A CSPAN Caption That Says "Single Person Clapping" During a JD Vance Speech Is Cracking Folks Up

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

That's a Zen koan with no answer.

But what about the sound of a single person clapping? Apparently, you might hear that during a JD Vance speech.

At least, that's according to whoever did the closed captioning for Vance's speech at a rally in Asheboro, N.C., on Aug. 21, 2024.

We explain it all below.

The person in charge of typing out the closed captioning for Vance's speech at CSPAN might want to consider a career as a copy editor, because they are clearly very keen on details.

During one part of Vance's speech, the caption writer was sure to inform viewers at home that only one person was clapping during that specific moment.

"Is there a Pulitzer for subtitles?" wrote one X (formerly Twitter) user, who posted a picture of the moment in question. As expected, other X users had a ball with this.

"It was his mother so I don’t know if it counts," someone commented under the post.

"What makes this even better is that he surely has more than one paid staff member in attendance," wrote another.

"The vast majority of applause that Vance receives is as he is leaving. The audience relief is palpable," someone else tweeted alongside a gif of Barack Obama wiping his brow.

"New koan: What is the sound of one fan clapping?" (We have to pick this as the winner because they obviously thought of the Zen koan like we did.)

"How do you know? Could have been a married person clapping," wrote another X user. (OK, this one wins too.)

"Does that single person own a cat?" someone else asked, referring to the not-very-nice comment Vance previously made about "childless cat ladies."

Ah, what a time to be alive.