Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) acknowledged — but did not condemn — white supremacist attacks targeting his wife, Usha Vance, because of her Indian heritage on Friday.
“Look, I love my wife so much. I love her because she is who she is,” former President Donald Trump’s running mate told Megyn Kelly on her SiriusXM show.
“It’s clear she’s not white, and we’ve been accused — attacked — by white supremacists for that,” he continued. ‘But I just love Usha. She is such a good mother, she is such a brilliant lawyer and I am so proud of her.”
Trump’s vice presidential pick, who faced backlash for going after “childless” Democrats in 2021 with a comment he recently called “sarcastic,” added that his wife’s experience has given him perspective given that things are “very difficult” for working families in America .
His comments come after Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist who has ever eaten with Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye West) and Trump at the Republican presidential candidate’s Mar-a-Lago estate, attacked Usha Vance earlier this month.
‘Who is this man anyway? Do we really expect the man who has an Indian wife and named their child Vivek to support white identity?” Fuentes said.
Usha Vance, a lawyer and child of Indian immigrants, could become the first Indian American to become second lady if the Trump-Vance ticket wins in November.
Critics on social media questioned JD Vance’s defense, including Kaivan Shroff, a Democratic commentator who shared the Ohio senator’s clip, calling it “such a weird” and “pathetic” way to respond to the attacks.