JD Vance made an off-color remark about his political opponents on Monday that he insisted was accidental ― but he couldn’t stop smiling.

During a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, the vice president said voters should elect GOP Senate nominee Michael Whatley because “we need someone who will fight back against the fart left.”

Yes, you can read the last two words again. We’ll wait.

Although rallygoers dutifully clapped along to his applause line about electing Whatley, he felt the need to explain his gassy pun.

“Now, you may not have even heard that, but I actually ― I usually don’t misspeak, but I just called them the ‘fart left,’ not the ‘far left,’” Vance explained. “I promise that was an accident.”

He then wondered aloud how the “fake news” might react to his witticism, but mostly seemed excited to repeat it.

“So the fake news will accuse me of bad language,” Vance said. “I promise I did not mean to call them the ‘fart left’; I meant to call them the ‘far left.’”

As you can see in the clip below, Vance then smiled like a little kid getting away with stealing a cookie.

JD Vance: "I just called them the fart left. I promise that was an accident." pic.twitter.com/dDSOMYmy9Y

Social media confirmed the lameness of Vance’s attempted insult.

Just in case you didn’t hear me stumble earlier. Would have been embarrassing … if you had heard that part…Which I will now re-enact. Twice. https://t.co/XPVnLXd6LK

I never wanted to shove someone into a locker more https://t.co/YxQ0liHjXQ

Jesus Christ.“Fart Left” is what MAGA Republicans are calling Democrats?We literally have fucking children running our government. https://t.co/qFx2Za8vHG

A wet sock is funnier than this guy https://t.co/RGbXbO5kU1

He's the intellectual guy in the administration. https://t.co/6pa03BJ2oA

I stand by my statement, this man will never be president https://t.co/zceXj8GOam

Vance’s “fart left” insult comes just a few months after President Donald Trump praised himself for coming up with the term “Dumocrats” to refer to the Democratic Party.

“I take the ‘b’ off because most people don’t know that dumb ends with a ‘b,’” the president explained.

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