Vice President JD Vance on Monday celebrated his mother’s ten year anniversary of sobriety sharing photos of their celebration at the White House.
‘This year marks my mom’s 10th year of sobriety, and I’m grateful that we were able to celebrate in the White House with our family,’ Vance wrote on social media.
The vice president shared photo of he and his mother Beverly Aikins and members of their family at the White House for the celebration.
‘Mom, I am so proud of you,’ he said.
The vice president hosted about 20 members of his family at the White House to mark the celebration, which he previewed during his speech at the 2024 Republican convention in July after introducing his mother to the world.
‘And you know mom, I was thinking, it will be 10 years officially in January of 2025 and if President Trump ‘s okay with it, lets have the celebration in the White House,’ he said prior to the 2024 election.
Vance recalled his convention speech and the promise to his mother.
‘Well, here we are. And you made it, and we made it. And most importantly, you’re celebrating a very, very big milestone. And I’m just very proud of you,’ he said, according to the Washington Examiner’s Selena Zito who was present for the event.
JD Vance and his mother Beverly Aikins at the White House
JD Vance and his mother Beverly Aikins celebrate at the White House
‘I’m, I’m gonna try not to cry here,’ he added, after tearing up.
Vance detailed his mother’s struggle with addiction and how it affected him in his best-selling book Hillbilly Elegy.
While working as a nurse, Aikins became addicted to Vicodin and was caught stealing and selling prescription drugs from her hospital and lost her license and her job.
She then moved on to heroin, and Vance admitted he thought he had lost her to drugs, and that his children would never know their grandmother.
‘When I think about everything you’ve accomplished over the last 10 years and the fact that when I was thinking about becoming a father, I didn’t know whether you would live long enough to have a relationship with my kids,’ he said.
But ten years later, Aikins was at the White House with her family to receive her tenth anniversary of sobriety medal, with her three grandchildren Ewan, Vivek, and Mirabel watching.
‘Now here they are, almost 8, 5, and 3, and you’re the best grandmother that these kids could ever ask for,’ Vance said.
JD was born in Middletown, Ohio, but his father, Donald, left when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Bev, who worked as a nurse, to raise him and his older sister, Lindsay, alone
JD Vance’s mother celebrates the tenth year of her sobriety at a White House ceremony
Aikins successfully regained her nursing license and now works at a substance abuse treatment center, helping other people struggling with addiction.
Vance celebrated his mom’s recovery and her ability to connect with people and encourage them. He also gave his mother one of the president’s challenge coins to mark the occasion.
‘One of the things I love about Mom is that she just treats you the same. Whether you are the president of the United States, whether you’re a beloved family member, whether you’re an addict who is celebrating not 10 years but 10 hours of sobriety, you’re always a friend to Mom. You’re always a family member to Mom. And you’re always somebody that you know, she’s always somebody you can rely on,’ he said.
Aikins thanked her family for being present at the White House celebration.
She admitted she hit ‘rock bottom’ when her parents died but that the toll her addictions took on her relationship with her surviving family helped her recover.
‘I love my family more than anything. I pray a lot more, and hopefully, God gives me several more years to watch these guys grow up. I love you all,’ she said. ‘Thank you so much for being here. Now, let’s celebrate.’
