VP Vance's Son Naps Through Inauguration: 4-Year-Old Vivek Steals the Show!

JD Vance had to contend with one major scene stealer on his big day.

At the 2025 Presidential Inauguration on January 20th, the newly-sworn-in vice president stood with his family by his side. However, one family member in particular appeared somewhat uninterested in the grand ceremony: his son, Vivek Vance.

Of course, during the event, a 4-year-old boy, dressed in a vibrant blue suit, sat beside his father and President Donald Trump. Eventually, he leaned against the edge of the VIP area to find a more comfortable position.

Besides Vivek, the ex-Ohio senator was joined by his spouse, Usha Vance who served as the Second Lady, along with their other two offspring – Ewan, aged 7, and Mirabel, aged 3.

Indeed, when one family took residence at Number One Observatory Circle, another bid their farewells. With the conclusion of former Vice President Kamala Harris’ four-year term, her stepdaughter Ella Emhoff – child of ex-Vice President Doug Emhoff and his ex-wife Kerstin Emhoff – reflected on her experiences as Second Daughter. She openly expressed a range of emotions as she navigated the power transition.

In their recent Instagram post on January 20th, they expressed heartfelt thanks to everyone who’s stood by them during this challenging time in their life: “From the greatest joys to the toughest struggles.” However, they had a special message for those who added to their difficulties: “You’re not exactly what I’d call pleasant company.

Among pictures of Lady Gaga and her brother Cole Altfest (formerly known as Cole Emhoff), along with an iconic meme of Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, Ella expressed, “It’s been absolutely wild and a privilege being the second daughter. Thank you for allowing me to express myself in my unique way.

For a more detailed look at Vice President JD Vance’s family, keep scrolling.

JD Vance’s highly respected maternal grandmother, whom he affectionately calls Mamaw, was born Bonnie Eloise Blanton on April 16, 1933, in Keck, Kentucky. She spent her childhood in nearby Jackson with her parents Hattie (née Hounshell) and Blaine Blanton, along with five brothers and two sisters.

Growing up, I crossed paths with James Vance, who would later be known as “Papaw.” At the tender age of 13, I found myself expecting a child at 16, as recounted in “Hillbilly Elegy.” In an effort to escape our circumstances, we left our hometown for Dayton, Ohio, eventually settling down in Middletown, within the greater Cincinnati region. Regrettably, the baby I gave birth to at 14 lived for only a short while, as Vance described in his work.

Mamaw and Papaw had Jim Vance as their son, along with daughters Beverly and Lori. Additionally, it was mentioned that Vance’s grandmother experienced at least eight miscarriages between the birth of her other child (Jim Vance’s uncle) and herself.

Granny was strong-willed, honorable, notoriously blunt, and fiercely guarded, as Vance portrayed her. She was swift to brandish a firearm in the defense of her loved ones (and he even hinted at stories of his grandmother occasionally discharging one herself).

In 2016, she identified as Christian, but she had reservations about many aspects of organized Christianity because it appeared to her that individuals were more focused on soliciting funds rather than genuinely practicing their faith.

In 2017, Vance shared with NBC News that throughout his life, she truly ‘got’ him. She recognized when he required support, when he yearned for love and consolation, and when he simply needed understanding. She was exceptionally intelligent about it.

In a family-supplied obituary, it was stated that Mamaw passed away on April 24, 2005, at the age of 72 following a struggle with pneumonia. Her grandson’s book revealed an interesting discovery – throughout her home, there were a total of 19 firearms found to be loaded.

In her later years, she accumulated numerous guns so that she could easily reach them wherever she was, ensuring self-defense for her family, as Vance stated in his Republican National Convention speech.

In the 2020 movie version of “Hillbilly Elegy,” directed by Ron Howard, Glenn Close donned the genuine eyewear of her character, Mamaw. Amy Adams portrayed Beverly in the film.

Vance shared with his cousin Bonnie Meiber, a former reporter from the Dayton Daily News (who happens to be his aunt Lori’s daughter), in 2020 that certain aspects of Mamaw are hard to encapsulate. However, he believes Glenn did an excellent job given the circumstances. “Glenn’s portrayal of Mamaw is not perfect, but it gets quite close to her true spirit,” Vance said. “For those interested in understanding Mamaw, this is a good snapshot of who she really was.

