JD Vance has brushed off an online claim that he was caught loudly arguing with his wife, Usha, in a restaurant after an unverified photo began circulating on social media.
The image, shared on Facebook, appears to show the vice president leaning toward the second lady with an animated expression while she looks down at the table.
“Looks like things are not so good in Republicanistan,” wrote Facebook user Thomas Clay Jr alongside the picture. “Usha is a liberal. Always has been. Apparently they were having an argument loud enough to quiet the restaurant. Why is he wearing a tee shirt?”
Vance responded on Tuesday on X, where he has been facing heightened public scrutiny over his marriage.
“I always wear an undershirt when I go out in public to have a fight loudly with my wife,” he wrote dryly, casting doubt on the authenticity of the photo and mocking the premise of the post.
The flap comes amid intense speculation about the couple’s relationship after Usha was recently seen in public without her wedding ring.
Rumors about the Vances’ marriage first picked up in October, after the vice president gave Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, a close hug during a memorial event for her husband. At the same event, Vance told the audience he had urged Usha to convert from Hinduism to Catholicism, a comment that further fueled online chatter about their relationship.
Vance pushed back on the speculation in an interview last week, downplaying claims about his wife not wearing her ring while acknowledging that family life can be challenging under the public gaze.
The Daily Mail previously reported that Usha was first photographed without her ring at an event with First Lady Melania Trump in November. She was later seen without the jewelry again in early December during a visit to Joint Base Andrews with Melania.
At the time, a spokesman for Usha explained the missing ring by saying she “does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes.”
Vance told NBC News that he and his wife actually find the online fixation on her wedding band somewhat amusing.
“I think that we kind of get a kick out of it,” he said last Thursday.
“With anything in life, you take the good with the bad,” he continued. “You accept that there are some sacrifices and there are some very good things that come along with it, too. But our marriage is as strong as it’s ever been, and I think Usha’s really taken to it, and it’s been kind of cool to see how she’s developed and evolved in this new role.”
He also admitted that the scrutiny is not always easy: “There are certainly ways in which it’s difficult on the family … I’m not going to pretend that it isn’t. But it’s the sacrifice that we signed up for.”
Vance offered more detail about why Usha was recently seen without her ring while accompanying the first lady, saying the couple had been hurrying to leave for the White House so Usha could attend an event with Melania.
As they headed out, Usha realized she had left her rings upstairs after taking a shower.
“She was like, ‘Oh, if I don’t go back and get them, there’s going to be some ridiculous psycho who talks about it on social media,’” Vance recalled in the interview.
“And I was like, ‘Let them. It’s not even worth the trip to run back upstairs.’ So we actually have a little bit of fun with it. And we thought that whole viral social media cycle was kind of funny.”
Vance and Usha were married in 2014 and share three children.
Although the vice president’s wife rarely gives interviews and generally stays out of the spotlight, she is now leading an initiative focused on promoting childhood literacy.
“I think that when you’re in love with somebody, you’re always sort of curious what they get attached to and what they get interested in,” Vance said.
“It’s been amazing to see her really lean into this child literacy thing. And I think it speaks very highly of her.”
