JD Vance fumbles Ohio State football championship trophy in White House visit
He did not count on the trophy’s golden top being designed to separate from its black base.
Vice president JD Vance has ended the Ohio State University (OSU) football team’s visit to the White House on an awkward note, fumbling the team’s national championship trophy on Monday in front of gathered crowds.
After laudatory speeches by US President Donald Trump, Buckeye coach Ryan Day and Mr Vance on the South Lawn, the vice president — an Ohio State graduate — tried to hoist the trophy aloft.
But, in a clumsy mishandle, the trophy broke apart in Mr Vance’s hands, resulting in an awkward blunder for the vice president.
OSU running back TreVeyon Henderson managed to save the top of the trophy, grabbing the golden upper section as the vice president grabbed out at the base.
His attempted catch failed, with Mr Vance left grasping midair as half of the award clattered to the ground and rolled away.
Players around the vice president could be seen wincing as the United States Marine Corps Band competed with audible gasps from the players and crowd as it played We Are the Champions.
Henderson and Mr Day helped Mr Vance reassemble the trophy, and the vice president later held just the top, cradling it in his arms while the players around him chuckled.
As pictures and videos of Mr Vance’s fumble hit social media, the vice president tried to explain away the gaffe with a self-deprecating quip: “I didn’t want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it,” he wrote on X.
Mr Trump credited the Ohio State team with winning the 2024 college football championship despite “adversity”, including the team’s upset loss to un-ranked Michigan 13-10 at home in November.
Mr Trump hesitated to mention OSU’s fourth consecutive defeat to “the team up north — we won’t talk about it”.
Before fumbling the trophy, Mr Vance also used part of his speech to mention the Buckeyes’ biggest rival and singled out an audience member in a Michigan hat.
“I don’t know who let the guy over in the corner here, in a Michigan hat, into this celebration,” Mr Vance said.
“But I’m about to tell the Secret Service, ‘You’ve got a dangerous weapon, sir.'”
