"One Of The Coolest Moments Of My Life": JD Vance's 1st Oval Office Visit

US Vice President JD Vance visited the Oval Office for the first time on Tuesday, a day after he took the oath of office. The 40-year-old former Ohio senator was there for a meeting with President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders.

Footage captured by House Speaker Mike Johnson showed Vance visibly awestruck upon entering the room. "Wow, this is pretty crazy, wow," the Vice President was heard saying. "I've never been inside this room. This is incredible."

Johnson, who joined the meeting to discuss the GOP's legislative priorities, shared the moment on social media. "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," Johnson wrote in a post on X. "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 his humble circumstances to enter the Oval for the first time as Vice President of the United States. What a country!" he added.

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 experience truly was significant for Vance. Later that day, he said it was "one of the coolest moments of my life."

One of the coolest moments of my life https://t.co/wyuew3XPOo

— JD Vance (@JDVance) January 22, 2025

Raised in Middletown, Ohio, JD Vance grew up surrounded by poverty and struggled with his mother's addiction issues. Despite these challenges, he worked his way to Yale University, recounting his journey in his bestselling 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. The book brought him national recognition and was later adapted into a film directed by Ron Howard.

Vance's political career received a major boost with Trump's endorsement during the 2022 Ohio Senate primary, propelling him to a hard-fought victory. Last summer, Trump selected him as his running mate for the 2024 presidential campaign.

On Monday, during his inaugural address as the 47th President of the United States, Trump praised Vance's wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, an Indian-American lawyer, calling her "smarter" than her husband. He joked that he "would have chosen her" as Vice President if he could.

Usha Vance, who made history as the first Indian-American and Hindu Second Lady, stood by her husband's side as he took the oath of office.