Vice President JD Vance ended the visit of the Ohio State football team to the White House on Monday by losing the team's national championship trophy.

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

He did not realise that the gold top of the trophy was designed to separate from its black base. After a bit of a struggle, the vice-president lost both 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 hold it as it rolled a bit.

Some of the musicians surrounding the vice president winced in pain. The United States Marine Corps Band, which performs at presidential events, had to compete with audible exclamations from the musicians and audience as it performed "We Are the Champions".Henderson and Day helped Vance put the trophy back together, and then the vice-chairman held only the top, cradling it in his arms as the players around him laughed.

JD Vance takes it with humor

As images and videos of Vance's loose ball went viral on the internet, the vice president tried to justify the blunder 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.

Before losing the trophy, JD also used part of his speech to mention the Buckeyes' biggest rival, picking out a member of the audience wearing a Michigan cap.

"I don't know who let the guy in the corner, with the Michigan cap, into this celebration," Vance said.