In a recent press conference that left the nation scratching its collective head, Senator J.D. Vance made an impassioned plea for the American public to stop comparing him to himself. The Ohio senator, known for his ever-shifting positions and baffling public statements, expressed frustration that the media and the public insist on holding him accountable for the words and actions of “a past version of me.”

“Look, everyone knows J.D. Vance is a bit of a loon,” Vance declared, pounding the podium for emphasis. “But that doesn’t mean I should be constantly compared to the guy who said or did those things! It’s unfair and frankly, it’s starting to feel like a witch hunt.”

Vance went on to explain that while he respects J.D. Vance, he’s grown weary of the constant comparisons. “Sure, I share his name, his face, and his penchant for contradictory statements, but that doesn’t mean we’re the same person. People evolve! Just because I said something ridiculous last year—or last week—doesn’t mean I would say the exact same thing today.”

When asked to clarify how, exactly, he differs from the J.D. Vance everyone remembers, the senator was quick to point out the nuances. “That J.D. Vance had different priorities. He was more concerned with, I don’t know, whatever it was he was saying back then. Today’s J.D. Vance is focused on what’s important now, and it’s time people started recognizing that distinction.”

Vance’s complaints have garnered mixed reactions. Some supporters have praised his courage in standing up to, well, himself, while others are just as confused as ever. “It’s like trying to figure out which Spider-Man is the real one,” said one bewildered voter. “But with less web-slinging and more head-scratching.”

Notably, the senator has also started a petition to officially separate himself from his past self, proposing a “Statute of Limitations on Self-Comparison” that would prevent the media from bringing up any statements he made before last Thursday.

“It’s time to let J.D. Vance be the J.D. Vance of today, not the J.D. Vance of yesterday,” he concluded, before adding, “And for the record, that’s not something the old J.D. Vance would say. I think.”

In response to this newfound identity crisis, J.D. Vance’s former self was unavailable for comment, presumably because he was too busy being J.D. Vance.