Vance drops Ohio State’s championship trophy during White House visit

U.S. Vice President-elect Senator JD Vance (R-OH) was seen at the Senate Republican leadership elections at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on November 13, 2024. The images of the political landscape during the Donald Trump era often seem too outlandish to be real, like the feast of seven Big Macs or the awkward Bible display at St. John’s.

JD Vance, a soft-handed Yale graduate and advocate of “freedom seeds,” added a new memorable moment to the collection when he mishandled the trophy of Ohio State University’s football team during their visit to the White House to celebrate their national championship. While the song “We Are The Champions” played in the background, Vance struggled with the trophy in front of Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson before eventually giving up. As his fellow Buckeyes watched in a mix of surprise and embarrassment, Vance left the base of the trophy on the lectern and awkwardly held up the top section for the cameras.

The trophy, weighing about 30 pounds, is designed to be separated so that players can raise the top part. However, Vance’s mishap of dropping the championship trophy of his alma mater on the White House grounds was hard to overlook. In a jesting remark, he wrote on X, “I didn’t want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it.”

The Trump 2.0 administration has been marked by uncomfortable photo opportunities at the White House. In the early days, the administration made news by clashing with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and considering corporate sponsorships for the traditional Easter Egg Roll. Vance is not alone in experiencing awkward moments on the White House lawn, as even Trump himself once used the residence’s driveway for an advertisement to support his associate Elon Musk.