The 41-year-old made the original remark on Wednesday during a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi, held in memory of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Vance, a practising Catholic who converted in 2019, said on Friday that criticism of his comments reflected 'anti-Christian bigotry.' (Photo: Getty Images)
US VICE PRESINDENT JD Vance has defended his statement that he hopes his wife, Usha, who was raised as a Hindu, converts to Christianity.
Vance, a practising Catholic who converted in 2019, said on Friday that criticism of his comments reflected “anti-Christian bigotry.”
The 41-year-old made the original remark on Wednesday during a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi, held in memory of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. He was asked about raising their three children in an interfaith marriage.
“Do I hope eventually that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved in by church? Yeah, I honestly do wish that,” Vance said.
“But if she doesn’t, then God says everybody has free will, and so that doesn’t cause a problem for me.”
Vance, who has been mentioned by President Donald Trump as a potential candidate in the 2028 US election, later responded to criticism on social media.
Replying to a user on X who accused him of throwing the Second Lady’s religion “under the bus” to please right-wingers, Vance wrote: “What a disgusting comment, and it’s hardly been the only one along these lines.”
“She is not a Christian and has no plans to convert, but like many people in an interfaith marriage — or any interfaith relationship — I hope she may one day see things as I do,” he added.
Usha Vance was born in San Diego to parents who emigrated from India. She told Fox News in 2024 that her parents’ Hindu faith helped make them “really good people.”
Vance was raised as an evangelical Christian in a difficult upbringing, which he described in his memoir Hillbilly Elegy.
The couple met while studying at Yale Law School and married in 2014.
Since converting to Catholicism five years later, Vance has often spoken about how his faith shapes his conservative political views.
(With inputs from agencies)
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FILE PHOTO: (Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
A US court has ordered the release of Indian American defence expert Ashley Tellis ahead of his trial on espionage-related charges, while his lawyers described the case as “an overreach against a patriot.”
Tellis, a naturalised US citizen and long-time adviser to Washington, was arrested on October 11 for allegedly removing classified files from a government facility.
He currently works as a consultant with the US State Department and is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Investigators said more than a thousand documents marked classified were found at his Virginia home, along with three trash bags containing sensitive material. Court filings also claimed he had met Chinese officials several times in recent years, though it remains unclear whether he shared any classified information.
During a preliminary hearing before Judge Lindsey Robinson Vaala in the Eastern District of Virginia, Tellis’ defence team said the case reflected “misguided suspicion in an era of US-China paranoia.”
They argued that the documents were routine work materials from decades of public service, inadvertently retained rather than deliberately hidden.
“There was no malice, no covert intent – only a lifetime devoted to understanding and strengthening US national security,” his lawyers told the court. They added that Tellis’ meetings with Chinese officials were open academic exchanges and had been fully declared during regular security checks.
The judge approved Tellis’ release under strict conditions, including home detention, local monitoring, and electronic surveillance. He was ordered to surrender his passport and limit internet access. His wife co-signed a $1.5 million secured bond backed by their family home.
Judge Vaala cited Tellis’ long US residency, strong community ties, marriage to a US citizen, and family presence nearby as reasons to believe he posed no flight risk. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 4.
Court records alleged that Tellis accessed, printed, and removed classified Air Force manuals from the Pentagon’s Mark Center in Virginia, disguising one file as “Econ Reform.” Surveillance footage reportedly captured him placing printed material into a briefcase before leaving the facility.
Tellis, who played a key role in negotiating the 2008 India-US civil nuclear deal, previously served on the National Security Council during president George W Bush’s administration. His lawyers say he will fully cooperate with the investigation.
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