Usha Vance's Travel Schedule Has Haters Calling Her A Phony & They Might Be Right

Even though the role of second lady hasn't traditionally attracted a lot of attention, the mysterious Usha Vance has puzzled Americans since Vice President JD Vance's meteoric rise to political fame in 2024. Usha has been the subject of scandalous rumors and has had her motives questioned. It doesn't sound like it has been easy. In fact, Usha's behavior hints that she's already tired of the SLOTUS life. But some of the criticism thrown at her isn't entirely baseless.

Social media users had lots to say about Usha's August trip to Houston, Texas, where she hosted a reading event for children at NASA as part of her Summer Reading Challenge. Netizens didn't have any issues with the initiative, which seeks to encourage K-8 students to read during the school break, but with the location. For many, Usha's trip to NASA was a masterclass in hypocrisy, given that President Donald Trump wants to cut the agency's budget by a whopping 24%.

If Congress approves the cuts, ongoing missions would come to a halt before concluding, and the United States would no longer lead the scientific research in the field. All of people, Usha should see the value of scientific research. After all, her father is a aerospace engineer and lecturer at lecturer at San Diego State University and her mother is a molecular biologist and provost of an undergraduate school at the University of California, San Diego, both of whom moved to the U.S. in search of career opportunities. Netizens weren't going to let things slide. 

To promote the initiative, Usha and JD Vance shared photos of the second lady alongside astronaut Sunita Williams with kids at NASA on their Instagram pages. "Reading with Suni Williams, collecting lunar dust, and making postcards to send to space were some of the highlights of the day. 3... 2... 1... blast off into your next read!" she captioned the post. But social media users were distracted by the children's inquisitive looks. Instead, they used the space to criticize the Trump administration's actions against the agency.

"Cute how you're promoting NASA when your hubs and his elfen friends gutted it," one user commented. Many others echoed the sentiment. "Your husband's administration is gutting NASA. But cool you stopped by for a photo-op," another user wrote. Others used the opportunity to point out that Usha used to be a registered Democrat. "Vile sell out. Wrong side of history," the user penned. The comments section was anything but kind to Usha. But her haters aren't entirely wrong here.

The Trump administration's proposed cuts to NASA could severely impair not only its research but also its educational efforts. "Have seen 1st hand how NASA brings young people to science and engineering ... Educational events like Human Exploration Rover Challenge (AKA The Great Moonbuggy Race) and SLI (Student Lunch Challenge) have a profound impact on students," a user argued on NASA Watch, a non-affiliated blog dedicated to the space agency. Usha's photo-op at the endangered institution came across as tone-deaf at best.