Vice President JD Vance turned his home into Hogwarts for Halloween, dressing as Albus Dumbledore alongside his family.
Vance and President Donald Trump both marked the holiday, although Trump joked during a Halloween gathering at Mar-a-Lago that he had simply gone as himself.
Vance posed for a family portrait in his Hogwarts headmaster costume, while his infant son, Alec, appeared as Dobby the House-Elf.
Ewan, Vance and Usha’s eldest son, dressed as Harry Potter. Their two other children also wore costumes for the occasion.
Vance later shared a video of himself with his baby “elf” on social media, where he wished followers a happy Halloween.
“Hey guys, Vice President Dumbledore here, with little Dobby the Elf, wishing you a Happy Halloween. Have fun, be safe, eat a lot of candy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump appeared delighted to be away from the campaign trail as he celebrated Halloween at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night.
His costume, however, was a familiar one—Trump said he had dressed as himself, as many people have seen him do before.
JD Vance posed for a family photo dressed as the head of Hogwarts, while his baby son Alec wore a Dobby the House-Elf costume
Vance and President Donald Trump both celebrated Halloween, with Trump joking at a Mar-a-Lago event that he had dressed as himself
“I’ve spent nine hours getting ready,” he joked. “I had ten minutes, so I came as Donald Trump tonight! Hello everybody.”
Vance went viral last Halloween after dressing as one of the exaggerated online versions of himself that had become popular on social media.
Since Vance became Donald Trump’s running mate in the 2024 election, the internet has been filled with caricatures of the 41-year-old politician, many of them exaggerated or generated with artificial intelligence.
One of the best-known versions is a chubby, rosy-cheeked Vance with long, curly hair. The character is commonly referred to as “Fat JD.”
In a video shared online, the vice president opens his front door and tells viewers: “Happy Halloween, kids. And remember, say thank you.”
The clip then shows him spinning repeatedly with an eerie smile as the theme from The Twilight Zone plays.
The meme emerged after the dramatic confrontation involving Vance, Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A conservative journalist said at the time that Vance had seen the memes and found them amusing—a detail seemingly reinforced by his Halloween stunt.
Vice President JD Vance transformed his home into Hogwarts for Halloween and dressed as Dumbledore
Donald Trump speaks with members of the press as he arrives for a Halloween party at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach
Even some people who oppose Vance politically found the costume endearing, particularly because it showed that he was willing to laugh at himself.
JD, 41, and Usha, 40, have four children: Ewan, 9, Vivek, 6, Mirabel, 4, and Alec.
Usha has spoken about the challenge of ensuring that each of the older children receives individual time with their parents while the family manages their demanding public schedules.
Vance announced Alec’s birth in July.
Alec’s arrival marked a historic milestone for the executive branch: it was the first time in 156 years that a sitting vice president had welcomed a child while in office.
“Thank you for all the good wishes as we settle into life as a family of six,” the Second Lady wrote in a social media post accompanying a series of family photographs.
Usha added: “Meet Alec—and enjoy these attempts at taking a decent family photo with four kids!”
A source familiar with the family said it had been a joyful period for them as they looked forward to making memories and enjoying the early days with their newest child.
The three photographs shared by the Second Lady showed the family dressed in outfits suitable for Sunday church, newborn Alec wearing a blue onesie and his older siblings admiring their baby brother.
Pictured: Vice President JD Vance wears a long-haired wig modeled on the AI-generated caricatures of himself that have circulated on social media
Pictured: The meme Vance recreated with his Halloween costume
“Congratulations! A perfect baby boy for the wonderful Vance family,” Trump wrote on social media while sharing the newborn’s first photograph.
The image showed Alec’s older brother Vivek holding him in the hospital as Mirabel looked on with a smile.
The previous time an incumbent Second Family welcomed a newborn was in 1870, when Schuyler Colfax, vice president under Ulysses S. Grant, and his wife, Ellen, had a son.
Usha and JD first announced that they were expecting their fourth child in January.
In his memoir Communion, published this year, Vance wrote that he and Usha had decided not to have more children because of the demands of public life. He said that changed after the assassination of his close friend Charlie Kirk last fall.
“Something changed for Usha, and not long after we buried my friend, she became pregnant with our fourth child, a boy. One life was stolen from us, but another was given,” he wrote.
Usha has said that Erika Kirk’s regret over not having more children with her murdered husband was “very powerful,” but not the sole reason for her decision.
“I think I had already started to open my mind to the possibility,” she told CBS Sunday Morning.
