JD Vance gets Secret Service nickname ‘Bobcat’
Candidates are usually given a list to choose from, and many decide on the one that has personal meaning to them.
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Candidates are usually given a list to choose from, and many decide on the one that has personal meaning to them.
Vice presidential candidate JD Vance has been issued a new Secret Service codename in the wake of the assassination attempt on President Trump in Bulter, Pennsylvania earlier this month. He has been given the nickname "Bobcat," according to the Daily Mail, citing a close friend of Vance.
The US Secret Service issues codenames for presidents, vice presidents, first ladies, and other high-profile individuals who are under the agency's protection. While codenames are selected by "sheer whim," a secret service agent told the Washington Post, they usually have a connection to the protectee's personal life history.
President Trump selected the Republican senator from Ohio to be his running mate during the Republican National Convention (RNC) earlier this month. Vance's codename "Bobcat" refers to the senator's life as detailed in his best-selling 2016 memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy." "Bobcats" is the mascot for Vance's alma matter, Breathitt County High School in Jackson, Kentucky, where Trump's running mate grew up. The senator also has a love for football and "Bobcats" is the mascot of Ohio University.
The codenames are kept simple which allows for the ease of communication for Secret Service during high-pressure situations. Candidates are usually given a list to choose from, and many decide on the one that has personal meaning to them.
President Trump's codename is "Mogul," though he originally asked to be called "Humble," and First Lady Melania Trump is nicknamed the "Muse."
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