VP pick JD Vance could be the first bearded office-holder in the White House in decades

Republican vice presidential pick Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance is breaking from traditional political aesthetics with his beard.

Despite the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris is the first woman elected to the executive branch, U.S. presidents and vice presidents have not had facial hair in office for decades.

If Donald Trump wins the election, Vance would have the first facial hair in the White House since Harry S. Truman's goatee, according to The Wall Street Journal . Judging by the presidential and vice presidential portraits , the last full beard among presidents and vice presidents was worn by Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd President who served from 1889 until 1893.

Even before Trump named Vance as his running mate, the beard was flagged as a potential problem. Apparently, it wasn't enough to deter Trump from bringing the Ohio senator on as his running mate.

Why did Donald Trump pick JD Vance? Loyalty, MAGA views and fundraising

Trump said Vance looks like 'a young Abraham Lincoln'

Vance did not always have a beard while in the public eye. When his 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" was adapted to a Netflix movie, Vance made television appearances in 2020 clean-shaven.

By the time he made a play for Ohio's U.S. senator seat in 2022, he began sporting his salt-and-pepper beard.

The beard became a potential roadblock for Vance going up against a long list of VP contenders , as Trump is known to dislike beards.

But Trump had already determined it wasn't an issue in a recent Fox News radio interview.

“He still looks good, he looks like a young Abraham Lincoln,” Trump said.

Contributing: Zac Anderson

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: VP pick JD Vance could be the first bearded office-holder in the White House in decades