On March 6, the White House announced that Usha Vance will lead the Presidential Delegation to Turin, Italy, to attend the opening ceremony of the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games. The eyes of fans and critics were on her as she took her first solo foreign trip after assuming the title of Second Lady of the United States.
Vance flashed a big smile as she entered the arena with her 7-year-old son. However, what followed during the ceremony may have been embarrassing for the Second Lady. Politicians and organizers of the event, in their respective speeches, talked about one thing—Inclusion. And guess the one thing Usha’s husband, JD Vance, stands against! (clears throat).
It wasn’t long ago that JD Vance introduced a bill to eliminate DEI programs in the federal government. DEI stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It is an organisation framework that promotes fair treatment and participation for people of all backgrounds, irrespective of their ages, genders, disabilities, sexual orientation, races, religions, etc.
Introducing the bill to dismantle DEI in June 2024, the then-Senate JD Vance said, “The DEI agenda is a destructive ideology that breeds hatred and racial division.” As per the official website of Congressman Michael Cloud, Vance further added, “I’m proud to introduce this legislation, which would root out DEI from our federal bureaucracy by eliminating such programs and stripping funding for DEI policies anywhere it exists. Americans’ tax dollars should not be co-opted to spread this radical and divisive ideology — this bill would ensure they are not.”
A few months later, his wife Usha had to sit as a US Delegate at the Special Olympics and watch the Mayor of Turin speak about how sports is a way to “promote inclusion, openness and growth.”
The foundation of Special Olympics is built upon diversity, equity, and inclusion—and it’s everything that Donald Trump and Vance aren’t big fans of! The opening ceremony made sure that the message is delivered to Usha Vance, her husband, and Trump.
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The event included a dance performance from a diverse dance troupe. The commentators said that “emotional” performance would “show why unity is so important in the world.” The Second Lady must have been confused about how to react to it.
Later, Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, President of the Games’ Local Organizing Committee, in her speech, thanked Usha Vance for attending. Fans couldn’t ignore a major goof-up during the live event when the closed captioner botched Second Lady’s name and made it ‘Miss Lucia Vance’. But wait there’s more!
The clip was posted on ESPN’s YouTube channel. This time the captioner corrected her first name but botched her last name which became ‘Miss Usha Van,’ as reported by The Daily Beast.
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And then, Rebaudengo, in her speech, talked about the need to spread “education and inclusion around the world.” We wonder how Usha Vance must have been feeling as her husband and Trump are working on eliminating USAID, which funds programs like Inclusive Development Partners (IDP), which helps children with disabilities receive an education.
The message of inclusivity was delivered loudly and clearly to everyone in the crowd, and Usha might have wondered how soon she could take an exit to save herself from the embarrassment.
