Some people might forget that JD Vance once served in the Marines. And, while that service might not have been on the same level as some more active members of the United States Army, he did have to go through rigorous training like everyone else. So when he posted a video on TikTok of himself taking part in a Marines obstacle course, it might have been like second nature for him.
Only, according to critics, it wasn’t. Some even accused him of using his son, whom he brought along to also try out the obstacle course, as an excuse not to actually try hard at the physically demanding portions of the course. Yes, Vance was a Marine once. But does anyone take that service seriously, years later?
JD Vance tried out a Marine Corps obstacle course with one of his kids in tow.
@jd How’d I do guys?
♬ original sound – JD Vance
Vance posted the video to his TikTok account as an edit of him and his son trying out various portions of the obstacle course. Music plays in the background, seemingly as a way to point out how hashtag cool and relatable Vance is. There are shots of him pushing his son over a barrier, Vance himself jogging on a trail, and then watching his son try out other portions of the physical challenge.
Vance jokes at the top of the video that he doesn’t want to “bust [his] ass or break any bones.” He might have tried to appear relatable and cool all at once, but some of his critics took away something much different from the TikTok when it was shared in another TikTok.
“Cuts to him light jogging and taking it easy with his kid,” a user commented.
“Brought his kid as an excuse to take it easy,” someone else commented on the shared video.
Another wrote, “We need the unedited, uncut, raw, untamed video.”
“A lot of split second shots here,” someone else commented. “How about a 10 minute uncut video?”
The video is less than 20 seconds long and doesn’t show Vance doing too much hard work. Then again, his supporters believe he might have used the visit as an opportunity to spend time with his son.
He was made fun of once for training with the Navy SEALs too.
Vice President Vance trains with @USNavy Seals at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado 📸 pic.twitter.com/AClJaxCdo0
— Vice President JD Vance (@VP) December 23, 2025
When it comes to people around Donald Trump attempting to publicly exercise, we have Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in jeans, Pete Hegseth running in a strange way and now, Vance working out without giving too much effort. And this isn’t the first time Vance was called out for his athletic shortcomings. In December 2025, Vance shared photos of himself on X (formerly Twitter) training with Navy SEALs and received similar responses on the internet.
At the time, someone on Reddit trolled Vance and wrote, “All these dorks do is larp.”
When someone pointed out that Vance was once a Marine, another user responded, “He’s a POG [Personnel Other than Grunt in the Marines] trying to have a photo shoot for the other alpha bro posers.”
JD Vance once held a role in the Marines.
Vance did once serve in the Marines. So, chances are, he has some legitimate experience in these kinds of obstacle courses used for training. But people who aren’t MAGA supporters might remind others that Vance was a combat correspondent, or military journalist, from 2003 until 2007. He didn’t see combat, according to North Country Public Radio.
He was deployed in Iraq for six months, but he never saw active combat as a soldier.
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