‘Hope wife will convert’: Vance draws criticism

US Vice-President JD Vance has drawn widespread criticism after expressing hope that his wife, Usha Vance, who was raised in a Hindu family, would one day be “moved” by Christianity.

Speaking at an event at the University of Mississippi, Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, said, “Do I hope, eventually, that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved by in church? Yeah, honestly, I do. Because I believe in the Christian gospel and I hope my wife comes to see it the same way.”

However, he added her beliefs did not cause conflict in their marriage, saying, “God says everybody has free will.”

Amid criticism, Vance later said his wife had no plans to convert to Christianity but added that he hoped “she may one day see things as I do”. He said, “She is not a Christian and has no plans to convert, but like many people in an interfaith marriage, I hope she may one day see things as I do.”