RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Vice President JD Vance made an unannounced visit to Mt. Rushmore Thursday.
The vice president was greeted by a crowd of people who waited in the heat after going through a Secret Secret checkpoint. David Lay from Illinois was among them.
“What a day it is to choose, just so excited and we actually saw the motorcade leaving and then we actually came back in because we though we maybe have a chance so, pretty excited,” said Lay.
Lay ultimately stuck around until the VP arrived.
Also waiting to the greet the VP, Gov. Larry Rhoden, who spoke with excited visitors before Vance showed up.
Rhoden told KOTA Territory News that it was a great coincidence that he found out about Vance’s trip just a few days after signing a memorandum of agreement with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to begin planning a fireworks celebration at Mount Rushmore next year. That fireworks show will be to celebrate America’s 250th birthday next year. Vice President Vance also received welcoming words from Rapid city Mayor Jason Salamun.
“We welcome any president of the United States to Rapid City South Dakota, and especially the vice president. Personally, I have a lot of respect for JD Vance. I think his story resonates with a lot of folks, and I think as a vice president we want to say welcome to Rapid City,” said Salamun.
There had been no official confirmation of Vance’s visit ahead of his arrival.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2025 KOTA. All rights reserved.