Senate Democrat fires back after VP Vance makes Forrest Gump comparison

Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois fired back at Vice President JD Vance after he likened her sparring session with Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing about America's Venezuela policy to an argument between the fictional character Forrest Gump and Isaac Newton.

Left: Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., listens during a news conference on access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments outside the U.S. Capitol Building on June 12, 2024 in Washington, D.C.; Right: U.S. Vice President JD Vance gives remarks following a roundtable discussion with local leaders and community members amid a surge of federal immigration authorities in the area, at Royalston Square on Jan. 22, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn.  (Left: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Right: Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

"Comparing @SenDuckworth to Forrest Gump is classless and disgraceful. She’s a veteran who lost her legs fighting for this country. If you had any honor, you’d take this post down. But you work for Trump, so clearly you have none," Democratic Rep. John Garamendi of California declared in a post.

Duckworth served in the Illinois Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq in 2004, according to a biography on her Senate website, which notes that "On November 12, 2004, her helicopter was hit by an RPG and she lost her legs and partial use of her right arm."

She noted in 2022 social media posts that an RPG "tore through the cockpit of the helicopter I was co-piloting. The blast cost me my legs, partial use of my right arm and nearly my life," she noted.

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U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., arrives to speak on stage during the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 20, 2024 in Chicago, Ill. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Vance added in another post, "Thank God we have a Secretary of State who knows his facts AND has the patience of Job. Great job, @SecRubio." 

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-democrat-fires-back-after-vp-vance-makes-forrest-gump-comparison