WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Second lady Usha Vance said she “kind of laughed” at a remark from Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed that brought her Indian heritage into a political dispute involving Vice President JD Vance.
Usha Vance addressed the controversy during an Aug. 26 interview with “Fox & Friends.” She said she focused on the family relationships she has built rather than the meaning behind El-Sayed’s comment.
The dispute began after JD Vance criticized El-Sayed’s past comments about Sharia law during a rally in Ohio. Vance referred to his grandfather, James Vance, whom he calls “Papaw,” while making his argument.
“I’d love to go back in time and tell my Papaw that there is a man who claims to stand for working people who says not only should we have Sharia law, but if you criticize it, you’re a White supremacist,” Vance said.
El-Sayed later responded on social media. He brought Usha Vance into the discussion by asking whether JD Vance would take her back in time to meet his grandfather.
The comment drew criticism because some people viewed it as a suggestion that James Vance might not have accepted Usha because she is Indian.
El-Sayed later explained his comment during an Aug. 22 interview with MS NOW. He said JD Vance’s reference to his grandfather raised questions about who gets viewed as more American.
“The confusing thing about it is that he thinks that there are some people who are more American than others because they can point to their Papaw who was here earlier,” El-Sayed said.
He then directed the argument toward Usha Vance’s relationship with her parents-in-law.
“Why is it then, how do you look your parents-in-law in the eye and say that somehow they’re less American than you are?” El-Sayed said.
Usha Vance offered a different response. Instead of focusing on race or ancestry, she discussed her relationship with JD Vance’s family.
She said his aunt has become like a second mother to her. She also said the family members she knows have always treated her with love and kindness.
“His aunt is like a second mother to me,” Usha Vance said. “And so I have to think that if they raised children like that, they would have been loving as well.”
She added that she would have liked to meet JD Vance’s grandparents.
Usha Vance also said she knows and loves the children James and Bonnie Vance raised. She referred to JD Vance’s mother, aunt and uncle as people who have shown her “incredibly loving” support.
JD Vance spent much of his childhood with his grandparents. James Vance died in 1997. Bonnie Vance died in 2005.
The controversy comes as El-Sayed campaigns for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in Michigan. His comments on Sharia law have drawn attention during the campaign, while JD Vance has continued to criticize his views.
Meanwhile, Usha Vance’s response has shifted attention toward family, identity and the meaning of being American. Her comments also highlight her personal connection to the Vance family.
The exchange reflects a wider political debate over immigration, religion, race and American identity. However, Usha Vance chose to answer the controversy through her personal experience with the family rather than through a broader political argument.
