J.D. Vance said he cried backstage when his wife introduced him as Trump's VP before acceptance speech at Republican convention
- J.D. Vance reacts to his wife's speech at the Republican National Convention
- READ MORE: Who is Senator Vance's Ivy-League educated wife Usha?
- READ MORE: What J.D. Vance has said about the biggest 2024 issues
Ohio Senator J.D. Vance praised his wife Usha's speech introducing him at the Republican National Convention, saying he cried backstage as she spoke Wednesday night in Milwaukee.
'She really is just an amazing person and she gave a really really great speech,' Vance gushed Thursday morning while speaking at the Faith & Freedom Coalition breakfast after accepting the GOP vice presidential nomination.
'It was such a tough act to follow in part because I was crying backstage, and in part because she's beautiful and has this incredible relatability to her,' he continued.
'I'm like who in their right mind thought it was a good idea for me to follow this person and give the biggest speech of my life? And I realized, it was my idea,' Vance recalled.
![Senator J.D. Vance said that he cried backstage while his wife Usha was speaking at the convention. They shared a kiss after she welcomes him to the stage](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/18/04/87478033-13645117-image-a-80_1721272745907.jpg)
Senator J.D. Vance said that he cried backstage while his wife Usha was speaking at the convention. They shared a kiss after she welcomes him to the stage
Usha made her primetime debut Wednesday when she spoke ahead of her husband who was picked this week as Donald Trump's running mate.
The experienced litigator and mother of his three children recounted the story of how they fell in love and how their relationship is a 'testament to this great country' to cheers at the Fiserv Arena.
The 38-year-old Ivy League graduate then kissed her husband before he formally accepted the nomination to be Trump's vice presidential pick in the 2024 election.
'It's safe to say that neither J.D. nor I expected to find ourselves in this position, but it's hard to imagine a more powerful example of the American dream,' she said.
'I'm grateful to all of you for the trust you have placed in him and in our family,' Vance added before welcoming him to the stage.
![Vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance praised his wife's speech while speaking at the Faith & Freedom Coalition breakfast Thursday morning. He said he cried backstage](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/18/14/87494723-13647747-image-a-1_1721310350105.jpg)
Vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance praised his wife's speech while speaking at the Faith & Freedom Coalition breakfast Thursday morning. He said he cried backstage
![Usha Vance takes the convention stage to introduce her husband J.D. Vance before he accepts the Republican nomination for vice president](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/18/04/87478053-13645117-image-a-81_1721272805842.jpg)
Usha Vance takes the convention stage to introduce her husband J.D. Vance before he accepts the Republican nomination for vice president
Speaking at the Thursday morning breakfast, Vance credited his wife with helping him find faith.
He recounted being raised by his grandmother and her reading the bible every day and said by the time he was in law school he even referred to himself as an atheist.
'To me what really brought me back to Christ was finding a wife and falling in love... and thinking about what was required of me as a husband and as a father,' Vance said Thursday.
'The more I thought about those deeper questions, the more that I thought that there was wisdom in the Christian faith that I had completely discarded and completely ignored,' he added.
![Usha Vance said her husband never imagined finding themselves in the position they are in but called it a powerful 'example of the American dream'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/18/04/87477653-13645117-image-a-70_1721271761386.jpg)
Usha Vance said her husband never imagined finding themselves in the position they are in but called it a powerful 'example of the American dream'
![Usha and JD Vance with their three children. They welcomed their first child in 2017. Their daughter Mirabel was born in December 2021](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/15/20/87369625-13636675-image-a-12_1721070148323.jpg)
Usha and JD Vance with their three children. They welcomed their first child in 2017. Their daughter Mirabel was born in December 2021
Usha was with the senator on the convention floor when he was officially nominated as vice presidential pick for the Republican 2024 ticket on Monday.
But Wednesday night viewers from around the world watched as she gave her first public remarks at the since he was announced as the former president's pick.
'When I was asked to introduce my husband J.D. Vance to all of you, I was at a loss. What could I say that hasn't already been said before? After all, the man was already the subject of a Ron Howard movie,' she joked to start, referencing the movie version of his memoir 'Hillbilly Elegy.'
She described Vance Wednesday night as the most interesting person she knew who overcame childhood traumas and whose idea of a good time is to 'play with puppies.'
She fondly recalled how Vance adapted to her vegetarian diet and learned to cook for her mother.
'Before I knew it, he had become an integral part of my family,' she recalled.
![Usha Vance sitting next to Donald Trump after speaking at the Republican National Convention as they watch her husband J.D. accept the vice presidential nomination](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/18/04/87477989-13645117-image-a-76_1721272561747.jpg)
Usha Vance sitting next to Donald Trump after speaking at the Republican National Convention as they watch her husband J.D. accept the vice presidential nomination
![Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance kisses wife Usha on the convention floor in Milwaukee on Monday as he is officially nominated for the GOP ticket](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/15/23/87375873-13636675-image-a-2_1721082506017.jpg)
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance kisses wife Usha on the convention floor in Milwaukee on Monday as he is officially nominated for the GOP ticket
![JD and Usha Vance with two of their three children Ewan and Vivek](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/15/19/87368923-13636675-image-a-5_1721069579161.jpg)
JD and Usha Vance with two of their three children Ewan and Vivek
![Usha Chilukuri Vance standing with her husband JD Vance as he arrives for his 2022 election night party after being declared the winner of the Ohio Senate race on November 8, 2022](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/07/15/19/87368943-13636675-image-a-7_1721069615910.jpg)
Usha Chilukuri Vance standing with her husband JD Vance as he arrives for his 2022 election night party after being declared the winner of the Ohio Senate race on November 8, 2022
Vance first met her husband J.D. when they were both students at Yale Law School in 2013. They married on year out of law school in 2014.
In 2017, the couple welcomed the first of three children, Ewan Blaine. They also have a second son Vivek and welcomed a daughter Mirabel in December 2021.
The daughter of Indian immigrants, born Usha Chilukuri, Vance was raised in the suburbs of San Diego. She has said she was raised in a religious Hindu family.
After graduating, she went to Yale University where she majored in history. She then continued her studies at University of Cambridge.
Until recently, Vance was an attorney at the San Francisco and Washington, DC law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson where she focused on complex civil litigation and appeals.
She left the firm after her husband was picked as Trump's running mate.