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He didn't count on the trophy's golden top being designed to
separate from its black base. After some struggling, the vice
president lost his grip on the two pieces. OSU running back
TreVeyon Henderson, standing behind 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 the vice president winced. 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 the
vice president later held just the top, cradling it in his arms
while the players around him chuckled.
As pictures and videos of Vance's fumble rocketed across the
internet, the vice president tried to explain away the gaffe
with self-deprecation: “I didn’t want anyone after Ohio State to
get the trophy so I decided to break it,” he wrote on X.
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.
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 also used part of his speech
to mention the Buckeyes' biggest rival — singling 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,” Vance said. "But I'm about
to tell the Secret Service, 'You've got a dangerous weapon,
sir.'"
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