JD Vance Accused of Using His Wife in ‘Cynical Gambit’ to Take Trump’s Place

Washington, D.C. – In a November 1, episode of the Inside Trump’s Head podcast, controversial journalist Michael Wolff labeled Vice President JD Vance’s public wish that his wife Usha had converted to Catholicism instead of practicing Hinduism a “cynical gambit” to secure the MAGA base amid President Donald Trump’s lame-duck second term.

The remark, made during a Turning Point USA event with Erika Kirk, widow of the late Charlie Kirk, has drawn scrutiny for its embrace of the audience and perceived slight against Usha Vance, a practicing Hindu of Indian descent, as Vance positions himself as Trump’s heir apparent in a shifting GOP landscape.

The Turning Point Moment

At the October 28, TPUSA event in Phoenix, Vance hugged Erika Kirk and, during a Q&A, said he wished Usha had converted to Catholicism, drawing applause from the conservative crowd, per video footage on X.

Commentators called the embrace calculated; Wolff argued the comment was strategic. “There are an uncountable number of people in the United States of America in 2025 who are in marriages that cross religious and ethnic lines,” Wolff said. “This is not a complicated thing… I would go so far as to say that if that is an issue in your marriage, then things may not turn out so well… And I suspect it’s not an issue in the Vances’ marriage.”

Vance, raised Protestant and converted to Catholicism in 2019, married Usha, a Yale Law classmate and former clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts, in 2014, per their wedding announcement in The New York Times. Interfaith marriages comprise 39% of U.S. unions, per a 2024 Pew Research Center study, with Hindu-Christian pairings at 12% among Asian Americans.

Wolff’s “Cynical Gambit” Theory

Wolff, author of four Trump books including Fire and Fury, called Vance “one of the most shapeshifting politicians of our time and probably among the most cynical.”

He argued the remark was a deliberate signal to MAGA loyalists: “As the MAGA people become more racist, more anti-Semitic, and more about closing borders, that puts JD Vance into an increasingly difficult position. He can’t hope to succeed in Republican primaries if he loses the MAGA base. So, he threw the MAGA base a bone; the bone became his brown wife.”

Wolff speculated the Vances planned it: “Even the creepiest person would not say, let’s say this… Either he is outdoing the creepiest kind of person, or he and his wife have triangulated this themselves.” Usha Vance has not commented publicly.

MAGA Succession and GOP Dynamics

Trump’s second term, ending January 20, 2029, creates a power vacuum, with Vance as frontrunner for 2028, per a September Emerson College poll showing 42% GOP support.

However, MAGA hardliners, emboldened by Trump’s August immigration raids detaining 15,000, including 1,800 citizens, per ICE, demand purity on borders and culture. Vance’s August speech at CPAC praising “Christian nationalism” drew 68% approval from attendees, per internal polling leaked to Politico.

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Vance’s remark risks alienating moderates, with a 2025 Gallup poll showing 55% of suburban women viewing him unfavorably. His November 15, appearance at the National Rifle Association convention aims to solidify base support.

Wolff’s theory, if true, signals a calculated 2028 bid, but interfaith marriage backlash could cost swing voters.