JD VANCE has jumped to wife Usha’s defense after she torched a newspaper column about her maternity dress — joking she should run the federal budget.
The Vice President’s comment came after Usha Vance, who is expecting the couple’s fourth child, fired back at the New York Times over a column that picked apart the political messaging behind her maternity wardrobe.
“She bought a $50 dress for $8.75. America: meet your next director of the federal budget!,” JD wrote on X.
The backlash started after the outlet ran a piece examining the pregnancy style choices of several prominent women in the Trump administration.
Sharing a light-hearted response, Usha wrote: “Now that we know the political significance of my $8.75 coral maternity dress from Old Navy, can’t wait to hear what the New York Times has to say about my elastic-waistband pants and compression socks!
“In the meantime, enjoy my pregnancy fashion (or lack thereof) and a good story with your kids on Storytime with the Second Lady.”
The post included a link to a video showing Vance sitting alongside her husband while wearing the coral off-the-shoulder dress that sparked the discussion.
She then posted the receipt to back it up.
“And here’s the receipt!” she wrote alongside a screenshot showing the dress had been heavily discounted.
The receipt showed the dress had started at $49.99, dropped to $12.49 on sale, then fell to $8.75 after a promotional discount.
The New York Times article, written by fashion critic Vanessa Friedman, focused on Usha alongside White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Katie Miller, wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller.
Friedman argued the three women had collectively shaped a new public image around family and fertility within the administration.
“That three such prominent women in the MAGA movement were pregnant at pretty much the same time was, indubitably, a coincidence,” Friedman wrote.
“But for an administration that has such an intuitive and strategic understanding of the power of aesthetics … it has also become a telling one.”
Friedman’s piece also singled out a Father’s Day post on social media from Usha, noting she was “wearing a stretchy coral dress that hugs her stomach.”
Friedman later suggested that by spotlighting her pregnancy, Usha was helping “represent and humanize the vice president.”