In his book “Hillbilly Elegy“, Vance shares the intricate bond he had with his mother Beverly. Despite being a trained nurse, Beverly battled with substance abuse issues and was sometimes violent. She also had multiple partners. Due to her circumstances, she frequently moved Vance and his half-sister Lindsay, and more times than not, they ended up staying with their grandparents, Mamaw and Papaw.

In his book, it is stated that Vance once deceived a judge concerning his mother’s actions following her arrest for domestic violence. This was done to prevent him from being removed from her custody and admitted into foster care. During an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air in 2016, he described Beverly as a truly wonderful individual who made great efforts but struggled somewhat with the lingering traumas of her past.

Besides mentioning his mother’s unpredictable nature, he expressed trust in his grandmother’s ability to shield him from harm. He further stated, “I was certain she would prevent any serious harm coming my way.

Towards the conclusion of the “Hillbilly Elegy” movie, released in November 2020, the credits state that Beverly had remained sober for six years. According to her niece Bonnie, she attended AA meetings regularly and received a five-year sobriety coin in January.

As an ardent admirer, let me share a tale of my repeated attempts to step away, convinced each time this was the end, only to find myself drawn back in. I can’t help but wonder, if I could identify the secret ingredient that led me to this point, I’d surely bottle it and share it far and wide! It baffles me to no end, understanding what triggers that decisive moment when one realizes ‘enough is enough.’

In an interview with The New York Times in September, Beverly (who shared the stage with Vance at the RNC in July) expressed that her son’s book was “deeply moving in certain sections. However, it facilitated our family’s growth, and it provided us with a communication channel we hadn’t previously utilized.

Currently employed at a drug addiction recovery facility, Beverly mentioned that it had been nearly a decade since she last used substances. As for the heated political news, she chose not to focus on it too much. However, she made it clear that she stood by her son in his choices.

Look at this local lad who’s achieving great things; it seems like everyone, regardless of their political views, would want to support him and cheer him on,” she commented. And because she was choosing to focus on the positive, she clarified, “I must do the same with the negative aspects too. I can choose to live in my own peaceful environment and feel content.

In the book “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vance remembered an instance when his mother picked him up from kindergarten and informed him that his father no longer wished to be with her.

He expressed that it was the most sorrowful he had ever been, and among all the aspects he disliked about his childhood, no other experience came close to the constant changing of male role models in his life.

The Vice President-elect was born as James Donald Bowman to Beverly and her second spouse, Donald Bowman. They divorced when their son Vance was still a toddler, and Donald agreed to let Beverly’s third husband, Bob Hamel, adopt Vance at the age of 6, as detailed in “Hillbilly Elegy”.

Later on, Beverly decided to rename her son as James David Hamel to avoid any association with her ex, yet keeping his well-known nickname, J.D., without the dots in the future.

In my book, I admitted that it felt a tad unusual, even at the tender age of six. Any ordinary ‘D’ name would suffice, provided it wasn’t Donald.

During their separation, Vance continued using the surname Hamel (even during his service in the Marine Corps), whereas his mother adopted the surnames of her various husbands. When he married Usha, they both decided to take on the last name Vance, thus bringing harmony to the family by sharing the same name as the clan to which Vance belonged.

In November 2023, when he was 64 years old, Donald passed away. His obituary stated that he was preceded in death by his loving wife of 35 years and their son, Vance, among other family members.

Note: In 2021, when JD entered politics, he decided to drop periods from his moniker, as reported by the Associated Press. They confirmed this change in his preferred styling through a representative of his Senate campaign, indicating that he now goes by his initials without punctuation.

Vance’s elder sister Lindsay, who is five years senior, is Beverly’s child from her initial marriage. Similar to him, she grew up predominantly under the care of Mamaw and Papaw. (He mentioned in his book that he wasn’t aware they were half-siblings when he was a child.)

Lindsay shared with her cousin Bonnie for the Dayton Daily News in 2020 that she has always seen [JD] as innocent in her eyes. She explained that a piece of her heart belongs to him alone, and she will defend him until the end of her days. Whenever things seemed hopeless, her immediate concern was always for his wellbeing.

