It’s official — JD Vance now has a Secret Service code name.
Now I realize that perhaps the Secret Service should spend more time actually protecting Presidents from snipers, and doing things like securing rooftops and getting rid of DEI agents, etc., etc., but hey at least they’re also focusing on the important things like giving people nicknames!
I kid (kind of).
Anyway, the code name is officially “Bobcat”:
JD Vance gets Secret Service nickname ‘Bobcat’https://t.co/1XtvoMrIjo
— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 28, 2024
The Secret Service has given JD Vance the codename “Bobcat.”
“Bobcat” has personal significance. It’s associated with both Ohio University and Breathitt County High School in Jackson, Kentucky – locations tied to Vance’s family and his bestselling memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy".…
— 🇺🇸ProudArmyBrat (@leslibless) July 28, 2024
The “Bobcat” code name has personal significance. It’s associated with both Ohio University and Breathitt County High School in Jackson, Kentucky – locations tied to Vance’s family and his bestselling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy”.
Fox News reports some additional details:
Vance’s Secret Service code name is “Bobcat,” according to the Daily Mail, citing a friend of Vance’s. Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump-Vance campaign for comment as well as to the Secret Service.
Secret Service code names are given to presidents, vice presidents, first ladies and other high-profile persons under the agency’s protection.
They once had a real cloak-and-dagger purpose to help protect the nation’s top leaders.
But these days, in the era of encrypted technology, the names are largely ceremonial and used for ease of communication in fast, high-pressure situations.
Code names are selected by “sheer whim,” a Secret Service spokesperson once told The Washington Post.
But they do appear to have some connection to the individual’s personal history or heritage. And note the alliteration of code names within families, said to be tradition.
Want to know some other code names of historical Presidents?
Trump of course is “Mogul” — very fitting.
So Mogul and Bobcat head up the MAGA Ticket in 2024.
Current and Recent Presidents
- Joe Biden: Celtic
- Donald Trump: Mogul
- Barack Obama: Renegade
- George W. Bush: Tumbler
- Bill Clinton: Eagle
- George H. W. Bush: Timberwolf
- Ronald Reagan: Rawhide
- Jimmy Carter: Deacon
- Gerald Ford: Passkey
- Richard Nixon: Searchlight
- Lyndon B. Johnson: Volunteer
- John F. Kennedy: Lancer
- Dwight D. Eisenhower: Providence
- Harry S. Truman: General
Earlier Presidents (No Known Codenames)
Presidents before Truman did not typically have Secret Service codenames, as the practice became more standardized around the mid-20th century. However, here are the names of Presidents who served between 1900 and Truman:
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Herbert Hoover
- Calvin Coolidge
- Warren G. Harding
- Woodrow Wilson
- William Howard Taft
- Theodore Roosevelt
And here are the Vice Presidents:
Vice Presidents
- Kamala Harris: Pioneer
- Mike Pence: Hoosier
- Joe Biden: Celtic (same as his presidential codename)
- Dick Cheney: Angler
- Al Gore: Sundance
- Dan Quayle: Scorecard
- George H. W. Bush: Timberwolf (same as his presidential codename)
- Walter Mondale: Cavalier
- Nelson Rockefeller: Sandstorm
- Spiro Agnew: Sawdust
- Hubert Humphrey: Mongoose
- Lyndon B. Johnson: Volunteer (same as his presidential codename)
And First Ladies:
First Ladies
- Jill Biden: Capri
- Melania Trump: Muse
- Michelle Obama: Renaissance
- Laura Bush: Tempo
- Hillary Clinton: Evergreen
- Barbara Bush: Tranquility
- Nancy Reagan: Rainbow
- Rosalynn Carter: Dancer
- Betty Ford: Pinafore
- Pat Nixon: Starlight
- Lady Bird Johnson: Victoria
- Jacqueline Kennedy: Lace
- Mamie Eisenhower: Springtime
- Bess Truman: Sunnyside
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!