WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Ohio State football team took to the capital on Monday to celebrate its national championship win.

However, the trophy they brought to the White House may need a quick repair before it flies back to the Buckeye State. While attempting to lift the trophy, Vice President JD Vance, a former Ohio senator, fumbled the trophy, breaking it into two separate pieces. 

After laudatory speeches by President Donald Trump, Buckeye coach Ryan Day and Vance on the South Lawn, the vice president — an Ohio State graduate — tried to hoist aloft the trophy.

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.

Vance posted on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, saying that he wanted no other team to get the trophy after the Ohio State Buckeyes.

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.'"

Ohio State is the second championship team to visit the White House since President Donald Trump returned in January. The Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers made their trip on Feb. 3 before facing the Washington Capitals.

The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will visit the White House on April 28.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.