Culture Wars/Current Controversies

What Is Usha Vance Thinking?

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October 24, 2024
Since Usha Vance arrived on the national stage this summer, when her husband, J.D., was named to the Republican ticket, she’s been the target of a particular liberal disorder: projecting tangled allegiances and quiet resistance onto the non-elected women in Trump’s orbit. There is some real reason to wonder what Usha truly believes: She’s a former registered Democrat, a non-white daughter of immigrants, and a high-achieving female professional. Is she really onboard with the party that claims that immigrants are eating cats and dogs and that childless women are “sociopathic”? (We’ll put aside for now that it’s her husband, specifically, who’s said those things.) Reporter Irin Carmon spoke to many former and current friends and acquaintances of the Vances and learned that Usha has always held her cards close to the chest — but also that the couple may have originally intended for things to go quite differently. J.D. once considered taking Usha’s last name as his own, as well as being a stay-at-home dad. There is heated debate among the Vance associates who spoke to Irin about what’s driving Usha’s decisions. But does it matter? As one friend put it: “When people say leave Usha out of it — well, she’s in.”
—Katie Ryder, features editor, New York
 

What Is Usha Vance Thinking? The veep candidate’s wife is the child of immigrants, a former Democrat, a highly skilled lawyer — and a total mystery.
By Irin Carmon
Photo: Haiyun Jiang/Redux
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Categories: Culture Wars/Current Controversies, Economics/Class Relations

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