‘Like your Hindu wife?’: J.D. Vance sparks controversy by saying his Catholic faith makes him opposed to ‘low-wage foreigners’
Vice President of the United States JD Vance He was criticized after saying his Catholic faith supported policies against “low-wage aliens” entering the United States. Social media noted that his wife, second lady Usha Vance, is an Indian-American and a devout Hindu.Vance made the comments during an interview on Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Corner” while discussing his new memoir, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith,” which focuses on his conversion to Catholicism in 2019.When asked by host Laura Ingraham how his faith affects his decisions in public office, Vance said his religion encourages humility and shapes the way he makes decisions.“My faith constantly requires me to be humble about what’s going on, so Laura one of the things I try to do is keep asking myself, ‘What have we learned,’ ‘What have we learned, is it consistent with what I think is going to happen or is it inconsistent with what I think is going to happen,'” he said.He added, “I do think the Christian faith will humble political leaders because true humility is how you learn, it’s how you understand other people, it’s how you make better decisions over time.”Vance then linked his beliefs to the Trump administration’s economic agenda.“Laura, the other thing I would say is that my faith inspires me to remember that our economic policy is not there for corporations, it’s not there for Wall Street, and while we want everyone to be successful, it’s there to support human dignity,” he said.The vice president added: “We want every American to be able to raise a family and be able to support themselves with comfort and dignity, which is why we are working hard to bring investment and manufacturing back to the United States.”He continued, “That’s why we don’t like low-wage foreigners coming in and lowering wages for American workers. We want ordinary Americans to be able to live a dignified life. I think that’s a very, very Christian concept.”The video went viral, with many users accusing Vance of misrepresenting Christian teachings. One person wrote: “What kind of faith is this? Jesus literally said ‘Blessed are the poor.'”Another person wrote: “What he is saying is not the teachings of Jesus.”Another user said, “Jesus Christ was a low-wage foreigner.”One comment was more personal: “Just like your Hindu wife Usha”?Usha Vance is the first Hindu second lady of the United States. An Indian-American and the daughter of Indian immigrants, she grew up in a Hindu family in San Diego and graduated from Yale Law School. Earlier this year, Usha Vance said in an interview with CBS News that she had no plans to convert to Catholicism like her husband. J.D. Vance later said he hoped she would one day convert to Christianity, but clarified that “she has no plans to convert” and that he respected her decision.Her faith has previously drawn criticism from some within the MAGA movement, with conservatives questioning having a second lady Brown who is not a Christian. The debate also comes on the heels of J.D. Vance’s past remarks describing the United States as a Christian nation.
