Vice President JD Vance dropped the College Football Playoff national championship trophy at the White House on Monday during a ceremony on the South Lawn. The Ohio State Buckeyes—Vance’s alma mater—were invited by Donald Trump to celebrate the team’s title-winning season only to encounter this fumble.
The Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame for the trophy which is made of a 12-inch bronze base, and a separate 26-and-a-half-inch trophy made from 24-karat gold, bronze and stainless steel. Together, the pieces weigh 50 pounds which does explain why TreVeyon Henderson, a running back on the team, tried to help when Vance originally went to hoist it from the table and the two components separated with the base toppling to the ground. Eventually ditching the base altogether and holding the trophy for the group photos Vance later joked on X, “I didn’t want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it.”
A sentiment that appears to be the administration’s undercurrent, breaking norms—democratic, legal, and otherwise—as Trump and Vance near their first 100 days in office, a benchmark that has traditionally been used to measure presidential performance. According to a recent Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted March 31 to April 2, 49% of Americans have an unfavorable view of the vice president while 41% view him favorably. Meanwhile, 52% of Americans have an unfavorable view of Trump while 45% view him favorably. But the divide falls starkly along party lines as 83% of Republicans say they view Vance favorably and 88% of Republicans say they view Trump favorably.
It’s unclear if Vance’s ill-timed drop will affect his approval rating, but the president is touting the deepening embrace of MAGA throughout the Republican party. According to a new NBC News Poll, 36% of registered voters identify as MAGA supporters, with 71% of Republicans calling themselves MAGA supporters. Hours after Vance’s mishap, Trump took to Truth Social to spread the MAGA gospel: “A just out NBC Poll says that MAGA is gaining tremendous support. I am not, at all, surprised!!!”
