What to Know
Vice President JD Vance’s jokes have gone viral on multiple occasions, but not because people found them funny. His critics feel that he lacks charisma and that his jokes never land in the way that he probably hopes they will. When he was speaking in Michigan this week, he said something about his wife that was seemingly meant to be humorous and lighthearted, but the internet could not believe he actually thought it was amusing.
Back in January, JD and his wife, Usha Vance, announced that they’re expecting their fourth child together. However, based on his recent comments, it sounds like JD was more eager to welcome another child than Usha was.
JD said he and his wife are “very excited” about her pregnancy.
But the story he told after that indicates that she wasn’t always so excited about the idea. “I remember when we decided to run for vice president,” JD said. “I said, ‘Honey, I really want to have a fourth kid.'” Meanwhile, Usha reportedly responded, “Well, you can become vice president, or you can have a fourth baby.”
Then, JD proceeded to brag that he managed to achieve both of these things, and well, people don’t exactly see it as the flex he seems to think it is. “But, ladies and gentlemen, I am persuasive ’cause I got both,” he told the crowd.
Online, it sparked conversations about women’s autonomy.
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It seems like this detail is just a lighthearted anecdote or a funny story to JD. But others found it pretty disturbing and “gross,” actually. “This is a weird thing to say,” one person commented. Someone else said, “He really does think he’s funny. He’s SO not funny. Like not even a little.”
A lot of people agreed that the way JD framed it made it sound like he forced or pressured his wife to have another child. Because “persuading” your wife to have another child actually sounds “creepy” or “coercive.” As one critic commented, “Forcing your wife to have another child against her wishes isn’t the flex you think it is.”
Someone else even tried to translate what he said to make it more accurate: “My wife didn’t want to have to raise another child while I took on a job that would leave me with no time or energy to support her in that labor, but I ignored her needs and wishes and did whatever I wanted now clap.”
The fact that people did clap was equally disturbing to some. “The crowds ENTHUSIASM is scaring me. So much overwhelming ENTHUSIASM,” one person noted. And another said, “This is so gross. And so are the people unapologetically beaming and applauding. Gross.”
Many feel it’s part of a larger pattern: “The way he talks about his wife is so gross.”
JD Vance says he’s raising his kids Christian and hopes his wife, Usha, comes around to the faith
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) October 30, 2025
“I honestly do wish that. I believe in the Christian gospel, and I hope eventually, my wife comes to see it the same way." pic.twitter.com/Dw64OGRjIL
It’s not the first time JD’s comments about Usha have sparked backlash. Last year, people were disgusted when JD admitted that he hopes his wife converts to Christianity someday. At a Turning Point USA event, he said, “Do I hope that eventually she is somehow moved by what I was moved by in church? Yeah, 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.”
At the time, some people on social media said Usha should leave JD. “I hope she finds a better husband,” one Redditor wrote. Someone else said, “Dude’s up on stage low-key s—-ing on his wife for everyone to see all in the name of [a] political agenda that he probably doesn’t even truly care about.”
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