JD Vance Dresses Like A Typical Midwest Dad When Away From Trump

JD Vance has earned a ton of compliments from Donald Trump over his appearance (obvs), but it turns out the next vice president is a whole lot more laid back when he's away from his running mate. Case in point: his Thanksgiving 2024 get-up, which was way less suit-and-tie and way more Midwest dad.

Far from Trump's Mar-a-Lago Thanksgiving party — where Elon Musk confirmed that he cares more about the president-elect than his own family — there was a degree of normality. Vance's celebrations with his family were decidedly more casual (although Musk did don an X shirt under a blazer at Trump's holiday dinner, obvs). For the occasion, Vance donned a blue golf shirt, slim gray jeans, and dark blue sneakers. Something tells us he didn't run that particular outfit choice by Trump. After all, it was Trump's former butler who once told the Independent Journal Review of his boss's sartorial choices, "You'll never just see him in a T-shirt and jeans, he's going to be in a suit."

We're not exactly surprised that, when it comes to his downtime, Vance prefers a more low-key look. Of course, this is someone who's built a personal brand of being "of the people." Plus, we've seen him go for similarly casual ensembles in the past. Such was the case when he took his son Vivek Vance on a fishing trip on the Kalamazoo River. For that outing, the "Hillbilly Elegy" author sported a zip-up hoodie, blue jeans, fishing boots, and a camo baseball cap (not a MAGA one, mind you). It was an appropriate look for a Midwest excursion, much like his casual outfit below fit the bill for a casual Thanksgiving dinner. However, we'd say the suit-loving Trump probably didn't love either look.

While we seriously doubt Donald Trump will ever take style cues from his 2024 running mate, it is worth mentioning that there was a time when he allowed for more casual fare. Granted, it was a very brief moment. Even so, as his former butler, Anthony Senecal, told the Independent Journal Review, back when Trump was into skiing, he actually donned some denim. "He had one pair of jeans he used to wear out to ski out West," Senecal divulged. 

Given all the expensive things Trump has owned over the years, one might assume he could have bought one or two more pairs to keep on rotation for those skiing trips. As we said, though, Trump spent as little time in them as possible. As Senecal pointed out, "When the skiing stopped, the jeans disappeared."

Somehow, we're not shocked that Trump's après-ski lewks were his signature suits. After all, this is someone whose outfit of choice for the Miami Grand Prix was a suit — soaring temperatures be damned. However, we hope he knows JD Vance probably won't be following in his footsteps, style-wise. Who knows? Maybe their different takes on fashion have contributed to why so many people are convinced Trump is already icing him out.