All Usha Vance wants is to return home. The second lady showed very little interest in succeeding Melania Trump in the event that 79-year-old Donald Trump does not serve out his term or hands the reins to her husband, Vice President JD Vance, in 2028 during her highly anticipated appearance on Meghan McCain’s podcast, Citizen McCain, on Wednesday.
“I’m not plotting out next steps or really trying for anything after this,” Vance said. When her husband’s time as VP is up, she added, “In a dream world, eventually I’ll be able to live in my home and kind of continue my career.”
Even when McCain asked her pointed questions such as, “How do you incorporate good protein into being a vegetarian?” and “Are you interested in fashion?” the former attorney maintained the same subdued loyalty she has shown since her husband became Trump’s running mate throughout the interview. However, she didn’t mention Trump once during the hour-long discussion, which led to conjecture over her own views on her husband’s political beliefs.
Usha Vance is quietly hoping she’ll never have to be first lady after her husband’s tenure as VP is over.https://t.co/sSVnP5tEBA
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) June 25, 2025
However, during the hour-long talk, she did not mention Trump by name, which led to conjecture over her personal views on her husband’s political beliefs. Vance, who is the daughter of academics and Indian immigrants, has remained silent about the policies her husband supports, including his attempt to repeal the birthright citizenship law that established her own status in the United States following her parents’ 1970s immigration from India.
The Times reported that over a dozen of her old acquaintances would only speak on condition of anonymity “out of fear of angering her,” and the second lady declined to be interviewed for the article about her “new life in Trump’s Washington.” Given the upbeat, impartial demeanor Vance has successfully maintained and used with McCain on Wednesday, that statement says it all.
After “anything that I say, no matter how crazy,” JD Vance told supporters in March that his wife “has to smile and laugh and celebrate.”
Usha Vance was once ‘appalled’ and ‘deeply disturbed’ by Trump — but now promotes him. What changed for Usha? pic.twitter.com/Rm2xQgO6Kr
— Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) August 3, 2024
Thus, there are still unanswered doubts regarding the second lady’s actual views on her husband’s political beliefs. McCain refused to question her visitor about the belief that she and her husband have different political philosophies. The anticlimactic issue she raised near the close of their hour-long, largely substance-free conversation was if Vance was “stressed” about the prospect of becoming first lady in the future.
Before describing her desire to “eventually” reside “in my home,” Mrs. Vance stated, “My attitude is that this is a four-year period where I have a set of responsibilities to my family, to myself, and obviously to the country.”
“We moved to what we called our dream house or our forever house” in Ohio prior to Vance’s election, she told McCain earlier in the interview, “and it really is the place where I feel most at home.” However, she did convey her “understanding” if she was unable to return to that house anytime soon.
“If that happens in four years, I understand. If that happens at some other point in the future, I understand,” she said placidly. “I’m just sort of along for the ride and enjoying it while I can. This is maybe truly the fun part.”
Scroll down for some images of Melania Trump and Usha Vance together:
