Usha Vance, the 39-year-old wife of Vice President JD Vance, has revealed that she has no intention of changing her appearance to fit into the stereotypical image of a Republican politician’s partner. In her first interview since taking on the role of Second Lady, Usha shared her thoughts on being an Indian-American woman in the political spotlight.
When asked about her experience as a woman of color in the “MAGAverse,” with its emphasis on blonde hair, Botox, and high-fashion looks, Usha laughed and responded, “It would be really hard for me to be blonde.” She explained that such a drastic change would look “totally absurd” and that she preferred to embrace her natural gray hair instead.
Usha noted that her reception into the political world has been overwhelmingly positive, despite not fitting the traditional mold. “I’m not from a particularly wealthy background, not from a fashion-oriented background,” she said. “But people don’t seem to care all that much what I look like.”
As the first Indian-American and first Hindu Second Lady, Usha’s journey into politics is unique. A Yale-educated lawyer, she left her prestigious job at a Washington, D.C. law firm when her husband became Donald Trump’s running mate. Usha admitted that the shift from high-powered lawyer to full-time political figure took some adjusting.
“The day before JD was selected—I didn’t know he was going to be selected—I was working as a lawyer,” she recalled. “I had the wardrobe of a mom with three kids who likes outdoor activities and owns a dog. Then, suddenly, a switch flipped, and it wasn’t like I got a whole new wardrobe or stylist.”
Despite these changes, Usha has found her experience in politics, including her husband’s transition from Ohio senator to a supporter of Trump, to be mostly positive. “People have just been quite accepting,” she said.
Usha also shared heartwarming encounters during her husband’s campaign, with supporters approaching her in public. “I remember a black woman came up to me, gave me a giant hug, and said, ‘I love you so much,'” she recalled.
During the interview, Usha was asked about her husband’s stance on race, particularly in relation to his support for the rehiring of Marko Elez, a staffer who was fired by Elon Musk for tweeting “normalize Indian hate.” Usha expressed disapproval of such comments, stating, “Do I think it’s great when people talk about ‘normalizing Indian hate’? Absolutely not. I think it’s terrible.”
However, she added that racist comments are not new, but rather, “our relationship to this information”—specifically the way it is consumed online—“is potentially new.”
