Did Usha Vance Send Subtle MAGA Message With This Reverent Inaugural Mass Accessory?

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Second Lady Usha Vance looked the picture of Catholic piety and devotion as she sat in the pews with her husband, Vice President JD Vance, to witness Pope Leo XIV's inaugural mass — well, aside from the sunglasses, which Catholic etiquette deems highly disrespectful, unless required for medical reasons. Still, sunglasses aside, Usha also wore a black lace mantilla (aka, a veil), which is viewed by the Church as a sign of humility before God (and/or falls in line with MAGA doctrine by embracing traditional gender norms).

Given that she's a Hindu, Usha's mantilla decision seems more in line with the latter. Not to mention an attempt to please her husband, an outspoken and devout Catholic. JD is vehemently anti-feminist and a staunch advocate for the return of nuclear families, with trad wives who regularly pop out kids and hate cats —something he's made crystal clear over the years. Many of JD's past interviews appear to be ripped straight from the pages of "The Handmaid's Tale," with a fixation, to the point of obsession, on childbearing and disdain for females who buck the trend.

Usha and JD don't see eye to eye on everything, which is hardly surprising given that friends told the BBC she's as far from a subservient and passive wife as you can get. So as rumors that JD and Usha are getting a divorce gather steam, you can't help but question if she's sending a subtle MAGA message by donning a veil and acting the dutiful wife.

Unlike her husband, Usha Vance keeps quiet about her political views. But, according to reports, she's followed JD Vance on his rightward journey, although, perhaps not to the same MAGA conclusion. Usha met JD at Yale and, after graduation, became a high-flying attorney at Munger, Tolles and Olson, an established corporate law firm. Usha was a registered Democrat up until marrying JD in 2014, and she continued working, despite having three children.

However, that changed after he was officially nominated as Donald Trump's running mate. "In light of today's news, I have resigned from my position at Munger, Tolles & Olson to focus on caring for our family," Usha told People in July 2024. "I am forever grateful for the opportunities I've had at Munger and for the excellent colleagues and friends I've worked with over the years."

Still, if anybody believes Usha will simply fade into her husband's shadow and become an extension of him, it appears they may be seriously mistaken. Apparently, she's always been in control and likes to lead the pack, so it's unlikely that will suddenly disappear in a cloud of MAGA smoke, mantilla or no mantilla. "By age 5 or 6, she had assumed a leadership role," Usha's friend Vikram Rao told The New York Times in November 2022. "She decided which board games we were going to play and what the rules were going to be. She was never mean or unkind, but she was the boss."