US Elections 2024: The US presidential race has intensified as former President Donald Trump has been officially nominated by the Republican Party for his third attempt at the White House, and Trump, who recently survived an assassination attempt, has now selected Ohio Senator James David Vance as his vice presidential running mate from a list of at least a dozen candidates.
Vance was once a fierce critic of Trump, who called him an "idiot" and "America's Hitler", but now is a staunch defender of the Republican candidate. "After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator JD Vance of the Great State of Ohio," Trump announced on his Truth Social Platform.
The development brought an end to a wave of speculations about Trump's running mate that have been going on for months. Meanwhile, all eyes are now on his Indian-American wife Usha Chilukuri Vance, who traces her roots to Andhra Pradesh and brings a plethora of credentials and a touch of Indian culture in the American political system.
Who is Usha Chilukuri Vance?
Born Usha Chilukuri in 1986, she is the daughter of Indian immigrants in San Francisco with an impressive academic background and now works as a corporate litigator at a prestigious firm in San Francisco. 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.
Usha Vance has had a distinguished career, clerking for Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh before Kavanaugh's nomination to the Court. Her sterling academic achievements also include serving as Managing Editor of the Yale Journal of Law and Technology and Executive Development Editor of The Yale Law Journal. She would later work for Munger, Tolles and Olson, a California law firm that described its culture as "radically progressive".
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. She met JD Vance at the Yale Law School, where the Ohio Senator got a scholarship, and the couple married in Kentucky in 2014 and were blessed by a Hindu priest in a separate ceremony.
How Usha Vance contributed to her husband's rise?
Usha Vance played a subtle yet important role in her husband's rise to national fame - organising his ideas about social decline in rural White America that formed the basis of his 2016 bestseller "Hillbilly Elegy". She also made rare but well-choreographed appearances with Mr. Vance as he sought the Ohio Senate seat.
“Hillbilly Elegy” was a book about how rural workers brought Donald Trump to power and also introduced JD Vance to the Trump family. Donald Trump Jr. loved the book and knew of Vance when he went to launch his political career. The two hit it off and have remained friends with Trump openly leading calls for Vance's selection as the Republican vice presidential nominee.
“I’m not raring to change anything about our lives right now, but I believe in JD, and I really love him, and so we’ll just sort of see what happens with our life,” she said in an interview about her husband running for the second highest office in the United States. The couple has three children - Ewan, 6, Vivek, 4, and Mirabel, 2.
A Hindu touch in the American political system
US-based global real estate investment advisor and a well-known entrepreneur AI Mason told news agency ANI that Usha Vance is a highly-accomplished attorney and daughter of Indian immigrants whose husband brings youth and diversity to Trump's candidature. "She knows the Indian culture and all about India. She can be a big help to her husband in navigating great ties between the US and India," he added.
In her interview with Fox, Usha Vance spoke about the two living together while having different faiths. "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 JD was searching for something. This just felt right for him," she said.
(with inputs from agencies)
ALSO READ | US: Trump picks Ohio Senator and one-time critic JD Vance as vice presidential running mate | Who is he?
