WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance have found humor in the cottage industry of online speculation that has sprouted up around their marriage.
“I think that we kind of get a kick out of it,” Vance said Thursday in an interview with NBC News when he was asked whether he was frustrated over a recent rash of tabloid-style headlines about the second lady being spotted without her wedding ring.
“With anything in life, you take the good with the bad,” Vance added as he sat in his West Wing office, where photos of him and Usha Vance and their children line the tables around his desk. “You accept that there are some sacrifices and there are some very good things that come along with it, too. But our marriage is as strong as it’s ever been, and I think Usha’s really taken to it, and it’s been kind of cool to see how she’s developed and evolved in this new role.”
The gossip mill migrated from social media to the Daily Mail, People and other publications last month after Usha Vance was photographed with a ringless ring finger during a visit to a military base with first lady Melania Trump. A spokesperson for the second lady explained to both outlets that she is “a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes.”
The vice president weighed in on the spectacle with NBC News on Thursday when he was asked whether stories like that had been tough on the couple, who married in 2014.
“It’s funny,” Vance said. “I actually don’t think that it’s tough.”
Vance related a more recent story from days earlier, when he and his wife were rushing to the White House before the second lady left for another event with Melania Trump. As she got into the car, Usha Vance realized she had left her rings behind again after having taken a shower.
“She was like, ‘Oh, if I don’t go back and get them, there’s going to be some ridiculous psycho who talks about it on social media,’” Vance recalled. “And I was like, let them. It’s not even worth the trip to run back upstairs. So we actually have a little bit of fun with it. And we thought that whole viral social media cycle was kind of funny.”
As the second lady predicted, the absent ring did not go unnoticed. The Daily Mail and The Daily Beast were among the publications that ran fresh headlines.
“There are certainly ways in which it’s difficult on the family,” Vance said. “I’m not going to pretend that it isn’t. But it’s the sacrifice that we signed up for.”
Vance, a former senator from Ohio, said their three children — ages 3, 5 and 8 — have responded differently to their new life in Washington.
“I think that there’s always a limelight on the kids, and that’s both good and bad,” he said. “Our 8-year-old really doesn’t like it. He wants to have as private of a life as possible. When we come to an event in the White House and he sees the cameras, he doesn’t love it, and so we try to keep him out of that limelight as much as possible. On the flip side, our 5-year-old, who’s a little bit more like me, he probably likes it too much. He loves the fact that wherever he goes, people treat him very specially. They always give him candy or cookies.”
Usha Vance, who rarely grants interviews, has carved out a more public role in the Trump administration by spearheading a program to promote childhood literacy and development. She has traveled the country to read with children and prompt them on their favorite books.
“I think that when you’re in love with somebody, you’re always sort of curious what they get attached to and what they get interested in,” the vice president said. “It’s been amazing to see her really lean into this child literacy thing. And I think it speaks very highly of her.”
“Obviously, I’m very biased,” he added. “But it’s definitely — it’s given us a new adventure to go on, and we’ve both had a good time.”
