Vice President-elect JD Vance’s relationship with Donald Trump has been the center of much speculation after he was noticeably absent from several high-profile public appearances alongside the Republican leader, as reported by Nicki Swift . Rumors began swirling after Trump attended UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden on November 16, flanked by his entourage that included Elon Musk , House Speaker Mike Johnson, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , and his son Donald Jr.
Amazing! @elonmusk , @RobertKennedyJr , @KidRock , @SpeakerJohnson , @danawhite entering UFC 309 at Maddison square garden with our president elect @realDonaldTrump ❤️ pic.twitter.com/O3JeHSYfl2
— Natalie F Danelishen (@Chesschick01) November 17, 2024
Donald’s presence at the fight with his close allies was captured in a video shared on social media . Other notable figures , such as Tulsi Gabbard, Vivek Ramaswamy , and Kid Rock, were also present, while Vance was conspicuously absent. The following day, Trump’s deputy communications chief, Margo Martin, shared a photo on X (formerly Twitter) that featured Trump dining at McDonald’s aboard Trump Force One with the same entourage. Vance remained absent yet again.
POV: walking by the cool kids table 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/RWkw6CufKB
— Margo Martin (@margomartin) November 17, 2024
The apparent sidelining of Vance hasn’t gone unnoticed by fans and critics, who took to social media to voice their opinions. “Did anybody else notice that J.D. Vance is missing?” one user asked . Another remarked , “It’s so funny that he [Trump] just does not hang out with J.D. Vance.” Others noted Musk’s growing influence in Trump’s circle, with one person joking , “It seems Musk has become Trump’s unelected VP.” Another noted , “Kind of funny how all the news is about Elon having major influence over Trump’s transition, meanwhile, J.D. Vance has absolutely disappeared into thin air.”
Trump’s cabinet nominations, including Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence and Ramaswamy as Musk’s co-lead for the Department of Government Efficiency, have only fueled rumors. Musk’s influence in Trump’s administration has been particularly noted, given his $130 million contribution to the Trump-Vance campaign. The tension between Trump and Vance is not new. In 2016, Vance compared Trump to Adolf Hitler, a comment that strained their relationship before the former ultimately endorsed the Republican leader years later.
It’s so funny that he just does not hang out with JD Vance https://t.co/9KeSStA49W
— ape attack survivor (@pissvortex) November 17, 2024
Additionally, Trump has a history of cutting out and or distancing himself from his allies. This list includes former Attorney General Bill Barr, former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and most notably, his former Vice President, Mike Pence who he viciously slammed when he refused to join Trump’s claims of election fraud in 2020.
Despite this, Vance has publicly expressed optimism about his new role, penning on X , “To President Donald J. Trump, for giving me such an opportunity to serve our country at this level.” Meanwhile, Trump after his 2024 election victory, acknowledged their rocky past in his Mar-a-Lago speech. He said, “[Vance] turned out to be a good choice. I took a little heat at the beginning, but I knew the brain was a good one— as good as it gets,” as reported by the Express U.S .