Essex-boy Elegy: J.D. Vance meets the Bosh man

Vice President Vance is currently receiving visitors at an 18th-century Georgian manor in the Cotswolds, an implausibly quaint patch of the English countryside. Petitioners so far have included James Orr, the Cambridge academic and right-wing activist, Robert Jenrick, likely the next leader of Britain’s Tories, and Nigel Farage, likely the next UK Prime Minister.

Also on the list was one Thomas Skinner, a gregarious wide boy from East London turned e-celebrity turned patriotic influencer. After a stint as a pillow and mattress merchant Skinner, 34, found fame as a contestant on the 15th series of the British version of The Apprentice. In 2022 he began posting videos on social media of himself gobbling down steaming platters of traditional English fare – pie, mash, bacon, beans, sausage, chips (fries), fried eggs, fried bread, black pudding – while extolling the virtues of family and hard work. Each homily would end with Skinner’s trademark catchphrase: “BOSH.”

Skinner’s politics began to emerge. “I love Trump, I think he is brilliant, that’s my opinion. I think it’s good he is back in charge, it will be good for the UK economy,” he said in late 2024. Mayor Sadiq Khan had “ruined” London and militant eco-protesters were “ruining people’s lives.” Orr, who has emerged as a leading theorist of a newly-galvanized British right, took notice. Had they finally found their own Trump – or at the very least their own Archie Bunker? In June Skinner delivered a speech at Now and England, a conference organized by Orr, where he spoke of “kids being taught to be ashamed of their own flag.” The Vice President watched.

Now the two netizens meet at last. Vance, a longtime online admirer, invited Skinner over for beers and a barbecue. Skinner relayed his experience with his usual brio:

When the Vice President of the USA invites ya for a BBQ a beers, you say yes. Unreal night with JD and his friends n family. He was a proper gent. Lots of laughs and some fantastic food. A brilliant night, one to tell the grand kids about mate. Bosh❤️

Here is a pic of Me and Vice President @JDVance towards the end of the night after a few beers 🍻 I’m overdressed in my suit, but when the VP invites you to a BBQ, you don’t risk turning up in shorts an flip-flops 😂 Cracking night in the beautiful English countryside with JD, his friends and family. Once in a lifetime. Bosh ❤️🇬🇧🇺🇸

The encounter is another sign of the chaotic merger that’s being carried out between politics and the online world. Is Skinner a meme, or a politician? It’s increasingly difficult to disentangle the two.