Following a heated TV appearance in which he attempted—and failed—to explain Donald Trump’s prior ties to Jeffrey Epstein, Senator JD Vance found himself in hot water. Instead of protecting the former president from criticism, the discussion turned into a humiliating, widely seen scene that swiftly went viral.

Vance tried to minimize the importance of the images, flight records, and previous social encounters between Trump and Epstein when questioned about them, referring to the connections as “irrelevant political smears.” The interviewer retaliated with follow-up questions, citing Trump’s prior remarks that he knew Epstein well. Vance seemed to be avoiding the main points of the questions as his responses became hesitant and repetitious.

Videos of the interview went viral on social media, and detractors accused Vance of lying and not providing a strong defense. Trump’s argument was not helped by the encounter, which even some conservative pundits admitted was a “bad look.”

The incident was a blow to a rising Republican star who was establishing himself as one of Trump’s most devoted supporters. Vance’s gaffe did not lessen the controversy; on the contrary, it heightened it and provided opponents with more fodder in the ongoing dispute over Trump’s contentious background.