Lindsay and husband Kevin Ratliff share three children.

Usha Chilukuri was born on the 6th of January in 1986 to father Krish, a mechanical engineer and university lecturer, and mother Lakshmi, a biologist and college provost. She grew up in San Diego, California, after her parents moved there from India following their immigration. Usha pursued her studies in history at Yale University and later obtained a Master of Philosophy degree from Clare College, Cambridge, which is located in England.

She encountered Vance, who completed his education at Ohio State University in the year 2009 with dual majors in Political Science and Philosophy, while attending Yale Law School.

In an interview with NBC News in May 2017, Usha shared, “We attended all our classes side by side, so I interacted with him for several hours daily. However, we were simply friends back then. But when we got tasked to collaborate on a project, which was a brief, our friendship deepened. I appreciated his punctuality and dedication; he never missed those 9 a.m. meetings we scheduled for working on the brief together.

Vance grinned, saying she had left no doubt that failing to appear would lead to consequences. He remembered her as straightforward and self-assured.

The couple wed in an interfaith Christian-Hindu ceremony in Kentucky in 2014.

Following my law school graduation, I served as a clerk for various federal judges, one of whom was none other than future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Just as I was about to embark on a Supreme Court clerkship, I discovered I was pregnant in 2016. After welcoming my first child, Ewan, into the world in early June 2017, I joined Chief Justice John Roberts’ team at the end of that same month.

On the 2020 episode of the Megyn Kelly Show podcast, Vance admitted, “Usha has a knack for humbling me a bit. If I ever start to feel overconfident or haughty, I simply remember that she is far more accomplished than I am.

Between the years 2019 and 2024, following her husband’s selection as Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee, Usha served as a corporate litigator for a multistate law firm, Munger, Tolles & Olson, which is headquartered in San Francisco.

In June, prior to Vance becoming part of the ticket, Usha expressed on Fox & Friends that she wasn’t eager for any changes in their lives at the moment. However, she expressed faith in JD and had a strong affection for him, stating they would simply wait to see how things unfold with their life.

In May 2017, while sitting down for an interview with NBC News, Usha was 37 weeks into her pregnancy with their first child. Eager to learn the gender as soon as possible, the couple discovered they were expecting a boy. As Usha explained, “JD simply couldn’t wait any longer.

As a lifestyle connoisseur, I can confidently say that I believe this individual will make an exceptional father. His gentleness is not just evident in his storytelling but also in the tender care he shows towards our canine companions. Over time, I’ve observed him with vulnerable creatures, and it’s clear that they are treasured like infants by him.

Ewan Blane Vance was born June 4, 2017.

Vance explained to NBC News that they anticipated the year would be quite unpredictable, saying, “I see this as a typical rural approach, similar to planning your life around a newborn instead of the other way around. We’ll find a solution as we go along.

Their second son, Vivek Vance, was born in February 2020.

On the occasion of his son turning four, Dad chose to read “Oh, The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss from the Senate floor, aware that this special moment would be preserved for future generations.

In December 2021, the Vances welcomed their daughter, whom they affectionately named Mirabel Rose Vance. Her father expressed their joy on Instagram (though he later deleted the post from his account, as he had removed all previous posts prior to August 1), stating, “This year, we received an early Christmas gift – everyone, please meet our first girl! Mother and child are both thriving, and we’re filled with gratitude during this holiday season.

Despite moving to Washington, Vance’s family remains rooted in Cincinnati. In 2018, as reported by the New York Times, they acquired a grand Victorian Gothic house built in 1858, spanning over 5,000 square feet, for $1.4 million.

When Usha stepped down from her law firm in July, she informed SFGATE in a declaration that she intended to devote more time to looking after her family.

At the RNC, Vance shared that his foremost aspiration, as an American, was to excel as a dedicated husband and loving father. He yearned to provide his children with the experiences he lacked during his childhood. This achievement is what he feels most proud of.

Speaking directly into the camera, he said, “For those of you who can hear me, know that I have a lot of love for you. However, it’s already 10 PM, so please head to bed now.

2025-01-25 01:19

VP Vance’s Son Naps Through Inauguration: 4-Year-Old Vivek Steals the Show!

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