What Usha Vance Really Thinks About Being Second Lady
Usha Vance, official portrait, 2025. Photo by Emily Higgins. Public domain.
She never wanted this life. Not the limelight, not the cameras, and certainly not the surreal possibility of being First Lady of the United States.
But now, with her husband, JD Vance, leading the GOP pack for 2028, Usha Vance is finding herself in a role she never imagined. And she's not sugarcoating it.
'Just Along for the Ride'
In a candid sit-down with Meghan McCain on her podcast "Citizen McCain," Usha Vance didn't play the polished political spouse. She was honest, even amused, about how wildly her life has veered off course.
"Three years ago — maybe four years ago at this point — I had absolutely no intention of leading any sort of life in politics," she said, according to Page Six, seated at the vice president's residence in Washington. "It really is that rapid," Usha added, recounting how quickly everything changed after JD traded venture capital for politics.
The couple had been living a quiet life in the Bay Area when her husband announced his run for Senate. Then came the campaign, the win, and a fast ascent to vice president. Now? He's the frontrunner for the presidency.
"People do ask about it," she admitted, according to USA TODAY, when McCain broached the First Lady question. "But my attitude is that this is a four-year period where I have a set of responsibilities to my family, to myself, to obviously the country. And that's really what I'm focused on."
She continued: "In a dream world, eventually, I'll be able to live in my home and kind of continue my career and all those sorts of things," Vance said. "And 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 while I can."
A Reluctant Public Figure
For someone thrust into the second-highest office in the land by marriage, Usha Vance remains strikingly grounded. As a former attorney at the powerhouse firm Munger, Tolles & Olson, she stepped away from her career when JD accepted the vice-presidential nomination.
And while she speaks fluently about duty and responsibility, it's clear she's not auditioning for any future role. "I'm not plotting out next steps or really trying for anything after this," she said, according to Page Six.
Instead, she's focused on raising their three children — Ewan Blaine, Vivek, and Mirabel Rose.
The Meghan Moment
McCain, ever the relatable interviewer, used the moment to reveal a secret of her own: she's pregnant with baby number three.
"I have two little girls ... and I am just entering my second trimester. I'm pregnant with my third," she told Usha on-air, according to USA TODAY.
Usha lit up. "I'm a huge proponent of it," she gushed. "What I've really enjoyed about having three kids is that it's just enough for them all to be kind of a pack ... The youngest is so motivated to be like the older two that basically she's self-sufficient and always has been. It's awesome."
The warmth between the two women was unmistakable. McCain, the daughter of political royalty herself, seemed to recognize the quiet power in Usha's nonchalance.
A Set of Responsibilities
That nonchalance, however, comes with purpose. Usha is not naive. She's seen how the public spotlight devours women in her position. But she keeps her gaze narrow: family, country, stability.
"This is a four-year period," she repeated, according to USA TODAY, "and that's really what I'm focused on."
Whether or not the White House becomes her home, Usha Vance appears unmoved by ambition and unseduced by the pomp. In an era of influencer first ladies and TikTok diplomacy, she might just redefine the role — not by reinventing it, but by simply refusing to chase it.
References: Usha Vance shares her thoughts on becoming First Lady with Meghan McCain | Meghan McCain asks Usha Vance about possibility of becoming first lady
