JD Vance trains with Navy SEALs—says it hit like ‘a freight train’

“Just finished PT with the Navy SEALs for 90 minutes,” Vance wrote on X, adding, “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 keep the highest standards anywhere in the world!”

The training took place at the base that hosts the SEALs’ famously demanding BUD/S program, including “Hell Week,” per the New York Post, which only about 20 percent of trainees complete. Vance’s appearance mirrors similar fitness-focused efforts by War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has promoted stricter physical standards and limited beards.

Vance, the only participant pictured with a beard during the workout, has praised Hegseth’s push for higher standards in the military and previously remarked, “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.”

Some SEALs’ faces were blurred in images from the workout. The event also aligns with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative. Vance served in the Marines from 2003 to 2007, including a deployment to Iraq, and has frequently said that experience shaped his foreign policy views.

The workout with the SEALs comes after Vance's trip to Arizona where he spoke to attendees at America Fest. Vance overwhelmingly won the straw poll for the 2028 GOP presidential race among those in attendance.