The Marine who chose to dance with J.D. Vance on Inauguration Night performed a brief backstage session to “break the ice” and ease tensions before the 50th Vice President took the stage in front of America. He revealed that he was joking.
SSgt. Lexus Martinez, 27, is a native New Yorker who works as a food services specialist for the Marine Corps Noncommissioned Officer Aide Program, based in Washington, D.C., and hosts private events for high-ranking generals. , a corresponding program, believes that he was “lucky” to have been chosen to dance with him. Vice President, she told The Post on Wednesday.
“It felt surreal,” she said of being selected.
“It was kind of a lucky moment.”
Each branch of the military sent a member to dance with President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Mr. Vance, and President Trump. Second Lady Usha Vance Monday night at the Commander in Chief Ball at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
Martinez, who came to Washington, D.C., in April after three years as a recruiter in Smithtown, N.Y., said her unit was required to find Marines willing to dance with Vance, and that she had been working for a lifetime. He said he decided to apply for the opportunity once. .
The Brooklyn-born Marine found out he would be hitting the dance floor with his new Veep a week later, on Friday, the day before Inauguration Day.
On Sunday, she and other selected service members rehearsed without Trump and Vance, so the tension of the historic moment didn't hit her until she waited backstage for the ceremony to begin.
“President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance walked by and they just wanted to shake our hands and thank us for our service and recognize who they were dancing with,” Martinez said. Ta. At that time, the 50th Vice President said: Really Funny Jokes” were the ones that “broke the ice.”
“He said, 'Well, I hope you don't step on my toes.' And I said, 'Well, I'd appreciate it if you could teach me how to dance over there.'” And they both. I laughed for a while.
“It made me feel more relaxed,” Martinez said. “He still has that Marine humor.”
Vance served in the Marine Corps as a combat correspondent from 2003 to 2007, visiting Iraq once before retiring and attending Ohio State University on the GI Bill.
The father of three was also the first Veep to serve in the Marines.
During the dance, the two talked about Martinez's time in the Marines and where he was stationed during his nine-year career.
Before she knew it, the song was over, but thanks to the down-to-earth demeanor with which Vance, 40, met her, she walked away more confident than ever.
“He recognized me as a Marine and liked to joke around like that. In the Marine Corps, we're all family no matter what, so I felt like it was cool to be yourself. You’re a 24/7 Marine,” she explained.
“I was already talking to someone in the Brotherhood as if we were family. Everything felt so natural.”
After the dance, Martinez and other military members briefly returned to the stage to unroll a ceremonial cake for Trump and Vance before closing.
The Marine said her mother, sister (her “biggest fans”) and two brothers in New York couldn't be prouder to see their loved one dance on stage with the Vice President. spoke.
“The moment I got off stage, my phone was blown up,” she said, adding that even days after the ceremony, “my phone is still being bombed” by friends and family.
Martinez, who is Puerto Rican and said she has “family everywhere,” was slammed for expressing how proud they are of her, as her family “all over the world.”
“It really brought my family together so much.”
