordan’s king and queen. They had spent the evening chatting with the couple’s son, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, and his wife, Princess Rajwa Al Hussein, both aged 31.
It took a while for the truth to dawn. The first press release from the Office of the Vice President was issued to the media at 12.28 pm on Friday. The second, corrected version, was hastily sent out at 1.59 pm.
To be fair, most of the details in the press release were the same. The first read:
“On Thursday, September 18th, Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance hosted Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan for dinner at the Vice Presidential Residence. The Vice President and King Abdullah II discussed the enduring partnership between Jordan and the United States and mutual efforts to promote regional peace.”
The second didn’t need a whole lot of editing. Just a copy-and-paste job on the names.
“On Thursday, September 18th, Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance hosted His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II and Princess Rajwa Al Hussein of Jordan for dinner at the Vice Presidential Residence. The Vice President and Crown Prince Al Hussein discussed the enduring partnership between Jordan and the United States and mutual efforts to promote regional peace.”
A note at the bottom read: “A previous release was distributed containing factual errors.”
The morning after inquest at the Vice Presidential Residence must have been stormy. But The Swamp hears the Crown Prince and his wife were even more confused. They thought they had dinner with Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra….
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