As it turns out, there's a good reason why JD Vance was out with his daughter this weekend. Apparently, he was on daddy duty while his wife, Usha, made her first official solo appearance as second lady.
Mrs. Vance made the trip to Turin, Italy this weekend as part of the Presidential Delegation for the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Winter Games, which took place on Saturday. She was joined by other members of the delegation, including Rachel Campos-Duffy, FOX News Host and wife of the U.S. secretary of Transportation; Riley M. Barnes, senior bureau official of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State; Trent Michael Morse, deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of presidential personnel; Shawn Crowley, chargé d'affaires a.i., U.S. Embassy to Italy and San Marino; Douglass Benning, consul general, U.S. Consulate Milan, Italy; Boris Epshteyn, senior counsel and senior advisor to President Donald J. Trump; and Richard Walters, Partner at FGS Global.
Mrs. Vance also brought her oldest son, Ewan, along on the trip. Upon arriving home on Monday, she made her very first posts on Instagram and X, along with several pictures from her time in Italy that show her meeting with both officials and children at the event. She said:
I am honored to have attended the Special Olympics Winter Games this weekend and to have led the Presidential delegation. Hearing from these inspirational athletes about their journeys and dedication to their events was uplifting. Thank you @specialolympics for fostering a community of leaders, and for such a warm welcome. Go Team USA!
I am honored to have attended the Special Olympics World Winter Games with the Presidential delegation. Thank you, @SpecialOlympics, for such a warm welcome and for fostering a community full of inspirational athletes and strong leaders. Go Team USA! pic.twitter.com/EPYwwUYHET
— Second Lady Usha Vance (@SLOTUS) March 10, 2025
Of course the left managed to find a reason to mock even this harmless event. Comments on the second lady's Instagram post range from "Get rid of DEI which effects people with disabilities then go to the special Olympics. Got it" to people simply meowing at her (I suppose this is some kind of weird belated response to the vice president's "childless cat lady" comment).
And then there's the article in the Daily Beast that pretty much decided that the entire opening ceremony for the Special Olympics was designed to troll Mrs. Vance. There are more stretches in that article than in a two-hour yoga class.
I can't express how tired I am of these people making everything partisan.
Other images and reports show that the crowd cheered and smiled when she took the stage and offered her a warm welcome.
"Che i giochi abbiano inizio!" Let the games begin!
— Special Olympics (@SpecialOlympics) March 8, 2025
Tonight, our athletes were the stars at Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy, as the world watched in awe. Now, the moment has arrived—@sowg_ #Turin2025 are officially OPEN! 🎉 #TheFutureIsHere #SpecialOlympics pic.twitter.com/xgmlZ1R2wK
Last month, when I wrote a profile on Usha Vance, I wondered what her role would be over the next four years. Would she stay out of the limelight and focus on being a wife to the vice president and mother to her three young children, or would she take up a cause near and dear to her and be a voice for the Trump administration?
Related: Meet Usha Vance, America's Second Lady
While we still don't know, "a source" told CNN that she "is assembling a small team of staff, transitioning her three children to life at the Naval Observatory, and settling into the role, for which she will have her own platform and responsibilities." I don't know about you, but I really look forward to seeing what that is.
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