Why JD Vance and Erika Kirk's hug made tongues wag

Why JD Vance and Erika Kirk’s hug made tongues wag
The vice president’s current wife, Usha, is a growing political liability

By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published November 10, 2025 6:45AM (EST)


(Salon) It was a hug that sent a thousand divorce lawyer hearts a-flutter. At a recent Turning Point USA event in Mississippi, Vice President JD Vance and Erika Kirk reminded a nation why right-wing Christians used to favor the awkward side hug over full body contact. The vice president and widow of the recently assassinated Charlie Kirk got tongues wagging when, during an onstage embrace, she put her hand in his hair and he touched her hip, demonstrating a level of affection he doesn’t seem to have for his actual wife, Usha Vance. The gossip mill, both on and offline, exploded, with people speculating that Kirk and Vance are having an affair. The rumors were amplified by a comment Kirk made during the same event. “No one will ever replace my husband,” she said. “No, but I do see some similarities of my husband in JD.”

The wild speculation about the nature of their friendship is ironic when considering that both have built their careers by taking an intrusive, judgmental interest in dictating the personal lives of strangers. Vance has a long rap sheet of insulting women who don’t get married and have children according to his exacting timetable, calling them “miserable” and “cat ladies” who are destroying the nation with their alleged selfishness. Along with her late husband, Kirk has routinely prescribed that women forgo college degrees and careers — even though she has both — so they can fully commit to being submissive housewives.

The fevered rumors have exposed not a secret affair but a political liability: Vance’s marriage is an increasingly poor fit for his political brand, which has become increasingly based on praising the virtues of white supremacy and retrograde gender roles.

In Republican politics, especially in the MAGA era, a politician’s wife is an important part of establishing his reputation as a “real” man to a base who eschews thinking and nuance in favor of emotional reactions. Vance not only wants to be president, but he also has a well-financed machine backing him, and they will doubtless want a good return on their investment in his future. Based on the xenophobia and anti-South Asian sentiment that courses through the MAGA body politic, the vice president could be better marketed as President Donald Trump‘s successor if he had a wife who looked more like Erika Kirk. .................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/11/10/why-jd-vance-and-erika-kirks-hug-made-tongues-wag/