WASHINGTON \u2014 Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance have found humor in the cottage industry of online speculation that has sprouted up around their marriage.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that we kind of get a kick out of it,\u201d Vance said Thursday in an interview with NBC News when he was asked whether he was frustrated over a recent rash of tabloid-style headlines about the second lady being spotted without her wedding ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith anything in life, you take the good with the bad,\u201d Vance added as he sat in his West Wing office, where photos of him and Usha Vance and their children line the tables around his desk. \u201cYou accept that there are some sacrifices and there are some very good things that come along with it, too. But our marriage is as strong as it\u2019s ever been, and I think Usha\u2019s really taken to it, and it\u2019s been kind of cool to see how she\u2019s developed and evolved in this new role.\u201d<\/p>\n
The gossip mill migrated from social media to the\u00a0Daily Mail,\u00a0People and other publications last month after Usha Vance was photographed with a ringless ring finger during a visit to a military base with first lady Melania Trump. A spokesperson for the second lady explained to both outlets that she is \u201ca mother of three young children, who does a lot of dishes, gives lots of baths, and forgets her ring sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vice president weighed in on the spectacle with NBC News on Thursday when he was asked whether stories like that had been tough on the couple, who married in 2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s funny,\u201d Vance said. \u201cI actually don\u2019t think that it\u2019s tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vance related a more recent story from days earlier, when he and his wife were rushing to the White House before the second lady left for another event with Melania Trump. As she got into the car, Usha Vance realized she had left her rings behind again after having taken a shower.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was like, \u2018Oh, if I don\u2019t go back and get them, there\u2019s going to be some ridiculous psycho who talks about it on social media,\u2019\u201d Vance recalled. \u201cAnd I was like, let them. It\u2019s not even worth the trip to run back upstairs. So we actually have a little bit of fun with it. And we thought that whole viral social media cycle was kind of funny.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the second lady predicted, the absent ring did not go unnoticed. The\u00a0Daily Mail\u00a0and\u00a0The Daily Beast were among the publications that ran fresh headlines.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are certainly ways in which it\u2019s difficult on the family,\u201d Vance said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to pretend that it isn\u2019t. But it\u2019s the sacrifice that we signed up for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vance, a former senator from Ohio, said their three children \u2014 ages 3, 5 and 8 \u2014 have responded differently to their new life in Washington.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that there\u2019s always a limelight on the kids, and that\u2019s both good and bad,\u201d he said. \u201cOur 8-year-old really doesn\u2019t like it. He wants to have as private of a life as possible. When we come to an event in the White House and he sees the cameras, he doesn\u2019t love it, and so we try to keep him out of that limelight as much as possible. On the flip side, our 5-year-old, who\u2019s a little bit more like me, he probably likes it too much. He loves the fact that wherever he goes, people treat him very specially. They always give him candy or cookies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Usha Vance, who rarely grants interviews, has carved out a more public role in the Trump administration by spearheading a program to promote childhood literacy and development. She has traveled the country to read with children and prompt them on their favorite books.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that when you\u2019re in love with somebody, you\u2019re always sort of curious what they get attached to and what they get interested in,\u201d the vice president said. \u201cIt\u2019s been amazing to see her really lean into this child literacy thing. And I think it speaks very highly of her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, I\u2019m very biased,\u201d he added. \u201cBut it\u2019s definitely \u2014 it\u2019s given us a new adventure to go on, and we\u2019ve both had a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article was originally published on\u00a0NBCNews.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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