The 27-year-old marine who danced with JD Vance at the Commander in Chief ball Monday night has revealed what he told her to “break the ice.” Staff Sgt. Lexus Martinez, a native New Yorker, told the New York Post that she shared a brief laugh with the vice president after he made a joke backstage to calm her nerves.
Marine who danced with Vance at Commander in Chief ball reveals what VP said to calm her nerves
Martinez, who works as a food service specialist with the Washington, DC-based Marine Corps Enlisted Aide Program, reflected on her “surreal” moment at inauguration night. “It was a lucky moment kind of thing,” she told the outlet on Wednesday, referring to her selection as Vance's dance partner.
The marine revealed that while waiting backstage at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center Monday night, she first met Vance and President Donald Trump, who “walked by and they just wanted to shake our hands, thank us for our service and to get facial recognition of who they were dancing with.”
It was at that moment when the veep made a “really funny joke” that “broke the ice,” Martinez told the outlet. “He said, ‘Well, I hope you don’t step on my feet.’ And I said, ‘Well, I hope you teach me how to dance up there,’” she recalled. The hilarious moment helped the marine “feel more relaxed.”
“He still has that Marine Corps humor,” Martinez said of Vance, who took oath as the 50th vice president of the United States earlier this week. The 40-year-old served in the Marines from 2003 to 2007 as a combat correspondent. Vance is notably the first vice president to have served in the Marine Corps, per the outlet.
{{/usCountry}}“He still has that Marine Corps humor,” Martinez said of Vance, who took oath as the 50th vice president of the United States earlier this week. The 40-year-old served in the Marines from 2003 to 2007 as a combat correspondent. Vance is notably the first vice president to have served in the Marine Corps, per the outlet.
{{/usCountry}}Martinez went on to say, “Him acknowledging me as a Marine and just like joking with me in that way. It felt cool to just be myself because, in the Marines, we’re all family no matter what. You’re a Marine 24/7.” “I was talking to someone in the brotherhood like we were family already. It just all felt so natural,” she added.