JD & Usha Vance's Snub Of Erika Kirk's Birthday After Viral Hug Smells Of Trouble

Erika Kirk turned 37 on Thursday, November 20, and MAGA supporters, organizations, and political figures alike wished her a happy birthday. Fox News and Kimberly Guilfoyle were among those who posted Instagram tributes for the CEO of Turning Point USA. It was Kirk's first birthday since her husband, conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University in September. Interestingly, Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, were not among Kirk's well-wishers, and the snubs were glaringly obvious. Especially after the overly-intimate hug Kirk and Vance shared during a tribute to Charlie in October that set the internet ablaze with rumors about the vice president's marriage.

"He's been a blessing," Kirk said of JD in an interview with Fox News' Jesse Watters, recorded before the October 29 event (via People). "Him and Usha, they are the most incredible people ... they were there for us." It seems as if the Vances were "there" for Kirk until the weirdly intimate hug, during which Kirk had her hands in JD's hair and he was close enough to whisper sweet nothings in her ear. We're not surprised if Usha set boundaries that included not celebrating Kirk's birthday on social media, and making sure her husband didn't either. 

Usha Vance has provided some cryptic clues about where her marriage to JD Vance stands after his viral hug with Erika Kirk, but the internet isn't easily fooled. The couple attended the Marine Corps ball together on November 8 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Marines. They held hands during their entrance, and Usha made sure to hug JD before they took their seats, also kissing her husband on the cheek. But many users on X (formerly Twitter) didn't buy that it was a natural moment. "I'm just not feeling it!" one user wrote, adding a green-faced nauseous emoji. There were also sarcastic comments about Kirk, such as, "No Erika cameo? I figured they'd be a throple by now."

But some of JD and Usha's potential marital problems have nothing to do with Kirk. During the Turning Point USA event on October 29, while taking audience questions after the cozy moment with Kirk, JD was asked how he felt about Usha's Hindu faith as a Christian man. "Do I hope eventually that she is somehow moved by what I was moved by in church? Yeah, honestly, I do wish that, because I believe in the Christian gospel," he said (via X). The vice president also said that different faiths were not a problem in his marriage, but it was still a telling comment that added to the growing pile of evidence that he and Usha could be on the rocks.