President Donald Trump and U.S. Vice President JD Vance in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., October 17, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
A top official for President Donald Trump has found himself embroiled in an embarrassing new scandal about their abuse of tax-funded privileges, with the D.C. insiders at Pod Save America exposing how the situation is the perfect example of "how to lose a presidential election."
Last week, MS NOW reported that Secret Service members were becoming "fed up" with the trips demanded of them by Vice President JD Vance, which some agents considered "inappropriate" and an "unprecedented use of government resources." This growing issue was typified by a recent request to use Marine Two, the vice president's military helicopter, as a means to take his son to a golf lesson in Washington, D.C.
"But the Secret Service staff’s complaints about a planned chopper ride for an elementary school student reflects a building morale problem inside the team of agents assigned to shield Vance and his young family, according to the two people and another person familiar with the agents’ frustration," the report detailed, later adding, "The agents pulled in to protect Vance and his family have also become 'fed up' with the last-minute travel demands that Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, frequently place on the security team, according to the two people and an additional source with knowledge of their travel who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals."
Reacting to this news in their latest episode, the former Obama administration officials at Pod Save America lambasted Vance for his flagrant abuse of his taxpayer-funded perks, suggesting that such wasteful indulgences could spell trouble for his 2028 prospects. Co-host Dan Pfeiffer, the former senior strategy and communications adviser for Barack Obama, said that the situation reminded him of another screw-up he heard about earlier in his career, which a colleague summed up as an "A-plus answer to the policy 101 question of how to lose a presidential election."
"This is that," Pfeiffer said.
He also added: "You were getting taxpayer-funded helicopter rides for your son's golf lessons? Not even, like, baseball game, boy scouts, charity work, it's f——king golf lessons?"
"Boy, are we a long way away from Hillbilly Elegy," co-host Jon Favreau responded.
