US Senator Tammy Duckworth, a decorated war veteran who lost both her legs in combat, has fired back sharply at Vice President JD Vance after he mocked her conduct during a Senate hearing, triggering outrage across Democratic circles and on social media.The spat erupted after a heated exchange in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where Duckworth (D-Illinois) pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio on whether US actions in the Caribbean and against Venezuela could drag American troops into another prolonged conflict. Rubio denied that the US was “at war” with Venezuela, prompting Duckworth to warn against what she called a dangerous slide towards another “forever war”.Watching the exchange, Vance took to X with a sarcastic post, writing: “Watching Tammy Duckworth obsessively interrupt Marco Rubio during this hearing is like watching Forrest Gump argue with Isaac Newton.” The remark was widely criticised for invoking a character portrayed with intellectual and physical disabilities, and for targeting a Purple Heart recipient.Duckworth responded with a rebuttal. “Forrest Gump ran toward danger in Vietnam. Your boss ran to his podiatrist crying bone spurs,” she wrote, referring to President Donald Trump’s Vietnam-era draft deferments.”