‘Babe’ love and puppies: JD Vance’s wife reveals softer side of new Republican VP nominee

The wife of Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance emphasized his softer side — offering a sharp contrast with some of his hardline views.

The GOP nominee announced the first-term Ohio Senator as his vice presidential pick at the Republican National Convention on Monday, resurfacing Vance’s previous critiques of Trump, his harsh opposition to abortion, and his baseless claims about Biden using immigrants to “replace the citizens of his own country” to win the November election.

But his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance took the time at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday to provide a glimpse into the Ohio Republican’s softer side.

She spoke about their very different upbringings.

The GOP vice presidential nominee is a former “hillbilly” who grew up in the Rust Belt before becoming a Marine while his wife, the daughter of Indian immigrants, grew up in San Diego “in a middle class community,” she said. Still, they were both able to cross paths at Yale Law School, Usha said in a brief speech.

“That JD and I could meet at all, let alone fall in love and marry, is a testament to this great country,” she told the Milwaukee crowd. “It is also a testament to JD, and it tells you something about who he is.”

“His idea of a good time was playing with puppies and watching the movie Babe,” the lawyer told the crowd.

Despite being a “meat-and-potatoes kind of guy,” she said, “he adapted to my vegetarian diet.”

The 39-year-old Senator had an “overriding ambition to become a husband and a father,” she added. The pair have been married since 2014 and share three children.

She joked: “The JD I knew then is the same JD you see today, except for that beard.”

Usha’s description of her husband provides a contrast to many of his divisive views.

The Ohio Republican has made his stance on reproductive rights clear. When he ran for Senate in 2022, his campaign website touted: “Ban Abortion.” He has also backed the idea of a national ban on the procedure, saying in 2022: “I certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally.” He has also said he wants “it to be primarily a state issue,” echoing Trump.

Vance has crystallized his stances about ongoing wars. He has opposed US support for sending aid to Ukraine. Speaking on ex-Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s podcast, Vance once said: “I’ve got to be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.”

Regarding the war in Gaza, Vance and a group of other Republican Senators also led the effort to only send aid to Israel. The legislation would “provide funding to strengthen Israel’s defense” while also “strip all aid to Gaza that could be funneled to Hamas terrorists.”

Vance has also advocated for funding a wall along the US southern border, called the mass influx of migrants at the border an “invasion,” and repeated The Great Replacement Theory in which critics claim Biden is trying to replace US citizens with immigrants in an effort to hang onto the White House in 2024.