Meet the Woman Who Greeted JD Vance in Nantucket With a Giant Protest 

“It was just kind of a day of good trouble on the island to make sure that JD Vance doesn’t know a second of peace,” Amanda McGonigle, the creator of @catsonacouch, told Jezebel.

By Danielle Han  |  July 24, 2025 | 2:57pm
Photo: Instagram @catsonacouch Politics
Meet the Woman Who Greeted JD Vance in Nantucket With a Giant Protest 

Few places glisten as brightly as Nantucket, Massachusetts. The tiny island, located off the coast of Cape Cod, is decorated with cobblestone pavements, steeped in a rich history, and surrounded by crystal-clear beaches. This week, it had a little extra shine thanks to a gloriously giant, glossy poster of bald JD Vance.

The vice president landed on the island for a fundraiser Tuesday morning as the RNC’s newest cash wrangler. Upon arrival, he was greeted with “Meowtucket” protesters bearing an entourage of all his memeic footprints: the baby-faced veep we all know and love; inflatable sofas (remember: he did not have sexual affairs with that couch); and activists draped in cat merch.

“It was just kind of a day of good trouble on the island to make sure that JD Vance doesn’t know a second of peace,” Amanda McGonigle, the protest’s organizer and creator of @catsonacouch, told Jezebel. “He doesn’t deserve it.” 

Nothing Vance does is good, but his pit stop on Nantucket was a particularly bad look. The RNC fundraising dinner cost each couple $100,000 (those paying for the entire day were set back $250,000), an awful follow-up to the president’s tie-breaking vote that jeopardized healthcare access for millions earlier this month. So, McGonigle called on her followers to mobilize.

“It was just really joyful, it was great to be around like-minded people and remind ourselves that there is community with one another,” she said. “To get through this fucking shit-show that’s happening right now.”

 

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McGonigle created the viral @catsonacouch after the vice president’s “childless cat ladies” comments resurfaced last summer. The troll account of “petty paw-litics” posts a hilariously colorful collection of Vance-themed memes, as well as cat photos. “It was around that same time that the internet went wild with a totally fabricated rumor about JD Vance having sex with his couch,” she said. ”And so yeah, I just combined it and made a funny little troll account, not thinking anything of it. And then, it picked up popularity.”

Aside from making protests fun and bringing people together over their hatred of Vance, McGonigle is intent on using them to stir up “good trouble.” As of two weeks ago, @catsonacouch has amassed over one million followers. To celebrate, she encouraged her followers to donate to the Trevor Project, Planned Parenthood, and local immigrant rights coalitions–albeit in the vice president’s name.

Coming next in Vance’s travel diary is a late-summer vacation into the Cotswolds–and protesters are already ready-ing the memes. Alas, buckle up, mate. Nothing beats an Air Force Two holiday.

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