Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, has finally spoken out regarding the controversy surrounding her husband’s public support for the rehiring of Marko Elez, a former staffer at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Elez, who was rehired after Elon Musk conducted a social media poll, had previously been fired due to racist and xenophobic content posted on his now-deleted X (formerly Twitter) account.
The Controversial Posts and Marko Elez’s Rehiring
Marko Elez, 25, was first brought to attention for his inflammatory posts targeting Indians, with comments that shocked many. Among his controversial statements were: “Just for the record, I was racist before it was cool,” and “You could not pay me to marry outside of my ethnicity.” His most controversial remark was a tweet that read: “Normalize Indian hate,” which led to widespread outrage.
Despite these offensive posts, Elon Musk, who leads DOGE, decided to reinstate Elez after conducting a poll on X, asking his followers if the disgraced staffer should be brought back.
The decision to rehire Elez raised eyebrows, especially when JD Vance, the Vice President, openly supported Musk’s decision, despite the offensive content directly targeting his wife’s ethnicity.
JD Vance’s Defense of Elez
In a statement defending his stance, JD Vance took to social media, saying, “Here’s my view: I obviously disagree with some of Elez’s posts, but I don’t think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid’s life. We shouldn’t reward journalists who try to destroy people. Ever. So I say bring him back. If he’s a bad dude or a terrible member of the team, fire him for that.”
This defense of Elez, especially in the face of his hurtful remarks towards Indians, including his wife, Usha, shocked many. Social media users criticized Vance, with some even urging Usha to consider a divorce due to her husband’s support of a person who openly expressed hatred towards her ethnic background.
Usha Vance’s Response
After several months of silence, Usha Vance finally addressed the controversy in an interview with the Free Press. She made it clear that she strongly disagreed with the hateful language used by Elez, stating, “Do I think it’s great when people talk about ‘normalizing Indian hate’ or something like that? Absolutely not. I think it’s terrible.”
However, Usha offered a more nuanced perspective on the issue, discussing the role social media plays in spreading hateful messages. She noted, “I think it’s our relationship to this information…that is potentially new.”
Usha emphasized that while racism is not new, the speed at which harmful ideas can spread on social media without the opportunity for reflection is troubling.
“Very, very intelligent people say things that are sometimes very, very ill-founded because we are now in this world in which all conversations happen based on limited information very quickly, without the kind of reflection that might have been possible before.”
The Growing Backlash and Political Reactions
The controversy surrounding Elez’s rehiring has sparked intense backlash, especially from individuals like Representative Ro Khanna, a Democratic politician of Indian descent.
Khanna questioned Vance’s defense of Elez, asking, “Are you going to tell him to apologize for saying ‘Normalize Indian hate’ before this rehire? Just asking for the sake of both of our kids.”
The incident has brought public attention to the issue of how social media can amplify harmful views and the responsibility public figures have when supporting individuals with controversial, racist opinions. It also raised broader concerns about the impact of such views on personal relationships and political credibility.