Usha Vance And Tulsi Gabbard Share One Strikingly Similar Feature

Two of the most prominent women in President Donald Trump's new administration come from strikingly different backgrounds. Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance, is the daughter of Indian immigrants, a Yale Law School graduate and former corporate litigator who left her practice behind to support her husband's political ambitions. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's new director of national security, was born in American Samoa and raised in Hawaii. The former congresswoman was also a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard. Yet Vance and Gabbard are strangely similar in some ways. 

Most notably, they were both registered Democrats until very recently — Gabbard even ran for the party's presidential nomination in 2020. Both are also the first Hindus to hold their respective positions. And both women sport gray highlights that flout the so-called rules of female beauty. There's actually meaning behind Gabbard's trademark hair: The veteran developed a white streak in her hair during her tour of Iraq, and she keeps it as a tribute to her fellow service members who were killed in action. "No, I'm not going to fix that gray strand," Gabbard proudly told followers on Instagram (via X, formerly known as Twitter). "I don't know what you mean by 'fix.' If you mean dye, no, I'm not going to dye it." 

Similarly, Usha Vance's style is different from that of the Trump women, particularly where hair is concerned. She's around 16 years younger than First Lady Melania Trump, while Usha is four years Ivanka Trump's junior. While another woman in her shoes might worry about looking older than her years, Usha refuses to cover up the silver strands that shine through her dark locks. On the other hand, we won't even speculate on how much Melania and Ivanka spend on keeping the gray away.

The double standard concerning gray hair has obviously existed forever. Men who let their silver show are considered "distinguished," while women who do the same are stereotyped as old and unglamorous. The stigma has gradually begun to fade, particularly as popular actors embrace their natural hair. Among the female celebrities who look stunning with gray hair are Jamie Lee Curtis, Meryl Streep, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Andie MacDowell. Still, you don't see a lot of silver tresses among women ensconced in the political world. 

Kamala Harris's comparative youth was one of the few advantages she had over Donald Trump upon entering the 2024 presidential race; if she'd neglected her touch-ups, the former VP would have been subjected to ageist jokes in addition to everything else. Usha Vance hasn't publicly commented on her gray hair, but she's got plenty of praise for it. As one user raved on X, "Ladies, in a world that is constantly telling women not [to] show any signs of aging, be an Usha instead of a Kardashian." She continued, "As a middle-aged woman with my own greying hair, I love and admire her self-confidence and natural beauty. What a classy lady! We need more of this!" 

Though one lone dissenter argued that the gray is too aging for a woman under 40, others agreed that Vance made the right call by not reaching for the bottle. Fans similarly praised Tulsi Gabbard's embrace of her white streak. On X, they called it a "sign of strength," a mark of "seasoned leader character," and the ultimate Gen Z compliment, "pretty sick." With these ladies in the Trump administration, maybe other women in politics will be inspired to quit the cover-up. Truthfully, Melania Trump could definitely rock a white highlight.