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JD Vance "fumbles" the coveted college football national championship trophy.

It's a tradition for sports teams that win major championships to receive the honor of visiting the White House and meeting the President. The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will be visiting soon. The World Series winning Los Angeles Dodgers visited earlier this year. And just this week, the national champions Ohio State Buckeyes took the stage with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, an Ohio State alum.

It was a simple photo opp. There would be no hard hitting questions from journalists about the economy or Russia. Everyone involved was there to simply celebrate the accomplishments of a talented and hard working group of young men in a controversy-free ceremony. What could possibly go wrong?

JD Vance had other plans. The moment he went to hoist the trophy, it appeared to quite literally fall apart in his hands.

Vance puzzled over the trophy for a moment as he tried to slide it toward himself. Then, as he began to lift it, the top half toppled over only to be caught by Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson before hitting the ground. You can actually hear the crowd gasping and holding their breath before Henderson saves it, all while the United States Marine Corps Band performs "We Are the Champions." You honestly couldn't script a more hilarious sequence if you hired Hollywood's funniest comedy writers.

To be fair, the college playoff national championship trophy is a little confusingly constructed. The bottom half is just a black stand for the trophy itself, which is the 26.5 inch tapered golden piece on top. So technically, Vance didn't break the trophy. He just didn't realize that it came apart in two pieces.

But it was too late. The blunder was caught by dozens and dozens of cameras, with the jokes about Vance "fumbling" the trophy nearly writing themselves.

Watch the wild video here:

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

Vance, the Internet's favorite punching bag as of late, suddenly found himself on the butt end of an avalanche of jokes.

Vance is no stranger to being made fun of on the Web. First, it was the theories that he wears eyeliner while simultaneously preaching about the death of masculinity. Then, it was enterprising social media users engaging in a war of one-upmanship to see who could create the most horrifying, bloated caricature of the VP.

And now, he can add this fumblerooski to his resume.

In a thread posted on the subreddit WatchPeopleDieInside, people came with their best jokes at Vance's expense:

"Ahh I see it's because the trophy didn't wear a suit and say thank you"

"That man has never held a trophy in his life."

"They are going to blame the Democrats for this."

On X, one user wrote, "JD Vance: Can't order donuts. Can't hold a normal conversation. Can't hold a trophy without breaking it."

Honestly, jokes were barely necessary. The photos are hilarious enough. The top half of the trophy tumbling limply into Vance's shoulder. Vance bending down, scrambling to pick up the base. It's all just *chefs kiss.*


People on the right had some fun at the VP's expense, too.

"Trophy must be made in China," one Reddit user joked.

"Dan Quail on steroids," added another.

Fox News couldn't help themselves, either. They made more than a few puns about Vance "fumbling" the trophy.

Even Vance himself had no choice but to try to take the mockery in stride.

The Trump administration is off to a controversial start, to put it extremely lightly. JD Vance's trophy snafu harkens back to a simpler time when we all came together to make fun of George W. Bush not knowing how to pronounce words or Gerald Ford tumbling down the stairs of Air Force One. There isn't much that's able to bring people from different sides of the aisle together anymore, and this one is just a minor blip in the grander scheme. But this little reprieve in the news cycle has definitely been a much needed source of comic relief.

Something strange happened at the White House on July 18.

OK, I guess I'll need to be a bit more specific, as there's a lot of strange stuff happening over at 1600 Pennsylvania these days: Something strange happened during the daily White House press briefing between two journalists from competing news outlets.

NBC's Hallie Jackson was asking Press Secretary Sarah Sanders about President Donald Trump's inconsistent answers on the topic of Russian election interference.


During his July 16 summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said that he didn't "see why [Russia] would have" interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. The following day, though, he walked that back, claiming that he meant to say"wouldn't." But on July 18, a reporter asked whether he believed Russia is trying to hack the 2018 election, to which he responded "no," contradicting his intelligence advisors. Later, the White House tried to walk backthat "no."

It was all veryconfusing, so it was reasonable that reporters might have a few questions about it.

"Why should this president have any credibility to Americans in what he says if, in fact, 24 hours later — or in this case, three hours later — the White House comes out and says, 'Just kidding'?" asked Jackson.

[rebelmouse-image 19397475 dam="1" original_size="750x537" caption="Jackson trying to ask Sanders her question. Photo from White House/YouTube." expand=1]Jackson trying to ask Sanders her question. Photo from White House/YouTube.

As press secretaries (in this administration, as well as previous ones) have a tendency to do when backed into a corner on a question they might not have the answer to, Sanders offered a quick response to Jackson and called on another reporter before she got any follow-up questions.

This time, though, it didn't work. A journalist from a competing outlet threw the question back to Jackson. It was remarkable.

"I'm going to keep moving. Jordan, go ahead," Sanders said, calling on Jordan Fabian, a reporter at The Hill.

[rebelmouse-image 19470465 dam="1" original_size="500x281" caption="All GIFs from White House/YouTube." expand=1]All GIFs from White House/YouTube.

Jackson persisted, but once again, Sanders cut her off and threw the question over to Fabian.

And once Fabian got it? He gave it right back to Jackson.

Journalism is an extremely competitive industry — but every once in a while, reporters join together in solidarity to advance the underlying goal of obtaining information.

