Usha Vance, the enigmatic Second Lady of the United States, revealed in a new interview that she found out her husband, JD Vance, would be Donald Trump’s running mate just “five minutes” before the rest of the country did.
In a breezy but revealing sit-down with Meghan McCain, which aired on Thursday, Vance opened up about the whiplash moment that thrust her into national political life, and about her continued discomfort in the spotlight.
“It really felt like a bolt of lightning,” Vance said. “You don’t have an opportunity to think about it, or even to plan what it is that you’d like to do.”
The interview focused more on personal topics than politics and offered a rare look into the views of the former progressive lawyer, who previously worked at a law firm and had kept a low political profile.
In conversation with McCain, Vance repeatedly hinted that her current life is far from her dream scenario. “In my dream world, I’ll be able to live in my home and continue my career,” she said. “If that happens in four years, I understand. If that happens at some other point in the future, I understand. I’m just sort of along for the ride and enjoying it.”
She seemed eager to maintain some normalcy, describing herself as a “millennial person living in the world” who avoids hair-styling appointments, wears athleisure, and unwinds with Pilates and coffee runs.
But when asked about the pressure of being the first South Asian woman in the role, she downplayed it: “Maybe we’ve just sort of moved beyond trying to count firsts of everything,” she said. “I’m not sure — except when older Indian people kind of give me that look.”
Throughout the interview, Vance avoided taking political positions, instead reflecting on motherhood, identity, and how strange it feels to be seen differently now.
“People are socially distant from you in various ways,” she said. “Either because they really just hate something about you or because they’re a little uncomfortable. Or maybe it’s a sign of respect.”
Even her children, she noted, are noticing the impact of their public profile. “They’re hearing big concepts, like that there’s a war between Ukraine and Russia,” Vance said. “Kids on the playground around here talk about these sorts of things; they want to play games about current events.”
Despite the attempt to stay above the fray, Vance’s role in a White House facing sharp criticism over mass deportations and civil rights rollbacks raises hard questions — especially given her background as the daughter of Indian immigrants and a former Democrat.
McCain avoided asking those questions, focusing instead on Vance’s portrayal by Freida Pinto in Hillbilly Elegy and her protein intake as a Hindu vegetarian.
What came through clearly in the interview was that Vance is still looking backward — not forward. Asked about her personal style, she answered with an identity-based reflection:
“What would I do if I were back in Cincinnati, living the life I had set out to live?” she mused. “I would just try to be me and to feel like myself.”
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