Washington, D.C. — U.S. Vice President JD Vance has publicly responded to mounting criticism over remarks he made about his wife’s faith, clarifying that his Indian-origin wife, Usha Vance, “is not Christian and has no plans to convert.”
The controversy erupted following Vance’s comments during a Turning Point USA event in Mississippi earlier this week, where he said he hoped his wife might one day share his Christian beliefs but emphasized that her choice of faith remains her own.
“Now, most Sundays, Usha will come with me to church,” Vance told the crowd. “Do I hope, eventually, that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved by in church? Yeah, I honestly do wish that because I believe in the Christian gospel and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way.”
“But if she doesn’t, then God says everybody has free will, and so that doesn’t cause a problem for me,” he added. “That’s something you work out with your friends, with your family, with the person that you love.”
Vance Calls Backlash ‘Disgusting’
The remarks sparked intense debate online, with some accusing Vance of publicly undermining his wife’s Hindu background for political gain. One viral post on X (formerly Twitter) said it was “weird to throw your wife’s religion under the bus, in public, for a moment’s acceptance by extremists.”
In a sharply worded response, Vance denounced the criticism as “disgusting” and “anti-Christian bigotry,” insisting that he was answering an honest question about his interfaith marriage as a public figure.
“First off, the question was from a person seemingly to my left, about my interfaith marriage,” Vance wrote. “I’m a public figure, and people are curious, and I wasn’t going to avoid the question.”
Vance also credited Usha for helping him reconnect with his faith, writing that “it was my wife who encouraged me to re-engage with Christianity years ago.”
“She is not a Christian and has no plans to convert, but like many people in an interfaith marriage — or any interfaith relationship — I hope she may one day see things as I do,” Vance wrote.
“Yes, Christians have beliefs. And yes, those beliefs have many consequences, one of which is that we want to share them with other people. That is a completely normal thing, and anyone who’s telling you otherwise has an agenda.”
Background: The Vances’ Interfaith Marriage
Usha Vance (née Chilukuri), an accomplished attorney of Indian origin, was raised in a Hindu household and married JD Vance in 2014. The couple met at Yale Law School and have three children, whom Vance has said are being raised in the Christian faith.
The Vice President’s comments have reignited broader discussions in U.S. political and religious circles about interfaith families, religious tolerance, and public scrutiny of private beliefs.
Despite the backlash, Vance reaffirmed that his wife’s support remains central to his personal and spiritual journey.
“She’s my best friend and partner,” he wrote. “Our marriage is built on mutual respect, not conversion.”