Earlier in July, people wondered whether the tradition of setting aside professional competition for the sake of ensuring an equal and free press — this is exactly why the White House Correspondents Association came into existence — had fallen by the wayside. During a July 13 joint press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May, Trump waved off CNN's Jim Acosta, saying, "I don't take questions from CNN. CNN is fake news. John Roberts of Fox. Let's go to a real network. John, let's go." Roberts did, frustrating his colleagues.

A number of media personalities chimed in to note that when the Obama administration expressed irritation with the way Fox covered them, they were there to come to Fox's defense.

In response to that criticism, the Trump administration cancelled a planned appearance by National Security Advisor John Bolton on CNN's "State of the Union," citing the network's "disrespect" for the president. This tactic of withholding access to encourage more favorable coverage can only work if other media outlets let it. On July 15, ABC's Jon Karl pressed Bolton on that exact issue, a big win for journalistic solidarity — something that clearly carried over to the July 18 press briefing.

The professional courtesy exhibited between Jackson and Fabian should be the norm.

All politicians and all administrations lie. The Trump administration, however, is in a league of its own. Trump has told more than 2,000 individual public lies since becoming president, according to a Toronto Star report. Trump then acts as though he's being disrespected when a journalist does their job and calls him on it.

For the sake of the truth, here's hoping that journalists continue to stick up for one another.

Watch the full exchange below (starting at about 16:33).

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It's not easy facing a bully, but what do you do when you're confronted with a whole mob of them?

During President Donald Trump's visit to London last week, a crowd of his supporters and anti-Muslim protesters rallied in central London.

The protesters fixated their attention on a bus driven by a headscarf-wearing woman. The mob held up Islamophobic and pro-Trump signs, some shouted racial epithets, and a topless man ran up to the windshield and began verbally assaulting the driver.


It's hard to imagine what to do when you're targeted in a heated situation like that, but one inspiring photo showed the woman's powerful response: a smile.

The photo went viral in admiration of how she remained so calm, collected, and unfazed by the mob of protesters.

However, some people disagree with celebrating the bus driver's calmness. In their opinion, fascists and racists shouldn't be afforded civility.

Acts of racism like this are increasing at an alarming rate — particularly in the U.K.

In the United Kingdom, the Muslim and South Asian communities are often targeted by the English Defense League — a white supremacist organization — and far-right politicians. In June 2017, two Muslim cousins were attacked with acid in a hate crime. In October 2017, the U.K. Home Office released a report revealing a 29% increase in hate crimes compared with the previous year. Furthermore, out of all the hate crimes between 2016 and 2017, 78% were racially motivated.

But the headscarf-wearing woman is setting an example and offering us a glimpse of hope. She kept doing her job and refused to be baited by their hate. Despite the racist protests and scare tactics used, we still know that we're on the right side of history.

If you're an American who's not so sure what the difference is between Great Britain, the United Kingdom, and England, you're not alone.

During his recent trip to London, President Donald Trump showed he isn't exactly up to speed on the terminology either. In an interview with Piers Morgan, Trump was asked about the incentive for the United States to work out a trade agreement with the United Kingdom, Trump stumbled a bit:

"We would make a great deal with the United Kingdom because they have product that we like. I mean they have a lot of great product. They make phenomenal things, you know, and you have different names — you can say 'England,' you can say 'U.K.,' you can say 'United Kingdom' so many different — you know you have, you have so many different names — Great Britain. I always say: 'Which one do you prefer? Great Britain? You understand what I’m saying?'"

When Morgan stepped in to note that Great Britain and the U.K. weren't exactly the same, Trump said, "Right, yeah. You know I know, but a lot of people don't know that. But you have lots of different names."


A look at the British Isles.

He's probably right about that last part, and to be totally real, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Should you find yourself in a situation where that kind of knowledge is useful, here's a quick guide.

There's a lot of overlap between the British Isles, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. For instance, England is part of all three groups, and all that overlap can make it a little tricky to remember the distinctions. (Full disclosure: I wasn't personally up to speed on this until just a few years ago so don't feel bad if you're not either.)

The British Isles

The British Isles aren't a country or political alliance. This is just a geographic term used to describe England, Wales, Scotland, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the small islands spread out along the coasts. There probably aren't too many contexts where you'll need to use this term, but it's good to know.

The British Isles.

The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is a sovereign state made up of four separate countries: England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Until 1922, the Republic of Ireland was also part of the United Kingdom. London is the capital of the United Kingdom. The area's formal name is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Knowing this, it's pretty easy to guess what Great Britain is...

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Each of the four individual countries has its own flag.

From top left, clockwise: Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales.

But together, they're all represented under the Union Jack.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The flag combines elements of the English, Northern Irish, and Scottish flags. It's also known as the Union Jack.

Great Britain

Great Britain is the United Kingdom without Northern Ireland. It's made up of England, Wales, and Scotland. One way to remember the difference between the United Kingdom and Great Britain is that the United Kingdom unites two separate islands, whereas Great Britain is all part of one basic landmass. It's important not to use Great Britain and the United Kingdom interchangeably for a number of political reasons.

Great Britain.

This all probably seems pretty silly, but these are questions that do come up from time to time. Now, odds are that none of us are ever going to find ourselves in the position of being the President of the United States asked in an interview about this, but you never really know when you'll end up in an "Oh man, what's the difference between the United Kingdom and Great Britain?" pickle. For those moments, feel free to bookmark this page.