JD Vance drops Ohio State trophy at White House: ‘I didn’t want anyone else to get it’

JD Vance drops trophy, jokes about keeping it from others.

Vice President JD Vance brought an unexpected twist to the Ohio State football team’s White House celebration on Monday by accidentally dropping part of the team’s national championship trophy.

The ceremony, held on the South Lawn, featured speeches from President Donald Trump, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, and Vance, an Ohio State alumnus. Things took an awkward turn when Vance attempted to lift the trophy for a celebratory moment. Unaware that the trophy’s golden top detaches from its black base, he struggled to hold both parts. While running back TreVeyon Henderson quickly caught the football-shaped top, the base slipped from Vance’s hands and rolled away.

As Vance scrambled to retrieve the base, players nearby flinched. The moment coincided with the United States Marine Corps Band playing “We Are the Champions,” its performance briefly competing with audible gasps from the crowd.

Henderson and Coach Day helped the vice president reassemble the trophy. Vance eventually held just the top portion, cradling it as players around him laughed.

In typical fashion, Vance responded to the mishap with humour. “I didn’t want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it,” he posted on X.

I didnt want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it https://t.co/rS3Vw3BdO6 JD Vance (@JDVance) April 14, 2025

President Trump, in his remarks, praised the Buckeyes for winning the 2024 college football championship despite facing “adversity,” including a surprise 13-10 home loss to unranked Michigan in November. He acknowledged the team’s recent struggles against their main rival, joking: “the team up north — we won’t talk about it.”

Earlier in his speech, Vance also took a light-hearted jab at Michigan fans, pointing to someone in the audience wearing rival colours. “I don't know who let the guy over in the corner here, in a Michigan hat, into this celebration,” Vance said. “But I'm about to tell the Secret Service, ‘You've got a dangerous weapon, sir.’”

(With AP Input)