JD Vance fumbles, drops college football trophy at White House ceremony

U.S. Vice-President JD Vance fumbled and dropped Ohio State University’s national football championship trophy during the team’s celebration at the White House on Monday.

After speeches from Vance, U.S. President Donald Trump and Ohio State Buckeyes coach Ryan Day on the South Lawn, Vance, an Ohio State graduate, tried to lift the trophy, but it separated from its base.

As Vance lost his grip on the golden top and its black base, OSU running back TreVeyon Henderson, who was standing next to Vance, grabbed the football-shaped top of the trophy. But the base fell to the ground, forcing Vance to grasp around as it rolled a short distance.

Some of the players around Vance winced during the fumble. The United States Marine Corps Band, which performs at presidential events, had to compete with audible gasps from the players and crowd as it played We Are the Champions.

Henderson and Day helped Vance reassemble the trophy, and then Vance held just the golden top, cradling it in his arms while the players stood behind him.

After pictures and videos of Vance’s fumble spread across the internet, he took to X to joke about the moment, writing, “I didn’t want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it.”

Trump credited the Ohio State team with winning the 2024 college football championship despite “adversity,” including the team’s upset loss to unranked Michigan 13-10 at home in November.

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He congratulated the team on its victory and praised the state of Ohio, saying, “We won that state in a landslide.”

Trump said he hesitated to mention OSU’s fourth consecutive defeat to “the team up north — we won’t talk about it.”

Before fumbling the trophy, Vance mentioned the Buckeyes’ biggest rival in his speech, singling out an audience member wearing a Michigan hat.

“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.'”

Vance also mentioned Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, with whom he made a friendly wager on an Ohio State Buckeyes versus Texas Longhorns playoff game in January, with the loser agreeing to wear the winning team’s jersey. The loser was also supposed to drop off food and beer from their home state but Vance claimed that Cruz has “still not paid up.”

“I don’t like losing any bet, but I really don’t want to lose a bet to Ted Cruz,” Vance said.

— With files from The Associated Press