At the Republican National Convention, JD Vance’s wife Usha Chilukuri Vance said neither JD Vance nor she expected to be in this situation on Thursday. “But it’s hard to imagine a more powerful example of the American dream,” she said while introducing her husband after Donald Trump announced him as his running mate for the US presidential election.
Future Second Lady Usha Vance: “Neither JD nor I ever found ourselves in this position — but it’s hard to imagine a more powerful example of the American dream.”
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— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) July 18, 2024
Usha, the child of immigrant parents from Andhra Pradesh, shared her story from the RNC stage. Recalling their first meeting and the journey that led them to this moment, she said, “There was just one thing to do, to explain from the heart why I love and admire JD, why I stand with him today and why he would make a great Vice President of the United States.”
She explained how they met in law school, where JD was a “working class student” who “overcame childhood traumas” and served as a Marine in Iraq. “A strong Marine who served in Iraq, but whose best time was playing with puppies,” she said.
Usha highlighted the Ohio senator’s curious and enthusiastic approach to their differences when they first met, which included him adopting a vegetarian diet and learning to cook Indian food from her mother. “Although he is a meat and potatoes person, he adopted my vegetarian diet and learned to cook Indian food from my mother,” she said.
JD and Usha Vance met at Yale Law School and got married in 2014. The couple has three children – Evan, 6, Vivek, 4, and Mirabel, 2.
J.D. Vance also gave a powerful speech at the RNC, in which he spoke about his roots in small towns in Ohio and the economic challenges facing communities in the Rust Belt. He talked about the struggles of small towns in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and other states where jobs have been sent overseas and children sent off to war.
He vowed to be a champion for these forgotten communities, and promised he would never forget his humble beginnings. “I promise you this: I will be a Vice President who will never forget where he came from,” JD said.
“To the people of Middletown, Ohio, and all the forgotten communities in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and in every corner of our country, I will fight for you, I will stand with you, and I will never forget the struggles we face.”
