When Donald Trump selected J.D. Vance as his running mate last summer, America quickly became re-acquainted with the then-Senator’s inspiring life story. As he wrote in his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, Vance came from one of the poorest parts of America. He was raised primarily by his ‘mamaw’ as his single mother struggled with drug addiction. He overcame these struggles and obstacles to join the Marines, attend Ohio State University, go to an Ivy League law school, raise a family, become a venture capitalist, and eventually a successful politician.
It truly is a quintessential story of the American dream. (And Tim Walz, shamefully and hilariously, tried to call Vance ‘weird’ for it.)
Given his background, however, it is entirely unsurprising that Vance — who was only a Senator for just over a year (and all during a Democrat administration) before joining the Trump ticket — had never been in the Oval Office in his entire life.
That all changed yesterday as Vance, now sworn in as the 50th U.S. Vice President, accompanied Trump into the Oval Office for the first time ever. Recognizing the magnitude of the moment, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson filmed the occasion and then shared it on Twitter this morning.
Watch:
As we gathered for our meeting at the White House yesterday, JD Vance mentioned to us that he had never before visited the Oval Office. I told him and President Trump that I HAD to capture the moment on video. Only in America can a hardworking young man from Appalachia rise from… pic.twitter.com/H4aHOyyfVt
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) January 22, 2025
The rest of the tweet reads:
… Only in America can a hardworking young man from Appalachia rise from his humble circumstances to enter the Oval for first time as VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. What a country!
What an exhilarating moment for Vance. And what an uplifting moment for America.
The only thing that could have made the video better is if Vance, like his daughter on Inauguration Day, had walked through the West Wing and into the Oval Office wearing Bluey Band-Aids on his fingers.
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LOL, OK, maybe that would have been a bit too much. (Sorry, J.D., but you can never be as adorable as Mirabel. No one can.)
Still, there was a clear childlike quality to the look of awe and amazement on Vance’s face during his historic entrance.
Obviously Vance is an accomplished and smart guy, but there’s a certain amount of childhood wonderment aura that he carries himself with that’s quite endearing. https://t.co/srKRw3cLVa
— John Ekdahl (@JohnEkdahl) January 22, 2025
As Mary Katherine Ham has noted since the election, and despite the left’s attempts to cast him as ‘weird,’ Vance may be the most ‘normal’ person to occupy the vice presidency in modern history (and he IS the first Marine to hold that position).
The expression on his face is exactly how any normal person would react when seeing the office that is home to so much American history.
You know what, if you know @VP at all or even read his book or saw the movie of Hillbilly Elegy, you have to realize what an amazing moment this is for him. And an incredible example of American opportunity in just one generation. https://t.co/SuTShXJTFr
— Doug Stafford (@dougstafford) January 22, 2025
If Vance’s smile and his exclamation, ‘Wow! This is incredible!’ doesn’t make you love America, then nothing will.
Maybe that’s why the left dislikes him so much.
And it’s all genuine. Obviously, the moment was recorded, so there is a ‘photo op’ aspect to it, but you can’t fake Vance’s wide eyes and nervous laughter as he stepped over the threshold.
— Dave (@davespace_) January 22, 2025
Yep, that’s the look. It’s almost like he can barely believe it himself.
Others who have been in the Oval Office recognized that look immediately.
Only in America. Congrats to the @VP! 🇺🇸
I’ll never forget the first time I walked into the Oval Office in 2017 to meet with @realDonaldTrump. An amazing feeling—I was overcome both by the majesty of the place and a sense of humility, having come from a small town in Kansas. https://t.co/jEksKRa8qN pic.twitter.com/RhPpuszdL5
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPai) January 22, 2025
Vance will never forget his moment either, even if Johnson hadn’t recorded it.
What a wholesome, patriotic moment. https://t.co/HZ82ozJexl
— Arlington GOP (@goparlington) January 22, 2025
Absolutely.
God bless America, where anyone can aspire to anything and get there with hard work and perseverence. I love this great country of ours! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 https://t.co/Iw4OrthpKq
— Tara Ross (@TaraRoss) January 22, 2025
The American Dream is alive and well.
JD Vance is the living embodiment of that. https://t.co/Vh1aW0g2jb
— Chaya Raichik (@ChayaRaichik10) January 22, 2025
Even in what must have been a huge surge of excitement and adrenaline, Vance also remained humble in the moment.
Utmost respect to you Vice President! Even though the president motioned you to precede him into the office, you remained in place allowing him to enter first and followed. You are a man of outstanding grace and character and we are so very proud to have you as America’s VP.
— Deborah8050 (@Deborah_8050) January 22, 2025
Yeah, we are. We’re excited to see those two do great things together over the next four years.
In 1960, one of Franklin Roosevelt’s former vice presidents, John Nance Garner, told Lyndon Johnson that being vice president was ‘not worth a bucket of warm spit.’ (He actually used a worse word than ‘spit,’ but the now-famous quote has been modified over the years.)
But watching Vance’s expression of wonder as he entered the Oval Office for the first time, we have a feeling he doesn’t share that sentiment.
J.D. Vance is a Marine. He understands the American dream more than most. We can only imagine what must have been going through his head as he took these steps.
But we’d like to think he was remembering that young boy in Middletown, Ohio, who had all of the odds stacked against him and overcame them all to walk proudly, yet humbly, yesterday into the most famous office in the world.
Only in America, indeed.
