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Associate reporter
Vice President JD Vance received major backlash after telling a crowd of young conservative college students Thursday he hopes “eventually” his Hindu wife, second lady Usha Vance, is “moved” by the same thing that drew him to his Christian faith.
“As I’ve told her and I’ve said publicly and I’ll say now in front of 10,000 of my closest friends, do I hope eventually that she [Usha] is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved in by church? Yeah,” Vance admitted at a Turning Point USA-sponsored event at the University of Mississippi.
“I honestly, I do wish that, because I believe in the Christian gospel, and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way, but if she doesn’t, then God says everybody has free will, and so that doesn’t cause a problem for me,” he continued.
The vice president’s remarks were in response to a multi-part question about immigration raised by a guest, asking, in part, “How are you teaching your kids not to keep your religion ahead of their mother’s religion?”
The guest also raised concerns over the relationship between MAGA conservatism and Christianity.
“Why are we making Christianity one of the major [things] that you have to have in common to be one of you guys to show that I love America, just as much as you do?” the guest asked. “Why is that still a question? Why do I have to be a Christian?”
The vice president told the guest that while his wife grew up in a Hindu family, it was “not a particularly religious one” and that they would have both considered themselves agnostic or atheist when they first met.
Vance told the crowd his wife is now coming to church with him most Sundays and that they decided to raise their children under his faith.
Vance’s comments about his marriage and family drew some backlash online.
Nirmalya Dutta, an editorial consultant at The Times of India, called the vice president a “hypocrite.” He posted a clip from Fox News where the second lady said she “grew up in a religious household” and noted that her faith inspired Vance to explore his own.
JD is a class A hypocrite. What he said about Usha’s faith in the past and now… pic.twitter.com/LTnVvkoSP2
“I’m sorry, they have been married for 11 years and he is somehow still hoping she will change religions? And saying it in public?” Democratic strategist Ally Sammarco wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “If I’m her, I’m PISSED.”
“It’s weird to throw your wife’s religion under the bus, in public, for a moment’s acceptance by groypers,” Canadian media personality Ezra Levant said in a post that now appears to have been deleted.
Vance called Levant’s post a “disgusting comment” and also responded to the criticism he’s received as a whole.
He called his wife the “most amazing blessing I have in my life” and clarified that she encouraged him “to reengage” with his faith many years ago.
“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,” Vance wrote. “Regardless, I’ll continue to love and support her and talk to her about faith and life and everything else, because she’s my wife.”
The government shutdown puts millions at risk of losing food assistance — and Trump and lawmakers are MIA. We're covering the devastating consequences of the government's inaction. Support the journalism that holds our leaders to account.
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We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.
Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again.
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What a disgusting comment, and it’s hardly been the only one along these lines.
First off, the question was from a person seemingly to my left, about my interfaith marriage. I’m a public figure, and people are curious, and I wasn’t going to avoid the question.
Second, my… https://t.co/JOzN7WAg3A
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