It looks like Usha Vance was channeling her inner Reba as a single mom who works too hard when she exited Marine Two with her 9-week-old strapped to her chest and a diaper bag over her shoulder. And then, she slipped, and she and little Alec Vance might have taken a worse tumble if she wasn’t able to stop herself on a railing.
Now, footage of that fall is going viral on social media, including on X. People have a lot to say about the incident, including questions about why the soldiers in the video stand at attention the entire time without helping her and where JD Vance is, since he isn’t immediately seen in the clip, despite Usha having given birth weeks earlier.
Usha Vance fell with her infant son strapped to her chest.
"Usha and a couple of the kids are joining. This is Usha’s 50th state, which is why we are bringing a nine week old baby on a seven and a half hour flight to Alaska." — VP JD Vance https://t.co/WbCIMeVW48
— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) October 5, 2026
In the X clip, Usha walks out of the vice presidential helicopter and you can see that her infant is strapped to her chest in a baby carrier. She slips over one of the steps and quickly catches herself on a railing before she takes an even worse tumble down to the ground. It’s a crisis averted, but just as the internet tends to do with Donald Trump clips, this one has garnered thousands of comments about what happened.
Later, Vance comes into frame with one of the couple’s other children, Mirabel Vance, in his arms. The family, minus two of their kids, walk on the tarmac to a waiting plane that will take them to Alaska. And, for the most part, everyone is totally fine. But Usha’s slip on the stairs was not ignored by the comments under the video on X.
“You would think any woman stepping off would have a service member’s hand ready,” one person commented. “And with a child, a service member would be ready to help if a woman stumbled. I would do the same for my wife, you would do the same for your girlfriend or mother. What’s with this no help?”
Another wrote of Vance, “He’s unconcerned about her. Should have exited before her and helped her down. Setting a pace that is hard for her to keep. Serious question whether the older child needed to be carried. They all look like props in his scene.”
The nearby soldiers did not move from their positions to help her.
After Usha steadies herself and Vance exits the helicopter, the soldiers salute him. But, because they didn’t even move from their posts as Usha and her infant son took a mini tumble down the steps, people are confused.
According to U.S. News, technically military personnel are not required to salute the vice president at all times. But in the clip, they seem to wait at attention to do just that before they walk with the family to the waiting plane.
Someone else commented on the clip to comment on the soldiers. They wrote, “Not surprised the Marines were stone, but kinda surprised the Air Force officers didn’t lunge to grab her/the baby down the steps.”
People also criticized JD and Usha Vance for flying with their newborn.
Vance and Usha were traveling to Alaska with two of their kids for Vance to show support for Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. But bringing along their newborn raised some eyebrows.
Vance explained to reporters, “Usha and a couple of the kids are joining. This is Usha’s 50th state, which is why we are bringing a 9-week-old baby on a seven and a half hour flight to Alaska.”
A flight that, to one person, cost thousands of dollars amid a backdrop of struggling Americans.
“A flight on a government plane that costs about $15,000 an hour,” the person wrote. “Plus all the security costs for Secret Service etc. While Trump and Vance administration cut SNAP for poor mothers and children.”
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