PoliticsJ.D. Vance Says WHCD Shooting Was 'Tougher' on His Pregnant Wife — Who Monitored the Situation at Home
J.D. Vance said the WHCD shooting was 'tougher' on pregnant wife Usha, who was following the events on social media from home.
April 30 2026, Published 3:03 p.m. ET
Vice President J.D. Vance stated that the shooting at the 2026 White House Correspondents' Dinner was "tougher" on his wife, Usha, than it was on him because she was at home monitoring the chaos through social media while pregnant.
During an interview on "The Will Cain Show" on Wednesday, April 29, the vice president explained that while he was being evacuated from the ballroom, Usha was receiving fragmented, frightening updates via text messages and social media.
He noted that she experienced significant anxiety because she wasn't aware of exactly what was occurring or if he was safe.
J.D. Vance's wife is pregnant with their fourth child.
On Saturday, April 25, a gunman identified as Cole Tomas Allen may have opened fire at the Washington Hilton during a dinner in an alleged attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.
The veep recalled being on the dais when Secret Service agents quickly whispered to him that they had to leave and physically guided him to a secure hold room.
“There were some loud noises, I had no idea what it was,” he said. “Before I had any idea of what was going on, I started seeing people duck under the tables and respond to what was going on far in the back of the ballroom.”
Both the president and VP were unharmed.
“The first thing that happened that action freaked me out a little bit was we heard an agent had been shot, and in the fog of war, I thought ‘Oh, my god, this guy is actually seriously injured or maybe worse,'" Vance recalled. "We found out later, of course, he was not injured, not seriously injured.”
The couple is currently expecting their fourth child, a boy, due in late July.
Both the president and VP were unharmed, and a Secret Service agent who was struck during the incident is expected to recover.
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J.D. praised the Secret Service for their swift response and said he gained a newfound appreciation for what they do.
“I gained appreciation for what an amazing job the agents of the Secret Service do. They went right to me, way to the president of the United States, put their lives in harm's way. I've had a Secret Service detail for all of two years. I wouldn't say I'm used to it, but it's interesting; you get used to it,” he said. “They're driving you to the White House. They're the people that hang out with your kids when your kids are running around outside, they kind of stay in the background of your life a little bit, and it's easy to forget the reason they are there is for nights like what happened Saturday night.”
“It could have been worse,” he said. “Law enforcement did a great job.”
Usha Vance said she is not her husband's staffer.
While she is a close advisor and support system for her husband, who has famously referred to her as his "spirit guide," Usha has established a distinct identity through her own high-level legal career and personal background.
The second lady, who was a registered Democrat until at least 2014, has publicly stated that she and her husband "don't always see eye to eye on every issue" and that she is not his staffer, nor involved in his career in a professional sense.
