Vice-Prez Vance praises wife Usha as reading challenge approaches deadline

Washington, Sep 4 (AHN) US Vice-President J.D. Vance has praised Second Lady Usha Vance for managing her public responsibilities and family life as her summer reading challenge approached its deadline, six weeks after the couple welcomed a baby.

Vance used the opening minutes of a White House Press briefing to remind children and parents to submit their entries for the reading programme.

“For all the kids at home and their parents, importantly, today is -- or I believe tomorrow is the last day of the Second Lady's summer reading challenge,” he said.

He directed participating families to the White House website and urged them not to miss the deadline.

“We've had an amazing outpouring of support, but you've got to return your summer reading challenge stuff in by tomorrow,” Vance said. “You can go to whitehouse.gov in order to do that.”

The Vice President then offered a personal tribute to his wife. He noted that she had remained busy despite the demands of caring for their six-week-old baby.

“We now have a six-week-old baby who is happy and healthy,” Vance said. “So honey, I love you. I'm very proud of you.”

Addressing Usha directly from the White House briefing room, he added: “And amazingly, you keep -- you keep everything together despite the chaos and despite the craziness.”

Vance later invoked his wife again while answering a light-hearted question about his recent weight loss. He said the effort began with a conversation between the couple before Lent.

“I was talking to my wife on Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, and I was like, I think I'm going to give up sugar, and I think I'm going to give up social media,” he said.

Vance said he subsequently called Bobby Kennedy for health advice. Kennedy recommended a more demanding diet that included high-protein food and sauerkraut.

“My advice to you is that if you want to lose weight, call Bobby Kennedy,” Vance said. “And if you want to enjoy what you eat, do not call Bobby Kennedy.”

The comments offered a rare family interlude during a briefing otherwise dominated by Iran, energy prices, Artificial Intelligence and the mid-term elections.

Usha Vance is the first Indian-American to serve as Second Lady of the United States. The daughter of Indian immigrants, she was raised in California and studied at Yale University and Yale Law School.