ADVERTISEMENTs
Normalizing Indian hate is terrible says Usha Vance in first interview as Second Lady
Her remarks followed a recent firestorm involving her husband and a former government staffer who posted “Normalize Indian hate” online.
-
Malvika Choudhary - Wed, 09, Apr 2025
- 15:53 EDT
- 760
Usha Vance / Wikipedia
Second Lady Usha Vance has publicly condemned online racism and the normalization of anti-Indian sentiment, labeling it as "terrible" in her first interview since assuming the role.
“Do I think it’s great when people talk about ‘normalizing Indian hate’ or something like that? Absolutely not. I think it’s terrible,” Usha, the first Indian American to serve as second lady, said in an interview with The Free Press.
Also Read: Second Lady Usha Vance in eye of Trump's Arctic storm
Her remarks came as she addressed the controversy that erupted from a former Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer’s “Normalize Indian hate” post for which he was fired and then rehired after JD Vance’s intervention.
The episode drew criticism from Indian American Representative Ro Khanna (CA-17), who publicly questioned the vice president’s judgment, emphasizing the implications of his decision on the couple’s three young children— of Indian heritage—and suggesting that tolerating such rhetoric could send a damaging message about identity and belonging to the next generation.
Usha said that while she had not followed “the entirety” of their exchange, she acknowledged the emotional toll. “There is nothing that [JD] cares more about than how his children grow up… how we live together as a family. And he is very, very, very concerned, as we both are and I think maybe anyone in our position would be, about how this life impacts them.” she said.
However, she emphasized that while racism itself was not new, the medium had changed. “I think it’s our relationship to this information—the technology, the screens, the social media—that is potentially new. We are increasingly incapable of actually focusing on having sustained, nuanced, thoughtful conversations,” she remarked.
Top priority
In the interview, Usha reflected on the challenges of public life calling it anything but ‘normal’ and said, "To me, the highest priority right now is to be actually a normal person."
"It’s a very strange life that we lead, where there are lots of people who have just imagined all sorts of narratives about us and what we think and what we do and why we do it and how much planning goes into it and all,” she added on the constant media attention.
”When asked about her integration into the MAGA circle, which is primarily comprised of women who are "blonde" and wear "nine-inch heels," Usha playfully dismissed the stereotypes by saying, "It would be really hard for me to be blonde... that color would look totally absurd."
“People don’t seem to care all that much what I look like,” she added saying that her reception had been “really positive,” despite not coming from “a particularly wealthy or fashion-oriented background.”
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
ADVERTISEMENT
.jpg)
Video
.png)
.png)
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login