Usha Defends JD and Trump—And It's Not Convincing
Her job is to assure voters that JD isn’t really a hardcore MAGA nut, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Leave it to the wife to clean up the poop.
As even the great Simone Biles can attest, it’s hard to stay on the balance beam.
But give Usha Vance credit for trying.
On Monday, Mrs. JD Vance did her wifely duty and went on Fox News to defend her husband, assuring the nation that JD didn’t mean all the idiotic, nasty things he’s said. She also revealed a bit about herself and their differences—and that’s where the balancing act gets shaky and interesting.
Here are some highlights of her remarks on Fox:
JD’s “single cat ladies” comment was misunderstood. It was a “quip,” Usha explained. “What he was really saying is that it can be really hard to be a parent in this country, and sometimes our policies are designed in a way that make it even harder.”
Her husband is a sensitive guy who “would never, ever, ever want to say something to hurt someone who was trying to have a family.”
She and JD don’t always agree. “We come to different conclusions all the time. But that’s part of the fun of being married.”
Her evolution on Trump: “I’ve had several years since to kind of understand what it is that he is out to do. If I didn’t feel that the ticket, you know, the Trump-Vance ticket was able to do some real good for the country, then I wouldn’t be here supporting him and JD wouldn’t have done this.”
Nice try defending JD on the cat lady stuff. But how disingenuous. Usha knows damn well that her husband wasn’t talking about family policies when he launched into his tirades on childless women. And she also knows that his positions are not making it easier to have children. (He’s against expanding child tax credits, increasing paid family leave, and funding universal day care.) But whatever.
Also unconvincing was her description of how she transformed into a Trump supporter. After years of apparent unease about Trump (the Washington Post reported that she was horrified by the January 6 insurrection), she said she now “kind of understand[s] what it is that he is out to do,” and that a Trump-Vance ticket would “do some real good for the country.”
It’s hard to imagine a more lame explanation or a more tepid endorsement. Even Nikki Haley, who’s been an object of Trump’s scorn, has shown more enthusiasm (or hypocrisy) in her support for the former president.
(A fun sidenote: Fox asked Usha whether Melania has given her advice about adjusting to her new role—and she completely ignored the question.)
In small, almost imperceptible ways, she distanced herself from her husband’s far right views. Rather than vilifying those who are childless as “sociopathic,” “psychotic” and “deranged,” as JD has done, she signaled that she’s cool with their lifestyles. “I also understand there are a lot of other reasons why people may choose not to have families, and many of those reasons are very good,” she told Fox.
Of course, what perked up my ears is what Usha said about her marriage. When she said that “we come to different conclusions all the time,” she hinted that she and JD have a plethora of disagreements.
That wouldn’t be hard, considering all the extremist views JD has espoused. First and foremost, he’s an election denier who proclaimed, “I think the election was stolen from Trump.” And, yes, he also said he wouldn’t have certified the results if he had been vice president on January 6. On the reproductive front, he’s been against abortion even in the case of rape and incest, though he now says it’s up to the state to align with Trump’s revised position. He’s also an isolationist and a climate change denier. The list goes on. His positions are basically the greatest hits of the extreme right wing.
But whatever disagreements they might have on these issues—and I’m betting they have plenty—Usha is burying them. Her default position is that she has total faith in JD, come hell or high water: “What I never doubt about JD, even when I disagree about this or that, is his intention, what it is that he really wants to do.”
That raises a good question: What is JD’s intention? Does Usha know?
In the meantime, Usha will be trotted out to clean the mess that her husband keeps making. (Recently, Vance lauded a book by a far-right conspiracy nut who called the left “unhuman.”) Her job is to assure voters that JD isn’t really a hardcore MAGA fanatic, despite all the evidence to the contrary. The subliminal message she’s hoping to deliver is that JD can’t be that bad because, after all, he’s married to her—an intelligent woman who’s perfectly rational.
She’s got her work cut out for her. But she’ll do what she’s got to do—which is standing by her man and the MAGA ticket with a pleasant if somewhat vacant smile, while keeping the lid on her own views. How long she can maintain this delicate balance is anyone’s guess. Sooner or later, though, doesn’t everyone reach a tipping point?
Contact: chen.vivia@gmail.com
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