US Vice President JD Vance has delivered a blistering response to commentators who have attacked his wife, Usha Vance, telling them in no uncertain terms where they can go.
A Fiery Defence of Family
In a candid interview with UnHerd published on Monday 22 December 2025, the Vice President left little room for interpretation regarding his feelings towards those targeting his spouse. "Let me be clear," Vance stated. "Anyone who attacks my wife, whether their name is Jen Psaki or Nick Fuentes, can eat s***. That's my official policy as vice president of the United States."
The remarks were directed at two very different critics. Jen Psaki, the former White House press secretary for President Joe Biden, had previously questioned on a podcast in October whether Usha Vance might need 'rescuing' from her husband. Meanwhile, far-right streamer Nick Fuentes—who openly identifies as a racist—has disparaged the Second Lady, who is the daughter of Indian immigrants, using a racial slur and labelled Vance a 'race-traitor' for marrying her.
Drawing a Line on Ethnic Hatred
While forcefully defending his family, Vance also used the platform to address growing tensions within the Republican Party concerning antisemitism. He sought to downplay the influence of figures like Fuentes, arguing their significance is "vastly overstated" by those wishing to avoid substantive foreign policy debates about Israel.
Nevertheless, he drew a firm ideological line. "Antisemitism, and all forms of ethnic hatred have no place in the conservative movement," Vance asserted. "Whether you're attacking somebody because they're white or because they're black or because they're Jewish, I think it's disgusting." This echoed comments he made earlier in the month, pushing back against claims that antisemitism is 'exploding' on the right.
Conservative Infighting Erupts Publicly
The debate over these issues came to a head at the recent Turning Point USA annual conference, where Vance shared the stage with prominent conservative voices like Ben Shapiro and Tucker Carlson. The event highlighted deep fissures within the movement.
Shapiro accused certain MAGA-aligned influencers of platforming extremist voices, specifically calling out Tucker Carlson for raising doubts about the official investigation into the death of Charlie Kirk. "The conservative movement is … in danger from charlatans who claim to speak in the name of principle but actually traffic in conspiracism and dishonesty," Shapiro contended.
Carlson, speaking shortly after, defended a stance against what he called a rush to "deplatform and denounce," stating this tendency was a key reason he voted for Donald Trump. He described being engaged in a "proxy war" for the movement's future.
Vance, for his part, attempted to strike a unifying tone amidst the discord, rejecting rigid "purity tests." He encouraged supporters not to be discouraged by infighting, framing the conservative movement as one of free thinkers, preferable to "a bunch of drones who take their word from George Soros."
