Washington, November 8 (The Hindu): President-elect Donald Trump had chosen US Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio to be his running mate as he looked to return to the White House.
Ms. Usha Chilukuri Vance, 38, would be the first Indian-American Second Lady. She would also be the first Hindu spouse of a Vice-President, and would succeed second gentleman Doug Emhoff, who is the first Jewish spouse of a Vice-President, The New York Post reported.
Mr. Vance, a 39-year-old Republican now in his first term in the Senate was born and raised in Middletown, Ohio. He joined the Marines and served in Iraq, and later earned degrees from Ohio State University and Yale Law School. He also worked as a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley.
Mr. Vance made a name for himself with his memoir, the 2016 bestseller “Hillbilly Elegy,” which was published as Trump was first running for President. The book earned Mr. Vance a reputation as someone who could help explain the maverick New York businessman’s appeal in middle America, especially among the working class, rural white voters who helped Trump win the presidency.
“Hillbilly Elegy” also introduced Mr. Vance to the Trump family. Donald Trump Jr. loved the book and knew of Mr. Vance when he went to launch his political career. The two hit it off and have remained friends.
Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of Mr. Vance brings a wealth of credentials and a deep connection to Indian values and culture. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Ms. Usha grew up in a San Diego suburb. Friends from her childhood and adolescence described her as a “leader” and a “bookworm.” As of 2014, she was a registered Democrat.
A litigator at a national firm, Usha Vance is the daughter of Indian immigrants and has an impressive academic background. She holds a bachelor’s degree in History from Yale University and a Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Cambridge, according to the New York Times.
Born Usha Chilukuri, she has carved out a career in the legal field, having clerked for Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh before Mr. Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Court.
Raised in a suburb of San Diego, California Ms. Usha’s academic achievements include serving as Managing Editor of the Yale Journal of Law & Technology and Executive Development Editor of The Yale Law Journal, according to a biography from Munger, Tolles & Olson law firm.
After four years of intense extracurricular activity at Yale, she continued her studies as a Gates fellow at Cambridge, where she engaged with left-wing and liberal groups. She was a registered Democrat in 2014.
Ms. Usha and J.D. Vance first met at Yale Law School and were married in Kentucky in 2014, with a Hindu priest presiding over a separate ceremony, according to the New York Times. The couple has three children together.
Usha Vance has played a significant role in her husband’s success. She assisted Mr. Vance in organizing his thoughts on the social decline in rural white America, which inspired his best-selling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy”, which was adapted into a film directed by Ron Howard in 2020.
In the past, she has made some rare appearances with Mr. Vance as he sought the Ohio Senate seat.
Speaking to ANI, a U.S.-based global real estate investment advisor and a well-known entrepreneur, AI Mason said, “Usha Vance is a highly accomplished attorney and daughter of Indian immigrants — and her husband brings youth and diversity to the Trump ticket.”
“She knows the Indian culture and all about India. She can be a big help to her husband in navigating great ties between USA and India,” the entrepreneur, who is also a friend of the Trump family, said.
Meanwhile, in an interview earlier with Fox & Friends, Usha Chilukuri Vance and her Senator husband she said: “I don’t think people understand how hard he works and how creative he is. Everything he says and does is built on a foundation of so much thought. He’s always trying to do better.”
On being asked about the reason behind her support for J.D. Vance, as the U.S. Presidential elections remain around the corner, Ms. Usha told Fox, “There are a few different reasons…One is that I grew up in a religious household. My parents are Hindu, and that was one of the things that made them such good parents, that makes them really very good people. And so I think I’ve seen that…the power of that in my own life, and I knew that J.D. was searching for something. This just felt right for him.”
The interview was taken three weeks before the announcement of J.D. Vance as the running mate of Trump in the upcoming US presidential polls.
Vance was born James David Bowman in Middletown, Ohio, to a mother who struggled with addiction and a father who left the family when JD was a toddler. He was raised by his grandparents.
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