Her husband might be running for vice president, but if you weren’t already following closely it would be easy to miss Usha Vance’s appearances at his campaign events.
Since JD Vance became Donald Trump’s running mate at the Republican National Convention more than a month ago, Usha Vance has largely taken a page from Melania Trump’s playbook and remained quiet on the campaign trail.
Asked for details about Usha’s appearances, Taylor Van Kirk, a spokesperson for Senator Vance, told the Daily Beast, “Usha has appeared at multiple events on the campaign trail with her husband and is literally with him on the trail today. What a silly story.”
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Nonetheless, the lawyer hasn’t taken the same kind of active role that Democratic VP hopeful Tim Walz’s wife, Gwen, has embraced. Whereas the Democrat has been headlining fundraisers and using her “teacher voice” to slam the Republican ticket, Vance’s stops have mostly been limited to smiles and nice-to-meet-yous.
Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance carries his daughter Maribel Vance as he and his wife Usha greet supporters at the Park Diner in St Cloud, Minnesota.
Stephen Maturen/Getty ImagesVance has stood by her husband’s side on at least seven occasions since the RNC, including at an event in Reno and at the Milwaukee Police Association. She greeted voters at a diner in St. Cloud, Minnesota in July and last week joined him at Gordon’s Butcher & Market in Erie, Pennsylvania, a somewhat ironic location for the would-be second lady.
“My wife’s vegetarian, I’m obviously not,” the senator said. “It’s funny that we go to a place like this, and they were like, ‘Well, maybe you shouldn’t bring your wife here, ‘cause she’s vegetarian.’ And I’m like, ‘No, no, no, she loves this stuff.’”
Local media covered the senator’s visit, but illustrated it with a photo that didn’t include his wife.
She has spoken publicly at length only a few times, introducing her husband at the Republican National Convention and sitting down with Fox News a month ago, where she did defend his controversial “cat ladies” comment.
J.D. Vance (R-OH) walks on stage with his wife, Usha before speaking at a rally at a trucking company in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Jeff Swensen/Getty Images“The reality is, he made a quip in service of making a point that he wanted to make that was substantive,” she said. “And it had actual meaning. And I just wish sometimes that people would talk about those things and that we would spend a lot less time just sort of going through this three-word phrase or that three-word phrase.”
Of course, she has other responsibilities. Vance only stepped down from her firm in July after her husband joined the Republican ticket, saying, “In light of today’s news, I have resigned from my position at Munger, Tolles & Olson to focus on caring for our family.”
The couple have three children under 8, including a 2-year-old daughter.
