Vice President JD Vance revealed his pregnant wife Usha Vance’s reaction to him being rushed off stage during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.
“I think, honestly, it was tougher for my wife, who was at home with the kids and started hearing things through text messages and social media, than it was for me,” JD, 41, told Fox News on Monday, April 29. “I really didn’t know what was going on.”
The vice president was evacuated from the ballroom of the Washington Hilton several seconds before Secret Service agents got President Donald Trump out of the room when shots broke out on Saturday, April 25. (Trump, 79, later explained to 60 Minutes that he “wanted to see what was going on” before evacuating the ballroom with his wife, first lady Melania Trump.)
Describing the harrowing events, JD told Fox News, “I’m sitting up there on the dais with some journalists and obviously the President of the United States a few seats to my right. There’s a lot of commotion. You hear some loud noises. I had no idea what it was.”
“Before I had any idea what was going on, I started seeing people duck under their tables or respond to what was going on far in the back of the ballroom,” he went on. “An agent comes and whispers in my ear, says basically, ‘Sir, we have to leave.’ … The agent sort of lifts me to my feet and I walk off stage and go to my hold room and wait and see what’s going on.”
JD admitted that he wasn’t really “freaked out” until he heard that a Secret Service agent had been shot. (A bullet struck the agent’s protective vest and he was hospitalized for treatment.)
“In the fog of war, I actually thought, ‘This guy is seriously injured or maybe worse,’” the politician remembered. “We found later that he was not seriously injured. As you learn this information, the thing that I really gained an appreciation for, is what an amazing job the agents of the Secret Service do.”
California native Cole Tomas Allen was apprehended during the shooting and subsequently charged with attempting to assassinate the President of the United States, transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, per the Justice Department. He has not yet entered a plea.
Meanwhile, the Vances announced in January that Usha is pregnant with their fourth child. (They also share sons Ewan, 8, and Vivek, 5, and daughter Mirabel, 3.)
“We’re very excited to share the news that Usha is pregnant with our fourth child, a boy,” the Vances announced on January 20. “Usha and the baby are doing well, and we are all looking forward to welcoming him in late July.”
Their statement concluded, “During this exciting and hectic time, we are particularly grateful for the military doctors who take excellent care of our family and for the staff members who do so much to ensure that we can serve the country while enjoying a wonderful life with our children.”
In March, Usha opened up to NBC News about her and JD’s decision to have a fourth child.
“I grew up in a family of two, and I thought that was a great number. And then I had two kids, and I thought — I didn’t feel quite done, right? So I really wanted to have a third child,” she explained. “We did feel very complete with a third child, in many ways. We have our daughter, who’s amazing, and it was great. And so I just wasn’t sure. But as time passed, I realized that I was feeling more and more excited about that possibility.”
Usha added, “And so if there was a chance, I should take it. I knew that I’d be happy if we only had three kids, and I knew that I’d be happy if we had four. And so here we are.”
The Vances have been married since 2014.
