Vice President JD Vance responded with sarcasm on Tuesday to a viral image that appeared to show him engaged in a heated argument with his wife Usha at a restaurant—a photo that online AI detectors suggest was likely fabricated but nonetheless sparked widespread speculation about the state of the couple’s marriage.
“I always wear an undershirt when I go out in public to have a fight loudly with my wife,” Vance wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on December 9, according to multiple news outlets.
The undated, unverified photo shows a man in a white T-shirt with an animated, frustrated expression sitting in a restaurant booth across from a woman in black with her head down, her hand resting on her face. According to The New York Sun, the image “appears to impose Mr. Vance’s face onto a months-old image of a man in a white tee shirt speaking angrily to a woman who faces away from the camera.”
The Viral Spread
The photo began circulating over the weekend after Thomas Clay Jr., who describes himself on Facebook as someone who “busts Republican’s [sic] dumb a–es on the daily,” shared it in a post that garnered thousands of likes and comments, according to The Daily Beast.
“Looks like things are not so good in Republicanistan,” Clay wrote, according to Parade and Bored Panda. “Usha is a liberal. Always has been. Apparently they were having an argument loud enough to quiet the restaurant. Why is he wearing a tee shirt?”
The image quickly spread across multiple social media platforms, with users speculating about the Vances’ marriage. According to The Daily Beast, online AI image detectors found that the photo was likely fabricated. The publication reached out to Clay for comment but did not report receiving a response. Clay told The Daily Beast that he did not create the photo himself.
KATV reported that someone posted a tweet on Monday with a screenshot of Vance in a white shirt looking visibly angry at his wife, prompting Vance’s response the following day.
Pattern of Marriage Speculation
According to multiple news outlets, this is not the first time Vance has had to address rumors about his marriage to Usha, a Yale Law School graduate who served as a law clerk for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. The couple married in 2014 and have three children: Ewan, 8, Vivek, 5, and Mirabel, 3, according to Parade.
Wild speculation about their relationship intensified in November when Usha was photographed without her wedding ring during an event with First Lady Melania Trump at Camp Lejeune, a military base in North Carolina, according to Parade and The Irish Star. She was spotted ring-less again in early December during a visit to Joint Base Andrews, multiple outlets reported.
The restaurant photo generated extensive commentary on social media. According to Twitchy, many users recognized the image as likely fake but played along for humor.
The controversy forced an official response from a spokesperson for the Second Lady. “Usha is a mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes,” the spokesperson told People Magazine, according to Bored Panda and The Irish Star.
Vance Addresses the Scrutiny
In an NBC News interview published on December 5—just days before the restaurant photo went viral—Vance insisted his marriage is “as strong as it’s ever been” and said the couple finds the online speculation amusing.
“I think that we kind of get a kick out of it,” Vance told NBC News, according to multiple outlets. “With anything in life, you take the good with the bad. You accept that there are some sacrifices and there are some very good things that come along with it, too. But our marriage is as strong as it’s ever been, and I think Usha’s really taken to it, and it’s been kind of cool to see how she’s developed and evolved in this new role.”
According to Parade, Vance explained that Usha forgot her ring in their rush to get to the White House. “She was like, ‘Oh, if I don’t go back and get them, there’s going to be some ridiculous psycho who talks about it on social media,’” Vance recalled. “And I was like, let them. It’s not even worth the trip to run back upstairs. So we actually have a little bit of fun with it. And we thought that whole viral social media cycle was kind of funny.”
However, Vance acknowledged the toll such scrutiny takes. “There are certainly ways in which it’s difficult on the family,” he told NBC News, according to Parade. “I’m not going to pretend that it isn’t. But it’s the sacrifice that we signed up for.”
The Erika Kirk Hug and Religious Comments
The marriage rumors were fueled by earlier incidents that drew online attention. According to Bored Panda and AOL, speculation first intensified in October when Vance was seen giving what some observers considered an inappropriately intimate hug to Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, at a memorial event following Kirk’s assassination on September 10.
During their lingering embrace on stage at a Turning Point USA event on October 29, Kirk ran her fingers through Vance’s hair and cradled his head, according to AOL. The gesture was deemed inappropriate by many social media users as videos and photos of the interaction went viral.
At a separate event, Vance drew criticism for comments about his wife’s Hindu faith. According to The Irish Star and Bored Panda, he told an audience: “Do I hope, eventually, that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved in by church? Yeah, honestly, I do wish that, because I believe in the Christian Gospel, and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way.”
Vance, a Catholic convert who was raised in an evangelical family, made these remarks at a Turning Point USA event at the University of Mississippi, describing his interfaith marriage and expressing his hope that Usha would convert from Hinduism to Catholicism.
Vance’s History of Self-Deprecating Humor
According to The New York Sun, Vance has shown a willingness to accept cartoonish depictions of himself as part of being a high-ranking politician. This summer, Comedy Central’s “South Park” depicted him as Tattoo, the character played by 3-foot-11 actor Hervé Villechaize in the 1970s and 1980s show “Fantasy Island,” with President Trump depicted as Ricardo Montalbán’s character Mr. Roarke.
The show’s official X account posted an image with the tagline “Welcome to Mar-A-Lago!” Vance reposted the image, writing, “Well, I’ve finally made it,” The New York Sun reported.
For Halloween, Vance dressed like the “Fat JD” meme of himself in a curly wig and posted images on his social media accounts, according to the publication.
Social Media Response
The restaurant photo generated extensive commentary on social media. According to Twitchy, many users recognized the image as likely fake but played along for humor. “Drinking martinis in an undershirt projects confidence,” one user wrote. Another quipped, “You need to roll up a pack of Marlboros in the sleeve.”
Others pointed out telltale signs of manipulation. “No Diet Coke there, fake news,” one user commented, referencing Vance’s known beverage preferences.
However, some users appeared to take the photo at face value. “Make no mistake…. there are millions of leftists who believe it… these people love being lied to,” one X user wrote, according to Twitchy.
This story was aggregated by AI from several news reports and edited by American Kahani’s News Desk.