Azerbaijan’s state-run television channel AzTV has edited out US Vice President JD Vance’s joke about Azerbaijani First Lady and Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva. The comments came at a brief press conference between Vance and President Ilham Aliyev during his visit to Baku.
Aliyeva was appointed to her position by a decree from her husband in 2017.
On Monday, Vance visited Azerbaijan, a trip that followed on the heels of his visit to Armenia. That day, he and Aliyev signed a strategic partnership charter between the two countries, which later was followed by a press briefing.
Vance finished his statement on Monday with a joke:
‘That the Second Lady [Usha Vance] and I are very pleased to be having dinner. And, as I understand it, the Vice-President of Azerbaijan is also the President’s wife, and hopefully that doesn’t give the Second Lady any ideas’.
According to the official White House broadcast, Aliyev laughed and responded ‘yes’ to Vance, but the exchange was shown in Azerbaijan from a different angle.
Initially, AzTV translated Vance’s comments from English as, ‘I know that the first vice president is the president’s wife, and we are glad that this relationship between our spouses continues’.
Later, the actual wording of his comments were circulated by independent media outlets such as Meydan TV, Hamam Times, and Qazetchi. Following this, AzTV added the correct translation of Vance’s joke.
Nate Ostiller
