Speaking at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in Washington, DC, Usha Vance said, “It really was the trip of a lifetime for us”read more
US Second Lady Usha Vance recalled her recent trip to India and recounted her children’s experience with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling their interaction “very special”.
Speaking at the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in Washington, DC, Usha Vance said, “It really was the trip of a lifetime for us. My children had never been to India, what with the pandemic and JD’s entry into politics and all that. And so they’d grown up just knowing so much about this country, the stories, the food, the relationships with grandparents and friends, but they had never actually seen it.”
Vance said that her family had the opportunity to visit “some of the greatest sites in North India”, including the Taj Mahal and try “great” Indian cuisine, adding that she is already looking forward to her next trip to India.
US Vice President JD Vance visited India in April after assuming office in January. He held several bilateral meetings with PM Modi in an effort to take the India-US relationship a step ahead as tariff threats loomed large.
‘Grandfather category’
Usha recalled her children’s first interaction with PM Modi in Paris, where he gave a present to her then four-year-old son. “Meeting the Prime Minister, that was very special. My kids saw him – they were sort of sleep deprived in Paris, and they saw an Indian man with a white beard and white hair, and they just put him in the grandfather category immediately,” she said.
The Second Lady added that her two sons and a daughter “loved” PM Modi, saying that he was “incredibly kind and generous” to them.
Recounting her visit to 7 LKM, Vance said, “I think it was very productive conversation for JD and the Prime Minister, of course. But also, think it was a real opportunity for us to kind of cement that personal relationship that they have, which I think is only to the good. And as you mentioned, there was a puppet show. That was a particular highlight with sort of puppeteering from all over the country, including from Andhra Pradesh, where my family is from. There were bits from the Ramayana.”