Vice President JD Vance clarified the precise order of his priorities when deciding to run for the nation's second-highest office, helpfully placing service to President Donald Trump ahead of service to the American people.
"I've been asked many times why did I want to run for, and become, vice president of the United States," Vance told an estimated 15,000 Marines. "I wanted to serve our wonderful commander-in-chief, President Donald J. Trump, and I know we're proud of him. And, of course, I wanted to serve the American people and make their lives better."
The vice president's carefully ordered explanation—which placed his desire to serve Trump in the primary position before adding service to the American people as a secondary consideration—drew sustained applause from the crowd, who apparently appreciated having the constitutional pecking order spelled out so explicitly.
Political analysts noted that while most vice presidents traditionally claim to serve "the American people" first in their public remarks, Vance's innovative approach of listing Trump as his primary motivation represented a bold departure from oath-of-office norms that somehow feels completely on-brand.
"Usually we have to read between the lines to figure out whether someone views their role as serving the president or serving the public," said one constitutional scholar. "Vice President Vance has eliminated all ambiguity."
The event proceeded despite California Governor Gavin Newsom closing a 17-mile stretch of Interstate 5 over safety concerns about live artillery shells being fired over one of America's busiest highways. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used his speaking time to explain that diversity is not the military's strength while addressing a crowd he himself described as having "a lot of different types of faces."
The Marines stood for the speeches during an ongoing government shutdown that left them uncertain about their next paychecks, though Vance reassured them that President Trump—whose service the VP prioritizes above theirs—was working to ensure they would eventually be paid.
