In the wake of Ohio Senator JD Vance's nomination as the Republican vice presidential candidate, his wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance, has been subjected to a surge of racist online attacks. These attacks, originating from far-right social media users, have targeted her Indian heritage and the couple's mixed-race family.
Usha Chilukuri Vance, a San Diego native and daughter of Indian immigrants, has faced vitriol similar to that directed at Harmeet Dhillon, an RNC speaker of Sikh and Indian descent. This spike in online harassment followed Vance's recent nomination and has included xenophobic comments criticizing his marriage to a non-white individual and invoking the Great Replacement conspiracy theory. Engagement metrics indicate these posts have amassed hundreds of thousands of views.
Stop AAPI Hate, an advocacy group monitoring anti-Asian hate incidents, has condemned these attacks, highlighting how they exacerbate the fear and anxiety already prevalent among Asian Americans and immigrants. The organization pointed out that this hate surge parallels the ongoing scrutiny of Vice President Kamala Harris's electability due to her South Asian heritage. Since 2020, Stop AAPI Hate has recorded thousands of potential hate incidents, largely fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The backlash against Usha Vance emerges amidst a politically charged atmosphere, with former President Donald Trump calling for national unity in the wake of an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally. "The discord and division in our society must be healed. We must heal it quickly. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together, or we fall apart," Trump stated during his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
However, Trump’s call for unity contrasts sharply with his subsequent remarks, where he resumed his familiar rhetoric on immigration. "The greatest invasion in history is taking place right here in our country," Trump claimed, referring to undocumented migrants entering the U.S. Despite these claims, recent CBP data indicates a continued decline in border encounters for the fourth consecutive month, attributed partly to President Biden’s June 4 executive order restricting asylum access between ports of entry.
JD Vance's history of criticism towards Trump and his supporters' racial rhetoric adds another layer to the current situation. In a 2016 POLITICO interview, Vance remarked that "the Trump people are certainly more racist than the average white professional" and expressed concerns that Trump's rhetoric could escalate racial tensions. In a PBS Newshour interview the same year, Vance acknowledged an element of racism and xenophobia within Trump's support base.
Despite his earlier stance as a "Never Trump guy," Vance's perspective shifted significantly by 2021, leading to his alignment with Trump. Vance has since praised Trump’s presidency and expressed regret over his past criticisms. "Look, I was wrong about Donald Trump. I didn't think he was going to be a good president, Bret," Vance told Fox News anchor Bret Baier last month. "He was a great president, and it's one of the reasons why I'm working so hard to make sure he gets a second term."
As Vance joins Trump on the Republican ticket for the upcoming presidential election, the couple faces both political and personal challenges, navigating the complexities of a racially charged political landscape.
