JD Vance's Mom Reveals What She Really Thinks of Usha Vance After Political Attacks

A political feud involving Vice President JD Vance, Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and Usha Vance has become increasingly personal in recent weeks. Now, JD's mother, Beverly Vance Aikins, is offering her own perspective — and she has made it clear where she stands.

The dispute between JD and Abdul has escalated over several weeks, with the two men trading increasingly personal accusations and remarks.

As Forbes reported, Abdul, Michigan's Democratic Senate nominee, accused JD and President Donald Trump of "hypocrisy" after JD called Abdul "evil" and warned him to stop mentioning Usha.

The Feud That Put Usha in the Middle

The tension reached another level on August 31, when JD delivered a blunt message to Abdul during a rally. "Whatever you want to talk about, Abdul, keep my wife's name the hell out of your mouth, because she's way out of your league!" The warning followed earlier clashes between the two men.

In one exchange last month, JD reportedly criticized Abdul over comments concerning sharia law, saying he wished he could go back in time and tell his grandfather that a man who claimed to stand for working people also supported sharia law and believed criticism of it made someone a white supremacist.

Abdul responded on X with a pointed reference to Usha and JD’s grandparents. The dispute continued after JD accused Abdul of representing "terrible evil."

Abdul responded through his campaign website, writing, "Evil is ripping healthcare away from working people in exchange for tax breaks for billionaires. Evil is making people pay more for groceries and gas while pushing for trade wars and actual war. Evil is dividing people for your own gain. Evil is selling out your morals for a little bit of power."

He added, "Michigan is better than being lectured to by sock puppets from Ohio and Florida. We understand what's at stake, and Michiganders will show you at the ballot box this November when we send Mike Rogers packing."

Usha Had Her Own Answer for Abdul

Usha eventually addressed the controversy herself during an interview with Fox & Friends. Rather than appearing rattled by Abdul’s comments, she said, "I have to admit, I kind of laughed."

She continued, "Because yes, I never met JD's Mamaw and Papaw. But I do know and love the children that they raised, his mom, his aunt and uncle. And they have never been anything but incredibly loving."

Abdul later addressed the controversy in an interview, questioning the idea that some people could be considered more American because their families had been in the country longer.

"The confusing thing about it is that he thinks that there are some people who are more American than others because they can point to their Papaw who was here earlier," he said. "And my question to him is simply: Why is it then, how do you look your parents-in-law in the eye and say that somehow they're less American than you are? Because that's what he's implying there."

The comments brought the dispute directly into the Vance family's personal life — and that is where Beverly's perspective became especially notable.

Beverly Vance Aikins Refuses to Stay Quiet

Speaking with Tomi Lahren on an episode of Tomi Lahren Is Fearless, Beverly addressed the remarks about Usha and her grandchildren. Asked about the suggestion that the family might view JD and Usha's "brown kids" differently because of Usha's race, Beverly did not mince words.

"I think that man's an idiot. Those are my babies. I love those babies and would do anything for any of them, and I love Usha as if she were my own daughter. She's one of the best, most genuine people I've ever met and she loves my son, and she's a good mother, and I don't pay attention to people like that."

Beverly also made clear that, within her family, Usha's background is not treated as an issue. "We just laugh [it] off. Yeah, we just laugh [it] off. She's just Usha to us."

The comments came as Beverly described herself as fiercely protective of her grandchildren and said the political criticism made her angry because, in her view, those making the remarks did not actually know JD or his family.

"I mean, it makes me mad, honestly, um, because he doesn't know JD, and he doesn't know, you know, what type of person he is, and I do. Um, but in the long run, I'm not going to do anything about it. I mean, you know, I'd probably punch the guy if I ever seen [sic] him, and then that [would] get me in trouble. So, um, I'll just go with the flow," Beverly added.

She also offered her own theory about why the attacks had become so personal. "I think they're jealous, honestly. I mean JD's 42 years old. He's handsome. He's the vice president of the United States. He's got a beautiful wife, um, four beautiful children. And, um, jealousy is the only thing I can think of."

Beverly added, "So, I mean, he can take all the shots he wants. It's going to go, you know, it's going to get no merit from any of us."

Beverly Opens Up About Her Bond With Usha

Later in the interview, Lahren returned to Usha, this time moving away from the political controversy and toward the second lady's public image. Lahren brought up criticism Usha had received for wearing what she described as a relatively inexpensive Old Navy dress, arguing that the choice actually made the second lady more relatable.

That opened the door to a much more personal question about Beverly's relationship with her daughter-in-law. And Beverly's answer was unmistakably warm.

"She is. She's very humble, very, very, I think she's one of the nicest people I've ever met. And I love her. I mean, like I said, I love her like she's my own daughter. I would do anything for her."

