JD Vance defends saying he wants his wife Usha to convert to Christianity
Vice President JD Vance on Friday defended comments about his faith and marriage after critics accused him of throwing his wife's Hindu religion "under a bus" during a Turning Point USA event earlier in the week.
Vance responded to a user on X who referenced the comments the vice president, who was raised Protestant but converted to Catholicism in 2019, on Wednesday. Vance spoke to the crowd about his faith and how it relates to his relationship with Usha Vance, who was raised Hindu.
"For us, it works out now most Sundays, Usha will come with me to church, as I've told her, and I've said publicly, and I'll say now in front of 10,000 of my closest friends, do I hope eventually that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved in by church. Yeah, I honestly, I 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,” the vice president said.
The comments have been met with extensive criticism.
"It’s weird to throw your wife’s religion under the bus, in public, for a moment’s acceptance by groypers," the X user posted on Thursday.
Vance responded to and reposted to the comment, which he called "disgusting" and said he was being open when people were curious about his faith and family life.
"My Christian faith tells me the Gospel is true and is good for human beings. My wife -- as I said at the TPUSA -- is the most amazing blessing I have in my life. She herself encouraged me to reengage with my faith many 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. Regardless, I'll continue to love and support her and talk to her about faith and life and everything else, because she's my wife," he said.
The X post was deleted after Vance reshared it and made his response.
Vance argued the post was "anti-Christian bigotry."
"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," he contended.
The Vances were married in an interfaith Christian-Hindu ceremony in 2014 and he has talked openly about their interfaith relationship.
During an interview with the New York Times last year, JD Vance said his wife has been supportive of his faith and has attended church with their three children.
"No, she hasn’t," the vice president told the Times when asked if Usha Vance had converted to Christianity.
"That’s why I feel bad about it. She’s got three kids. Obviously, I help with the kids, but because I’m kind of the one going to church, she feels more responsibility to keep the kids quiet in the church. And I just felt kind of bad. Like, oh, you didn’t sign up to marry a weekly churchgoer. Are you OK with this? And she was more than OK with it, and that was a big part of the confirmation that this was the right thing for me," he added.
