White House whispers about JD Vance... after 'quick on his feet' answer to unvetted question about 'religious rift' with wife Usha
'You are married to a woman who is not Christian,' a female audience member blasted into the microphone.
She was at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi on Wednesday at which Vice President JD Vance was the guest of honor and taking unvetted questions from the public.
The Indian-American heritage of the VP's wife Usha Vance is, the woman said, at odds with his aggressive stance on immigration.
Vance's face grew serious as he looked out from the stage to where Usha was sat in the audience.
But as he started answering the woman's line questioning, she interrupted him, continuing to criticize the Trump administration's policies on immigration.
'I'm going to finish answering the question, and if I've answered all nine of your questions in less than 15 minutes, we can keep on going,' Vance quipped, prompting laughter from the crowd.
'We've got to have a little fun, right?' he joked. Even the probing audience member herself couldn't help but smile.
After convincingly addressing the issue of immigration, Vance pivoted back to the personal questions about his wife and their 'interfaith household'.
Erika Kirk, widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, and U.S. Vice President JD Vance embrace on stage
He conceded that yes, his wife was raised as a Hindu, but that she was never 'particularly religious' and that they were both atheist or agnostic when they met in college.
When he converted to Catholicism in 2019, his wife did not, he explained, but together they are raising their three children as Catholic.
Usha, Vance said, goes to Mass with the family 'most Sundays'.
'Do I hope eventually that she is somehow moved by the same thing I was moved by in church? Yeah, honestly, I do wish that,' he said, prompting rapturous applause.
The mood among Vance's staff was upbeat as they exited Mississippi, with sources close to the White House telling the Daily Mail they were impressed by his performance.
The vice president, one source told the Daily Mail, had done an 'outstanding job' honoring the legacy of Charlie Kirk, the late founder of Turning Point USA.
'He's quick on his feet, well-informed, and he speaks sincerely, politely, and with conviction,' he said.
The taking of unvetted questions for over an hour is rare for a sitting vice president. Nonetheless, say our insiders, he was impressively unfazed.
After the event, Vance doubled down on in a post on X.
'My wife - as I said at the TPUSA - is the most amazing blessing I have in my life,' he wrote. 'She herself encouraged me to reengage with my faith many years ago. She is not a Christian and has no plans to convert, but like many people in an interfaith marriage - or any interfaith relationship - I hope she may one day see things as I do. Regardless, I'll continue to love and support her and talk to her about faith and life and everything else, because she's my wife.'
Security was ramped up in the University of Mississippi's basketball arena for Vance's appearance, but not so much that the students could not stand directly in front of the vice president to question him.
The Turning Point event was a chance for Vance to defend his record in the Trump administration, but it also provide view into his likely future as a presidential candidate, unshackled from his current boss.
The testing questions kept coming.
What about Trump's use of the military to quell protests in America's major cities? Wouldn't that allow future presidents to do the same thing?
'We cannot be afraid to do something because the left might do it in the future, the left is already going to do it regardless of whether we do it,' Vance replied. 'That is the takeaway from the last 40 years.'
And what of alleged 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza? Is the Trump administration too pro-Israel and beholden to wealthy Pro-Israel donors?
'When people say that Israel is somehow manipulating or controlling the President of the United States, they're not controlling this president United States,' Vance asserted.
But, he argued, 'America first' does not mean that the president would not work with other countries where their interests aligned.
Vance also tackled questions surrounding his connection to his long-time mentor and Republican donor Peter Thiel, the billionaire co-founder of tech-firm Palantir.
Palantir, Vance said, was a 'private company.'
'They sometimes do a useful service, and sometimes they're going to do things that we don't like,' he said, admitting that he too had concerns over tech companies like Palantir harvesting data from private individuals.
'It's unacceptable. I don't care who does it. I don't want them to do it.'
To his fans inside the White House, Vance's no-nonsense approach to this week's event indicates he is already preparing for an almost-certain 2028 run for president.
Vance, one political insider told the Daily Mail, appeared keenly aware of the current political conversation in the country, but also the more niche, online controversies surrounding this administration's policies.
'Vance has the rare ability to be honest and transparent while also speaking with tremendous authority,' Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet told the Daily Mail. '[The audience] saw him deftly navigate some of the most contentious topics of our time with no idea what was coming next.'
As Vance's grilling drew to a close on Wednesday, some in the crowd began chanting: '48! 48! 48!'
'Let's not get ahead of ourselves,' Vance replied seriously - even if many of the young student activists gathered there in the Mississippi arena have already made up their minds.