Then she added the description that perhaps says the most about how Beverly sees Usha. "She's very genuine, very authentic. She loves JD. She's a good mom. Um, I can't think of anything. I can't think of anything bad to say about her."

For a woman who had just been discussing attacks on her family, the contrast was striking: Beverly was not merely defending Usha against the criticism. She was describing a daughter-in-law she clearly considers part of her immediate family.

Usha's Culture Has Become Part of the Family, Too

The discussion also touched on Usha’s Indian heritage and whether Beverly had learned anything about her daughter-in-law's culture over the years. "Yes, absolutely. I don't know what some of it's called, but um I know I asked my grandson one time what his favorite food was, and he named this Indian dish."

"And um so we had it, and I have to admit it was pretty delicious. I don't think I could cook it, but it was pretty good."

She also said her closeness with Usha began almost immediately. "Um, I've always been close to her ever since I met her. I knew she was the one just by the way JD looked at her. And, you know, that's- he's my son, and he looked at her like he had never looked at anybody else, and I just knew she was going to be the one. So, I've always been close to her."

That relationship is particularly notable given how much of JD's childhood has been publicly documented.

Beverly's past Is a Complicated Part of Jd's Story

Beverly's warm description of Usha exists alongside a complicated history with her own son. According to People's account of JD's parents, Beverly was 19 when she welcomed JD's older sister, Lindsay, in 1979. She and Donald Bowman had JD, born James Donald Bowman, in 1984, but Donald left the family when JD was a toddler.

The family eventually settled in Middletown, Ohio, where JD and Lindsay grew up. Beverly worked as a nurse and struggled with substance abuse and addiction while JD was growing up.

People reported that, according to JD's 2016 memoir, the substance abuse contributed to severe dysfunction at home and that Beverly could become aggressive toward her son.

JD's parents officially divorced when he was six, after his father had already left the family. In Hillbilly Elegy, JD recalled being told that he would no longer see his biological father, writing, "It was the saddest I had ever felt." He also described the "revolving door of father figures" that followed.

Beverly was married five times, according to People's account. After her marriage to Donald ended, she later married Bob Hamel, who adopted JD and changed his name to James David Hamel.

JD later took the Vance surname after his maternal grandparents became his primary caretakers.

The Childhood Story Behind 'Hillbilly Elegy'

JD eventually went into the care of his grandparents, James and Bonnie Vance, as Beverly's substance abuse problems worsened. In his memoir, JD described a particularly frightening incident in which he alleged that his mother drove at extremely high speed and threatened to crash the car and kill them both.

He wrote that she later slowed down, reached into the back seat, and began beating him, prompting him to escape from the vehicle and run to a neighbor's house, who called police.

His grandparents ultimately became his caretakers, and JD later described them as "without question or qualification, the best things that ever happened to me." The memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, turned JD's childhood into a national story and was later adapted into a film starring Amy Adams as Beverly and Glenn Close as Bonnie.

Beverly told Lahren that she believed the movie portrayed her accurately. "I do. I think they did a really good job. Yeah, I really think they did."

The book also prompted debate in Middletown, with some residents objecting to its portrayal of the community. In a 2020 essay for the Journal-News, JD's cousin Bonnie Meiber recalled his response to the criticism.

"I don't blame Middletown for the dysfunction that existed in our family," JD told Meiber. "Some of the Middletown defensiveness is rooted in pride of place. I'm proud of Middletown. I don't disagree with that instinct. But you've got to recognize that because of forces outside of Middletown there are families who grow up below the poverty line. There is a lot of drug abuse."

JD Once Described His Mother's Arrest as a Moment of Relief

JD’s difficult childhood was also discussed during a 2017 interview with Megyn Kelly. In NBC News' account of the interview, JD recalled watching his mother being arrested when he was 12.

Asked how he felt as officers took Beverly away, JD said, "Honestly, I just felt relieved. In that moment I just felt relieved … and I thought to myself, 'All right, I'm going to live another day.'"

He explained that his mother had threatened to kill them in a car crash, making the arrest a moment of both relief and emotional devastation. "I also think that moment is kind of a microcosm of my entire life, is that there was this brief moment of terror and of feeling really lonely, and then there was Lindsay."

JD became emotional while recalling the memory, describing how he sat in the back of a police cruiser after his mother’s arrest and wanted someone to come and take him away.

"That, you know, that was who…sorry." His relationship with his father also changed over time. Donald reentered JD's life when he was a teenager, although their reunion came with some disagreement over JD's taste in classic rock.

JD Vance recalled that his father objected to music by Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Eric Clapton and advised him to listen to Christian rock instead. JD later became Catholic and was baptized in 2019 at age 35.