Speech by Usha Chilukuri Vance at Republican National Convention

July 17, 2024

Milwaukee, WI



Good evening.

When I was asked to introduce my husband, J. D. Vance, to all of you, I was at a loss: What could I say that hasn’t already been said before? After all, the man was already the subject of a Ron Howard movie.

J. D. has shared much of his life through his own eloquent words, in his book, “Hillbilly Elegy”, during his Senate campaign, and now as a sitting United States Senator. It occurred to me that there was only one thing to do: to explain from the heart why I love and admire J. D. and stand here beside him today and why he will make a great Vice President of the United States.

I met J.D. in law school when he was fresh out of Ohio State which he attended with the support of the GI Bill. We were friends first because, I mean, who wouldn’t want to be friends with J.D.? He was then, as now, the most interesting person I knew. A working-class guy who would overcome childhood traumas that I could barely fathom to end up at Yale Law School. A tough marine who had served in Iraq, but whose idea of a good time was playing with puppies and watching the movie “Babe”. The most determined person I knew with one overriding ambition: to become a husband and a father, and to build the kind of tight-knit family that he had longed for as a child.

My background is very different from J. D.’s. I grew up in San Diego in a middle-class community, with two loving parents – both immigrants from India – and a wonderful sister. That J. D. and I could meet at all, let alone fall in love and marry, is a testament to this great country. It is also a testament to J. D., and it tells you something about who he is.

When J. D. met me, he approached our differences with curiosity and enthusiasm. He wanted to know everything about me: where I came from, what my life had been like... Although he’s a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, he adapted to my vegetarian diet and learned to cook food for my mother, Indian food. Before I knew it, he had become an integral part of my family, a person I could not imagine living without.

The J. D. I knew then is the same J. D. you see today, except for that beard. And… and his goals in this new role are the same that he has pursued for our family: to keep people safe, to create opportunities, to build a better life, and to solve problems with an open mind.

It’s safe to say that neither J. D. nor I expected to find ourselves in this position, but it’s hard to imagine a more powerful example of the American dream. A boy from Middletown, Ohio, raised by his grandmother through tough times, chosen to help lead our country through some of its greatest challenges.

I am grateful to all of you for the trust you have placed in him and in our family. And with that, it is my great privilege to introduce my husband and the next Vice President of the United States, J. D. Vance.