JD Vance's Praise For Wife Usha Puts Donald And Melania's Marriage Under The Microscope

The moment Donald Trump selected JD Vance as his 2024 running mate, the media zoomed in on the vice presidential pick's family. They quickly landed on JD's wife, Usha Vance, who is Indian. Soon, Usha was targeted with virulently racist remarks on social media as members of the far right predictably criticized the VP candidate for marrying a woman who is not white, expressing concern that JD would be lax on immigration policies and allow an increase in Indian immigrants as a result. Notorious white supremacist commentator Nick Fuentes unsurprisingly added fuel to the fire by asking, "Who is this guy, really? Do we really expect that the guy who has an Indian wife and named their kid Vivek is going to support white identity?" (via The Hill).

JD wasted no time clapping back at the hate his wife was receiving. During an interview on ABC News' "This Week" segment, the bestselling author expressed his hope that the haters would focus their attention solely on him. Alas, they decided to aim it at his wife instead, but JD made it abundantly clear that Usha is an amazing woman. "Look, my attitude to these people attacking my wife is, she's beautiful, she's smart. What kind of man marries Usha? A very smart man and a very lucky man, importantly," he gushed. "And my view is, look, if these guys want to attack me or attack my views, my policy views, my personality, come after me. But don't attack my wife. She's out of your league."

Watching JD Vance fiercely defending and even publicly praising his wife has put Donald and Melania Trump's marriage under the microscope once again. Pundits couldn't help but notice that Vance speaks with considerably more respect and admiration for his wife than the former president. It's brought up some awkward memories, most notably that time when Donald joked about leaving Melania while he was introducing a fan to the audience at a rally in Atlanta. "This one is so smart, so sharp, she grabbed me. She gave me a kiss. I said, 'I think I'm never going back home to the first lady,'" the controversial politician quipped (via X, formerly known as Twitter). 

While Donald's former personal secretary, Madeleine Westerhout, testified in court during his hush money trial that the Trumps had a loving relationship built on mutual respect, other witnesses, like his former attorney Michael Cohen, told a different story entirely. Cohen claimed that Donald was never worried about Melania leaving him because of his affair with adult performer Stormy Daniels. According to Cohen, he reassured him, "Don't worry. How long do you think I will be on the market for? Not long," (via News.com.au). It also came to light that the longtime couple doesn't share a bedroom or even their lives, for that matter, and have hardly anything in common.

JD and Usha Vance have been married since 2014. Donald and Melania Trump, on the other hand, tied the knot all the way back in 2005. Donald's third marriage has outlasted his previous two, but it's also faced the most challenges. The former president wasn't very outspoken about how Melania was handling his New York fraud trial, for instance. Notably, she never accompanied her husband to court, and Melania hasn't spoken publicly about his 34 convictions either. The media consistently questioned Donald about his wife's whereabouts, and he eventually addressed her reaction to his legal issues in a Fox News interview. "She's fine, but I think it's very hard for her," the controversial politician said at the time. "I mean, she's fine, but you know she has to read all this c**p." 

The former "Apprentice" host also shared that the whole ordeal was actually harder on his family than it was on him personally. Somewhat shockingly, Donald managed to refer to Melania as his "wonderful wife" during the interview too. JD and Usha have probably faced plenty of challenges of their own over the years, but as he explained on "This Week," she's well able to stand her ground including amid all the chaos and social media vitriol. Still, JD acknowledged, "I'm worried sometimes about these ridiculous attacks. But again, this is what you sign up for when you come into politics," (via The Hill).