Former first lady Melania Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance’s wife Usha have something in common, Donald Trump revealed to his new running mate’s wife.
The Vances were at an event with Trump last month when the former president asked Usha what she thought of being in political life having a senator as a husband.
When she gave an indifferent response, Trump replied with an expletive and said his wife Melania ‘hated it too,’ which sparked laughter from Usha, according to a New York Times report on the new vice presidential candidate.
Melania Trump largely remained absent from the 2020 and 2024 campaign trail after having a more public role in her husband’s first bid for the White House in 2016.
After months of speculation and narrowing of the shortlist, Trump announced on Monday he selected Sen. Vance as his running mate. Just an hour later, delegates at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin voted Vance as their vice presidential nominee for November.
Sen. J.D. Vance’s wife Usha (left) appeared to tell Donald Trump that she doesn’t have much interest in political life during an event last month, a new report reveals
Trump announced on Monday he selected Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate for the 2024 election. Pictured: The President’s ear remains bandaged after he was struck with a bullet in an assassination attempt on Saturday
Speaking with Fox & Friends last month about the prospects of her husband becoming Trump’s running mate, Usha revealed her concern about being in the limelight of MAGA world.
‘I don’t know if anyone is ever ready for that kind of scrutiny,’ she said. ‘I think we found the first campaign he embarked on to be a shock. It was so different from anything we had ever done before, but it was an adventure.’
Mrs. Vance is an extremely accomplished woman in her own right.
She is an Ivy League educated litigator who once clerked for Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts.
Usha and J.D. met while they were both students at Yale Law School in 2013. In the senator’s book Hillbilly Elegy, Vance describes her as his ‘Yale spirit guide.’
They married one year out of law school in 2014 and had their first child, Ewan Blaine in 2017. They also have a second son, Vivek, and welcomed a daughter Mirabel in December 2021.
The couple are raising their three children in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Trump told Usha his wife Melania ‘hated it too,’ which sparked laughter from Usha, according to a New York Times report on the new vice presidential candidate.
Sen. J.D. Vance and Usha Chilukuri Vance enter the Republican National Convention arena at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Monday after delegates officially nominated Sen. Vance as the Republican vice presidential nominee in November
When her husband jumped into the 2022 Ohio Senate race, Usha was spotted throughout the state at campaign events and appeared in his first ads where she talked about Vance’s upbringing and having him by her side as a husband and parent to their children.
She’s described him as an incredible father and her best friend.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and South Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum were among the final three Trump was considering to join his ticket in November.
Before Trump selected Vance as his running mate, a large effort was conducted to try and dissuade him from choosing the Ohio senator.
The last-minute efforts reached right to the final hours before the announcement on Monday afternoon with Republican donors like hedge fund magnate Ken Griffin and media mogul Rupert Murdoch trying to avert the Vance decision.
Usha and JD Vance with their three children. They welcomed their first child, Ewan Blaine, in 2017. They also have a second son, Vivek, and welcomed daughter Mirabel in December 2021
Murdoch dispatched senior executives and New York Post columnists to meet with Trump and argue the case against Vance, according to the Times report.
Those in Murdoch’s circle wanted to see Burgum join the Republican ticket in 2024.
But Trump didn’t like the fact that Burgum would publicly cry, as reported by DailyMail.com.
‘When I see a man cry I view it as a weakness,’ Trump once said.
Several people with knowledge of the outreach effort told the Times that Trump’s 2016 campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, who is close with Melania, privately argued for alternative options, including Rubio.