{"id":2630265,"date":"2026-07-15T17:56:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T21:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vance-says-reaction-to-hokits-michelle-obama-comment-was-disproportionate\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T17:57:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T21:57:15","slug":"vance-says-reaction-to-hokits-michelle-obama-comment-was-disproportionate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vance-says-reaction-to-hokits-michelle-obama-comment-was-disproportionate\/","title":{"rendered":"Vance says reaction to Hokit&#8217;s Michelle Obama comment was &#8216;disproportionate&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvance-says-reaction-to-hokits-michelle-obama-comment-was-disproportionate%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2630265&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Vice President JD Vance commented on the backlash surrounding UFC fighter Josh Hokit&#8217;s remark calling former First Lady Michelle Obama \u201ca man\u201d during a fight at the White House. Vance argued that the reaction was exaggerated and emphasized that people, including himself, ofen hear shocking statements in politics but are surprised by the intensity of the media and public response this time. Hokit made the comment after winning his fight, claiming it was meant as a compliment, highlighting her resilience.vance also noted that while Hokit often makes provocative remarks, the reaction to calling Obama \u201ca man\u201d was disproportionate. Joe Rogan pointed out that Hokit tends to build a \u201cbad guy persona,\u201d but offstage, he&#8217;s a normal person. The controversy drew attention, with Hokit standing by his comment as a compliment, suggesting it was about her toughness and ability to handle adversity.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jd-vance\/\">JD Vance<\/a> said people \u201clost their minds\u201d over <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ufc\/\">UFC<\/a> fighter Josh Hokit calling former first lady <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/michelle-obama\/\">Michelle Obama<\/a> \u201ca man\u201d at the White House fight last month, arguing the reaction was \u201ctotally disproportionate.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The comment was brought up when <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/Joe-Rogan\/\">Joe Rogan<\/a> asked Vance on his podcast,<em> The Joe Rogan Experience<\/em>, if Hokit\u2019s comment about the former first lady or how long Hokit\u2019s appointment held out was \u201cmore shocking\u201d at the White House\u2019s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4608327\/trump-mixes-sports-patriotism-ufc-freedom-250\/\">Freedom 250 UFC fight<\/a> last month. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4649747\/brendan-carr-california-paramount-warner-bros-merger\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Brendan Carr pans California\u2019s efforts to block Paramount-Warner Bros. merger<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4649054\/socialism-flame-thrower-dry-grass-joe-concha\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Socialism like \u2018a flame thrower to dry grass\u2019: Joe Concha<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4648078\/white-house-picture-maga-spongebob-day\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>White House posts picture of \u2018MAGA\u2019 SpongeBob<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDefinitely the armbar part [was more shocking]. I work in politics, people say crazy stuff all the time,\u201d Vance said in the episode posted on Wednesday. \u201cPeople lost their minds about it.\u201d <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After winning his match at the Freedom 250 fight, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4608299\/ufc-fighter-josh-hokit-mocks-michelle-obama\/\">Hokit said<\/a>, \u201cMichelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?\u201d during his victory speech, sparking widespread backlash online. UFC CEO Dana White <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/sports\/4609303\/dana-white-michelle-obama-man-hokit\/\">called the controversial comment<\/a> \u201cnasty and false.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vance explained the reaction to the comment was so extreme that his communications team was prepping him to answer questions about it in case he was asked about it during his <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4614491\/jd-vance-the-view-joy-behar-best-friends\/\">book tour appearance<\/a> on <em>The View<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe thing [my communications team] were most worried about was they\u2019re going to ask you about Michelle Obama being called a man, \u2018What are you going to say about it?\u2019\u201d Vance said. \u201cI was like, \u2018What, an amped-up fighter told a joke after a fight and that\u2019s actually national news?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m still surprised, I\u2019ve been in politics for three, four years, I\u2019m still shocked the s*** that people really get fired up about,\u201d Vance added. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Rogan pointed out, Hokit comments on Obama at almost every fight, but argued that saying the former first lady is \u201ca man\u201d wasn\u2019t the \u201cbest thing to say\u201d since the fight was at the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/white-house\/\" type=\"category\" id=\"125\">White House<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vance pushed back on Rogan\u2019s statement, saying it\u2019s a \u201cfair\u201d point but argued the reaction was \u201ctotally disproportionate.\u201d <\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPeople say stuff all the time,\u201d Vance said. \u201cI work in a business where obviously people make life and death decisions all the time, and I\u2019m always a little bit caught off guard by the culture that just overreacts when clearly the thing Josh is trying to get at is the overreaction in the first place.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo you give him exactly what he wants and the worst you could say is, \u2018Oh that was an offensive comment,\u2019 and you go on with the rest of your life,\u201d Vance added. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The vice president said he doesn\u2019t understand the people who \u201cflip out\u201d about stuff like the comment about Obama. \u201cThe people who really flip out about it and kind of lose their minds, I just, I don\u2019t understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rogan, who is a commentator and broadcast voice for the UFC, explained Hokit built a \u201cbad guy persona\u201d in the business but is a nice guy offstage, arguing that fighting in the octagon isn\u2019t enough to get attention. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c[Hokit is] a very good fighter, first of all, but sometimes that isn\u2019t enough to get attention,\u201d Rogan said. \u201cSo what Josh has done is create this persona, this pro-wrestling bad guys persona. When you talk to him offstage, he\u2019s very normal.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4643366\/eight-indicted-attack-plot-white-house-ufc-fight\/\"><strong>EIGHT INDICTED OVER PLAN TO ATTACK WHITE HOUSE UFC FIGHT WITH DRONES AND SNIPERS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following the fight, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4621888\/ufc-josh-hokit-michelle-obama-man-compliment\/\">Hokit stood firm<\/a> on the comment, saying he meant for it to be taken as a \u201ccompliment.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI thought I was giving her a compliment,\u201d the fighter said in an interview with podcaster Ariel Helwani in June. \u201cMichelle Obama being a man, that\u2019s like \u2014 she knows how to deal with adversity. She knows how to work hard like a man when the times get tough.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vance: People overreacted to Hokit\u2019s Michelle Obama comment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3984,"featured_media":2630266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-collage-b9oxywk85-1784148454066-e1784150953502.jpg?1784136548&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[82774,32618,5894,7048,15469],"class_list":["post-2630265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-hokit","tag-michelle-obama","tag-politics","tag-reaction","tag-vance"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-collage-b9oxywk85-1784148454066-e1784150953502.jpg?1784136548&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3984"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2630265"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2630269,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2630265\/revisions\/2630269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2630266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2630265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2630265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2630265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}