Vice President JD Vance’s 41st birthday trip to kayak with his family on the Little Miami is drawing considerable attention. While U.S. Secret Service raised water levels, it was for security reasons and done without the vice president’s knowledge. Many in the media are claiming the levels were raised to create “ideal kayaking conditions.” Sources tell The Daily Signal otherwise, however.
On Wednesday, The Guardian reported that “JD Vance’s team had water level of Ohio river raised for family’s boating trip,” citing anonymous sources to claim that changing the water levels was done to create “ideal kayaking conditions” for the vice president.
One source with knowledge of the matter who communicated with the Guardian anonymously alleged that the outflow request for the Caesar Creek Lake was not just to support the vice-president’s Secret Service detail, but also to create “ideal kayaking conditions.” The Guardian could not independently confirm this specific claim.
The news raises questions about whether Vance’s office was potentially exploiting public infrastructure resources for his personal recreation at a time when the Trump administration has cut billions of dollars in foreign aid, scientific research, and government jobs as part of its “efficiency” drive.
“The Secret Service often employs protective measures without the knowledge of the vice president or his staff, as was the case last weekend,” a Vance spokesperson told The Daily Signal.
Other outlets joined in on covering the vice president’s trip from such an angle. Some headlines are more damning than others.
HuffPost claimed that “JD Vance Had A River’s Water Level Raised For His Family Vacation.” A similar headline from the Daily Beast claimed that “JD Vance Ordered a River’s Water Level Raised for His Family Boat Trip.” The New Republic published an opinion piece from Malcolm Ferguson, “JD Vance Abused Power to Raise River Levels for Family Kayaking Trip,” with the subheadline adding, “The vice president saw no problem with the request.”
Outrage took off over social media as well. MeidasTouch used a photo of Vance from his fishing trip with the “Ruthless” podcast hosts to claim it was the vice president who had the levels raised.
Such a post was mocked by one of the “Ruthless” co-hosts, John Ashbrook.
Tommy Vietor, a co-host for “Pod Save America” who served as a staffer for former President Barack Obama, used a screenshot of The Guardian’s article to mock Vance.
There are proposed Community Notes posts for both MeidasTouch and Vietor.
A statement from a source familiar with the situation rebuked the critics of the vice president and provided further context.
“Secret Service did a joint scouting mission with public safety officials on the Little Miami River ahead of the Vice President’s trip. One of the public safety boats ran aground during that joint scouting mission,” the source told The Daily Signal. “USSS then made the call to raise the water level on the Little Ohio River during the VP’s trip for security reasons. Claims that the water level was raised to improve kayaking conditions are false.”
The Secret Service also provided a statement to The Daily Signal.
“The vice president’s office was not involved in the Secret Service’s decision to raise water levels during a recent trip to Ohio,” said Chief of Communications for the United States Secret Service Anthony Guglielmi. “It was operationally necessary to adjust the water levels to accommodate the motorized watercraft used by the Secret Service, local law enforcement, and emergency responders. These decisions were made solely by agents during our standard advance planning process and did not involve the Office of the Vice President. As with every protective mission, we work meticulously with our partners to develop and implement security plans that ensure the safety of our protectees.”
Donald Trump Jr., in a quoted repost of media influencer Benny Johnson, referenced Guglielmi in his post.
Snopes also got involved to provide more context, with a mention of the local utility doing the same for former Vice President Al Gore during his presidential campaign for 2000, without a request from his team.
The Guardian claimed that the vice president’s office did not respond to request for comment. As of Friday morning, there is no indication the piece has been corrected.
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