Clumsy JD Vance Breaks NCAA Football Championship Trophy
The Ohio State alum looked embarrassed after letting the gold-plated trophy plummet to the ground.

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Ohio State’s football team can’t be happy with the school’s most famous alumnus after an embarrassing incident Monday.
The Buckeyes looked on in horror Monday afternoon as Vice President JD Vance awkwardly dropped their gold College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship trophy and sent it cascading to the ground in two pieces.
The Vice President’s klutzy fumble came as the team brought their trophy to the White House to celebrate their 2024 national title win.
Everything was going smoothly until Vance made moves to lift the award—something he seemed to struggle with—before suddenly letting it tumble to the ground.
Vance awkwardly dropped the the trophy and let it tumble to the ground.
Evelyn Hockstein/Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS
Star running back TreVeyon Henderson came to the rescue. He was thankfully able to rectify Vance’s embarrassing mistake by catching the trophy before it took a nosedive. The VP wasn’t so lucky, and seemed panicked as the trophy base crashed to the floor.
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Vance frantically crouched to lift the base and reattach it before setting it carefully down on the table.
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Vance tried to justify his graceless move, posting on X: “I didn’t want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it.”
I didn’t 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
The Vice President is in fact one of Ohio State’s biggest fans. He went to the college for two years before graduating in 2009 with a degree in political science and philosophy. He stayed loyal to the team while serving as the state’s junior U.S. senator, before he and President Donald Trump won the 2024 election.
Vance seemed unaware of the fact the trophy has two separate pieces. It is customarily lifted by an official and given to the players and coaches to celebrate.
Trump and Vance on Monday met the Ohio State University CFP National Champions.
Evelyn Hockstein/Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS
When Vance was elected in 2024 he joked about skipping the inauguration to go to the CFP National Championship Game, which happened to be on the same day. The Buckeyes ended up winning 34-23 against Notre Dame to secure their first National Championship trophy since 2014.
The trophy is handmade from 24-karat gold, bronze, and stainless steel, and features a football at the center of the base that raises up to form a real-life-sized ball.
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