Usha Vance is set to become Second Lady of the United States after Donald Trump won the 2024 election with her husband JD as his running mate.
While the future second couple celebrates in the United States, halfway around the world, excitement and cheers also went up India at the Republican victory.
In the small village of Vadluru, located in southern India, there was jubilation on Tuesday night over Trump’s win
Vadluru, which is in the state of Andhra Pradesh, is the ancestral home of Vance’s parents.
‘We just celebrated Usha’s husband’s victory. We burst crackers and preceded this celebration with prayers for JD Vance’s victory yesterday at the local Sai Baba temple,’ former village president P Srinivasa Raju told the Indian news agency PTI.
Usha Vance standing besides her husband Vice President-elect JD Vance on election night in West Palm Beach, FL as Trump spoke
According to the report, about 30 to 40 local villagers distributed sweets to celebrate Vance’s victory and Usha’s links to their village.
Images from the village show people setting off sparklers and clapping in celebration.
The future U.S. Second Lady’s family would have lived in the village more than 70 years ago, one villager explained.
Vance’s grandfather was a farmer in Vadluru and her distant relatives continue to live there, though they have no links to the family now.
Villagers offering prayers for the victory of J.D. Vance, at a Sai Baba temple in Vadluru, the ancestral village of Vance’s wife Usha’s parents
Villagers in Vadluru watching coverage of the U.S. presidential election
Villagers celebrating the U.S. presidential election results in India’s Andhra Pradesh state on November 6
A villager reading a newspaper featuring the 2024 U.S. presidential election in Vadluru, located in India’s Andhra Pradesh state
‘I am happy that she won. As they are our people, it is a bit more happier. Because they belong to our families, we are happy,’ 96-year-old C Shantamma, a distant relative who has never met the Vances, told PTI.
She is related to Vance through her husband who was a brother of Vance’s grandfather.
‘I am happy after coming to know about our relationship,’ Shantamma added.
Vance’s parents emigrated to the U.S. around 1980 where they had Vance in San Diego in 1986.
Vance, 38, has been a constant presence on the campaign trail since Trump named her husband his running mate in July.
Usha Vance with husband J.D. standing next to Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner on election night
Usha and J.D. Vance at a polling location before casting ballots in the 2024 election on November 5 with their three children
Usha and J.D. Vance kissing on the campaign trail in Wisconsin
While she has not given public remarks since introducing her husband at the Republican National Convention in July, she has been spotted getting on and off the campaign plane, sitting in the audience for remarks and standing at his side as he met with voters.
On election night, she was all smiles as she joined him and members of the Trump family on stage in West Palm Beach as they celebrated the victory.
The Yale educated lawyer has yet to reveal what her plans are when it comes to what issues she would like to tackle as Second Lady in Washington.
The mother of three quit her law firm job right after Vance joined the ticket and has been criss-crossing the country with her husband as he campaigned intensely over the past roughly five months.
The couple first met back when they were in law school. They were married in 2014.
Despite not giving any campaign speeches since the convention, Vance has been working behind the scenes to help her husband get elected.
Recently in an interview with NBC News, she shared that while she agreed to keep him company on the campaign, she also shared her perspective with the Ohio senator ‘as his wife and best friend’ as they traveled all across the country.
