Wednesday was an embarrassment of riches for JD Vance haters, but for the vice president, it was just an embarrassment. And it’s partially due to his wife, Usha Vance. Two separate clips of the couple went viral for different reasons, neither of which was particularly good for the president’s second-in-command.
Podcast Clip Sparks Awkwardness
One clip came from a special Father’s Day edition of Usha’s podcast, “Storytime with the Second Lady,” showing the vice president awkwardly tapping the knee of the mother of his children, causing her to appear to flinch at his touch. The other clip, from a June 14 interview with CBS News, shocked many on social media, as it could be interpreted as Usha taking a subtle jab at her husband’s conversion to Catholicism as an adult, which is the focus of his new book, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.”
Usha Vance was raised Hindu, and although her husband has previously said he’d love for her to convert to his faith, her comment on the issue suggested it isn’t going to happen. Her reasoning came across to some on social media as a not-small helping of shade at the “Hillbilly Elegy” author’s dysfunctional past, which included an impoverished childhood with a mother who struggled with drug addiction.
CBS Interview Goes Viral
After CBS reporter Robert Costa asked her if her husband’s journey of faith affected her own, she explained that it’s been more “personal” for him. “I grew up in a Hindu household that was a very stable household. I have not felt the same need to seek something different that he (JD Vance) has,” she said. “So I think the journey has been more in our relationship, right? Trying to understand where he is, the different ways he’s thinking about things, how that fits into the life that we have together ... and less a religious journey of my own.”
The exchange went viral on Wednesday after India Today journalist Shashank Mattoo posted about it on X. Social media reactions poured in, with many interpreting her words as a pointed critique. One user wrote, “Usha is literally saying 'I'm not from a broken family so I didn't feel the need to convert to another religion.'” Another commented, “She was pointing out that he grew up in an unstable household and felt the need to change his religious views for that reason. JD claimed to be an Atheist when he married her. Then 'converted' to Catholicism iirc in the late 2010s.”
Mixed Reactions Online
Some saw her remarks as a brutal read, with one user saying, “This might be the nastiest read I’ve ever seen someone give sitting next to a person.” Others criticized her, stating, “She seems like a real smart ass for trying to humiliate her husband in this way. A good wife would have probably just said that she hasn't yet come to believe in Catholicism personally.” Yet others defended her, noting that “religion is a personal journey” and that Vance opened the door to this line of questioning through his own discussions about faith over the past year.
The complete interview is available online, with Usha Vance’s comments about her “very stable household” coming around the 1:51 mark. According to reports, the incident has further fueled debates about the couple's dynamic and JD Vance's political image.
