Usha & JD Vance Look Painfully Awkward In Odd Photo From Hush-Hush Dinner With Royalty

By Lauren Waters
JD and Usha Vance looking serious at event Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Between Donald and Melania Trump's U.K. state visit on September 17-18 and Trump family members and other high profile guests attending Charlie Kirk's memorial service on September 21, recent news has been firmly focused on the president. So, it was easy to miss that while Donald and Melania were rubbing shoulders with King Charles III, the Vances were also spending time with royals. On September 18, JD and Usha Vance hosted a dinner for Jordan's Crown Prince, Hussein bin Abdullah II, and his wife, Princess Rajwa Al-Hussein. And, surprisingly, the Vances may actually be happy that the photo of the two couples smiling together was buried by other news since their utterly awkward body language would surely get those divorce rumors rolling again.

On September 19, a photo of the crown prince and princess of Jordan posing alongside the VP and second lady of the U.S. was posted on X. In the photo, the Jordanian royal couple isn't displaying PDA, but they do look relatively normal, smiling and touching shoulders. JD and Usha, on the other hand, are another story. They are both standing uncomfortably with their hands by their sides with a bit of distance between them. JD is actually standing closer to their guests than he is to his own wife. To make matters worse, both JD and Usha are leaning slightly away from one another and JD's body language almost makes it look like he wished Usha wasn't in the photo at all.

JD and Usha Vance's latest awkward photo is in very good company

Usha and JD Vance staring at the camera Shannon Finney/Getty Images

In defense of the Vances, as a whole, this photo has some seriously awkward vibes. Yet it's surprising that, as a politician and his wife, JD and Usha Vance have yet to figure out how to appear to like each other in photos (whether they actually do or not). JD and Usha looking downright allergic to each other in a posed photograph certainly isn't a unique occurrence, though. Last spring, their obvious disconnect in India added to the mounting divorce rumors, and months later, their awkward red carpet PDA reinforced the troubled marriage whispers even further. Ultimately, the vice president and second lady are new to being this firmly in the limelight. As such, it seems they struggle to exist on camera in a way that convinces the public that their marriage is thriving.

The latest uncomfortable-looking pic of the Vances comes one month after news broke that Usha reportedly snapped at JD in public. So, while their body language has indicated there might be trouble in paradise for months, there's also evidence that things may be getting worse behind the scenes. And if this is true, knowing them, they probably won't do a very good job of hiding it.

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