Usha Vance could be a stealth asset for Republicans in November
HINDU NATIONALIST AND CHRISTIAN NATIONALIST ARE BOTH ISLAMOPHOBES
Her personal attributes could 'take the edge off Trumpism' and she could be deployed to the suburbs of swing states to target female voters, says expert
As Usha Chilukuri Vance strode on stage in Milwaukee to the tune of “Walking on Sunshine”, Republicans in the crowd may have witnessed the unveiling of a major political asset when it comes to taking on Democrats in November.
The 38-year-old lawyer and mother of three smiled and waved tentatively, appearing momentarily overwhelmed before introducing her husband, JD Vance, in a heartfelt speech ahead of his first national address as Donald Trump’s running mate for vice president.
“When I was asked to introduce my husband…I was at a loss. What could I say that hasn’t already been said before? After all, the man has been the subject of a Ron Howard movie,” she said to laughs from the crowd in reference to his memoir-turned-blockbuster, Hillbilly Elegy, that cemented her husband as a Hollywood power-player and gave him his platform for politics.
She described how the pair became friends at university when he was “a working-class guy who had overcome childhood traumas that I could barely fathom to end up at Yale Law School”.
“A tough marine who had served in Iraq but whose idea of a good time was playing with puppies and watching the movie Babe.”
The daughter of Indian academics also revealed details of her own Hindu upbringing and described how the “meat and potatoes kind of guy” adapted to her vegetarian diet and learned how to cook Indian food from her mother.
“That JD and I could meet at all, let alone fall in love and marry, is a testament to this great country,” she said.
“It’s hard to imagine a more powerful example of the American dream.”
‘Selling the candidates as stories’
Usha’s legal career, youth, immigrant background and megawatt smile appear set to make her an asset to the white, male Republican ticket ahead of November’s election, yet how much of a role she will play remains to be seen.
The New York Times described the registered Democrat-turned-Republican as a “political cipher” and on paper, her biography appears more akin to Vice President Kamala Harris‘s than that of her husband or Trump. Ms Harris is also the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, was born in California, and rose to serve as California attorney general before running for Vice President.
Christopher Phelps, an associate professor of American history at the University of Nottingham, told i the speech was Usha’s major moment in the national spotlight and comes as part of a well-worn American political tradition to “humanise” candidates by revealing details of their family life.
“It’s to personalise and humanise someone who would seem like a purely political figure. To fill in a little bit of story so you know a biography. They’re selling the candidates as stories and part of the authenticity of that story is having the family testify their love for them,” he said.
“In this case, it’s interesting because Vance is in the mold of Trump. If anything, he’s a more coherent exponent of what they’re calling national conservatism” with its focus on strong borders, America first stance in both domestic and foreign policy, he said.
“Part of that of course is rhetoric around immigration. That makes for an interesting contrast with him falling in love with this woman who is the daughter of Indian immigrants.”
Usha hails from a strongly academic family, with her great-aunt, Shanthamma Chilukuri, who is 96, regarded by locals in southern India as the country’s oldest active professor – still travelling 40 miles most weekdays to teach physics. Usha’s mother is a biologist at the University of California at San Diego, while her father is an engineer. Her younger sister is also a mechanical engineer with a semiconductor company in San Diego, and an aunt a medical professional in the southern Indian city of Chennai, according to Reuters.
“Most of our family is academically strong and education has been a top priority,” Shanthamma told Reuters from Visakhapatnam in southern India. A close family member based in India who attended the couple’s wedding but wanted to remain anonymous said Usha’s success can be attributed to the “mindset that one must accomplish something, have degrees from top institutes”.
“Our family WhatsApp group is flooded with messages ever since JD Vance’s name was announced,” they said. “I sent her a congratulatory message and conveyed my best wishes. She was also elated.”
Indian media have also hailed her as the latest among several Americans with Indian heritage who have risen to prominence including Ms Harris, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and former Republican presidential hopefuls Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy, who was JD and Usha’s classmate at Yale.
After receiving her undergraduate degree from Yale, Usha gained a masters of philosophy at University of Cambridge and returned to Yale to study law where she met Mr Vance. She is reported to have been a guiding force for his memoir and the pair married in 2014.
After graduating she spent a year clerking for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, when he served as an appeals court judge in Washington, followed by a year as a law clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts. She also became a trial lawyer for Munger, Tolles and Olson law firm which has been described as “radically progressive” and “woke”. However she left shortly after her husband was chosen as Trump’s running mate.
“Usha has informed us she has decided to leave the firm,” Munger, Tolles & Olson said in a statement. “Usha has been an excellent lawyer and colleague, and we thank her for her years of work and wish her the best in her future career.”
Whether she plays a major role in the campaign remains to be seen, however Professor Phelps said her personal attributes could “take the edge off Trumpism” and she could be deployed to the suburbs of swing states to help bring out female voters.
“The question is whether she in that role can actually off set the much more higher decibel messaging from Trump and Vance themselves which will probably have very harsh moments.”
Professor Phelps said vice presidential debates between Ms Harris and Mr Vance are likely to be fiery, and for Mr Vance, mentioning his family may be able to “neutralise” Democratic attacks.
“His role will be as attack dog. The debate between him and Kamala will be a get-out-the-popcorn moment, they’re both quite skilled debators. There should be quite a clash that night, of visions. They’re both able to throw a rhetorical punch.”
In his memoir and interviews since, Mr Vance credited part of his success and happiness to his wife, saying people don’t realise her brilliance.
“Even at my best, I’m a delayed explosion – I can be defused, but only with skill and precision,” he wrote in his book. “It’s not just that I’ve learned to control myself but that Usha has learned how to manage me.”
In 2020 he told the Megyn Kelly Show, “Usha definitely brings me back to earth a little bit”.
“And if I maybe get a little bit too cocky or a little too proud I just remind myself that she is way more accomplished than I am.”
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