TOI Correspondent from Washington: US Vice President JD Vance is facing a torrent of divorce speculation after photos of him embracing Erika Kirk, the 31-year-old widow of assassinated Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, went viral following a memorial event in Mississippi where he hoped his wife Usha Vance nee Chilukuri would embrace Christianity.
The images showing Vance with his hands on Kirk’s waist and her fingers running through his hair fuelled online conspiracies that he is preparing to leave his Hindu wife for a “Christian First Lady” ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run.
“JD Vance will divorce his Indian wife, marry Erika Kirk, and run in 2028 with a white Christian woman by his side,” one X post with over 1.2 million views declared. Another quipped, “Anyone else thinking they’re auditioning for the First Couple of Christian Nationalism?”
The speculation gained traction among far-right accounts wary of Usha’s Hindu background, with some claiming Vance is bowing to pressure from evangelical MAGA purists who view an interfaith marriage as a liability in the White House. Adding fuel to the fire was a fervid post by President Trump on Friday night in which he claimed Christianity is facing an “existential threat” in Nigeria, and the U.S "cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries."
"We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!" Trump said in an extraordinary post, saying he is designating Nigeria “a country of particular concern.”
The Erika-Vance photos were taken on October 29 at the University of Mississippi during a Turning Point USA event honoring Kirk, who was assassinated in July. Erika Kirk, now CEO of the organization, introduced Vance as a “dear friend” and noted similarities to her late husband. “No one will ever replace Charlie,” she said, “but I do see echoes of him in JD.”
The two shared a brief embrace on stage, but her words and the visuals were dissected frame-by-frame online by pro- and anti-MAGA forces. “That’s not a sympathy hug. That’s a ‘call me later’ hug,” one viral reply read. One vlog ran with the headline: "Vance HUMILIATES Wife As Divorce SCANDAL Explodes!"
Vance defenders rubbished the interpretation, pointing to the close friendship between Usha and Erika, including Usha flying with her for Kirk’s memorial and her presence by Erika's side during the arrival of the casket.
Still, the optics proved combustible, especially after Vance’s remarks just minutes later, when he hoped Usha would be “moved by the same thing that moved me in church.”
Although he seemed to partly walk back the remarks the next day, saying, “She is Hindu, has no plans to convert, and I’ll love and support her always,” the comments reverberated across the country, including in Hindu circles. The Hindu American Foundation called the remarks “deeply disrespectful,” and urged Vance to “engage with Hinduism” rather than frame it as inferior.
The palpable uptick in Christian nationalism vis-a-vis Hindus also surfaced at another Turning Point event in Ohio earlier this month when a conservative student asked Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running for governor, how he would represent the state which is majority Christian when he is a self-professed Hindu.
After a brief disquisition on Hinduism, Ramaswamy called him on stage, gave him a copy of the U.S Constitution, and asked him to read aloud Article VI, Clause 3: "No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
“I'm not running to be pastor of Ohio. I'm running to be governor of Ohio,” Ramaswamy quipped.
Rajghatta is author of Kamala Harris: Phenomenal Woman