JD Vance trains with Navy SEALs in California: ‘Feel like I got hit by a freight train’

Vice President JD Vance took on a demanding 90-minute workout with Navy SEALs on Monday, tackling running, rope climbing, and log-carrying exercises that left him saying he felt “like I got hit by a freight train.”

The Marine veteran acknowledged that the SEALs had gone easy on him during the session at the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado in California, expressing gratitude for the Armed Forces’ dedication and discipline.

“Just finished PT with the Navy SEALs for 90 minutes,” Vance wrote on his personal X account. “They took it easy on me and I still feel like I got hit by a freight train. So grateful to all of our warriors who keep us safe and maintain the highest standards anywhere in the world!”

Four men in brown t-shirts carry a large wooden beam on their shoulders. — The vice president joined Navy SEALs in carrying a log for their training.

Coronado is home to the SEALs’ notoriously intense Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S) training, famous for its “Hell Week,” which only about 20% of candidates complete. Vance’s hands-on training follows a pattern set by War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who often shares social media clips of himself exercising alongside troops.

Hegseth, who implemented a policy in August limiting most service members from wearing beards, has encouraged a culture of fitness with the mantra “fit, not fat.” Vance, the only participant pictured with a beard during Monday’s session, praised Hegseth for upholding “very high standards.”

JD Vance training with Navy SEALs on a beach. — JD Vance ran with SEALS on a beach during the 90-minute workout.

JD Vance and another man climbing a rope net obstacle. — One of the exercises was a rope climb.

JD Vance training with Navy SEALs in California, paddling in two groups on small boats through ocean waves. — The vice president posted photos on social media of his workout with Navy Seals.

“When I was a young United States Marine, I did not have a beard. I am now the vice president. So I get to do what I want to do,” Vance told reporters in October regarding the policy.

Many SEALs’ faces were blurred in photos and videos shared publicly. The training also coincides with President Trump’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, highlighting the administration’s focus on fitness and readiness.

Vance, who served in the Marines from 2003 to 2007 and deployed to Iraq in 2005, has often described his military service as a formative influence on his America First approach to foreign policy.

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