JD Vance is a proud father of three children; Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel.
The Republican vice presidential candidate has often spoken about parenting, but also drew criticism for his 2021 comments about “childless cat ladies” in the Democratic party leadership, including Vice President Kamala Harris (who has two stepchildren).
The Ohio politician has long been in favor of having children tweeting in March 2021, “The low birth rates in our country have turned many elites into sociopaths.”
And when it comes to his three children with wife Usha Chilukuri Vance, the politician has been sending shout-outs to them at his events.
“If you’re looking, daddy loves you very much,” the Ohio politician said at the Republican National Convention, adding playfully, “but go to bed, it’s 10 o’clock.”
Vance is the author of the bestseller “Hillbilly Elegy,” published in 2016, which recounts his upbringing in Appalachia and sparked a conversation about the socioeconomic conditions of white working-class people.
The politician, born and raised in Ohio, became a senator for his home state. Vance is an Iraq War veteran who graduated from Ohio State University and Yale Law School.
According to the New York Times, Vance had a close relationship at Yale Law School with Professor Amy Chua, author of her own best-selling memoir, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” which detailed her strict parenting methods.
In his speech at the Republican National Convention on July 17, Vance spoke about his vision for the American dream, emphasizing the importance of his children in his life.
“My main American dream was to become a good husband and a good father,” he said. “I wanted to give my children the things I didn’t have growing up.”
“And that is the achievement I am most proud of,” he added.
Read on for what you need to know about JD Vance’s kids.
Ewan
Ewan was born in 2017. Three weeks before his birth, Usha and JD Vance spoke to NBC News and revealed that they discovered the baby’s gender early in the pregnancy.
“We found out right away because JD couldn’t possibly wait,” Usha Vance said.
“I wanted to know after nine weeks, but apparently that’s physically impossible,” he added.
While speaking on the Senate floor in February 2024, Vance referred to his eldest child as his “6-year-old baby boy,” before playfully correcting himself by saying he’s “not so much of a baby anymore.”
Vivek
Three years later, in 2020, another little boy came along named Vivek. In February 2024, Vance wished his son a happy birthday on the Senate floor and read a passage from Dr. Seuss “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”
“I’m sorry Vivek that I can’t be with you for your birthday dinner, but I want you to know that daddy loves you very much and I’m going to read this to you because maybe you can watch it at home,” he said.
Mirabel
In December 2021, the couple welcomed their third child, a daughter named Mirabel.
“We have been blessed with an early Christmas gift this year. Please meet Mirabel Rose Vance, our first girl. Mom and baby are both doing great, and we are very grateful this holiday season,” Vance wrote on Instagram at the time.
The baby girl appeared with her father in a blooper reel of a campaign video in 2022.
While speaking to Fox News, Vance recently described his feelings about parenthood.
“I love being a father and Usha loves being a mother and I think we love doing that together. And that won’t change whether Trump chooses me as vice president or not,” he said.
What JD Vance and Usha Vance said about parenthood
When asked about the role their different religious beliefs play in raising their children, Usha Vance gave the following answer.
“There are a lot of things that we just agree on, especially when it comes to family life (and) how to raise our children. And so I think the answer is really that we just talk a lot,” she said.
When asked what kind of father she thought her husband would be, Usha Vance said “great.”
“He’s actually a very gentle person. I think that comes across in the way he tells his story. But we have two dogs and the way he treats them, they’re like his babies. So I’ve seen him with vulnerable creatures .” for years,” she says.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
