![\"Amid](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-125018873,imgsize-576926,width-400,resizemode-4\/untitled-design-9.jpg\" "\\"JD")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nTOI Correspondent from Washington: <\/span>US Vice President JD Vance is facing a torrent of divorce speculation after photos of him embracing Erika Kirk, the 31-year-old widow of assassinated Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, went viral following a memorial event in Mississippi where he hoped his wife Usha Vance nee Chilukuri would embrace Christianity. The images showing Vance with his hands on Kirk\u2019s waist and her fingers running through his hair fuelled online conspiracies that he is preparing to leave his Hindu wife for a \u201cChristian First Lady\u201d ahead of a potential 2028 presidential run.<\/p>\n From Hug To Heartache? Erika Moment Fuels JD Vance\u2013Usha Split Talk | Watch<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cJD Vance will divorce his Indian wife, marry Erika Kirk, and run in 2028 with a white Christian woman by his side,\u201d one X post with over 1.2 million views declared. Another quipped, \u201cAnyone else thinking they\u2019re auditioning for the First Couple of Christian Nationalism?\u201dThe speculation gained traction among far-right accounts wary of Usha\u2019s Hindu background, with some claiming Vance is bowing to pressure from evangelical MAGA purists who view an interfaith marriage as a liability in the White House. Adding fuel to the fire was a fervid post by President Trump on Friday night in which he claimed Christianity is facing an \u201cexistential threat\u201d in Nigeria, and the U.S “cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other Countries.” “We stand ready, willing, and able to save our Great Christian population around the World!” Trump said in an extraordinary post, saying he is designating Nigeria \u201ca country of particular concern.\u201dThe Erika-Vance photos were taken on October 29 at the University of Mississippi during a Turning Point USA event honoring Kirk, who was assassinated in July. Erika Kirk, now CEO of the organization, introduced Vance as a \u201cdear friend\u201d and noted similarities to her late husband. \u201cNo one will ever replace Charlie,\u201d she said, \u201cbut I do see echoes of him in JD.\u201d The two shared a brief embrace on stage, but her words and the visuals were dissected frame-by-frame online by pro- and anti-MAGA forces. \u201cThat\u2019s not a sympathy hug. That\u2019s a \u2018call me later\u2019 hug,\u201d one viral reply read. One vlog ran with the headline: “Vance HUMILIATES Wife As Divorce SCANDAL Explodes!”Vance defenders rubbished the interpretation, pointing to the close friendship between Usha and Erika, including Usha flying with her for Kirk\u2019s memorial and her presence by Erika’s side during the arrival of the casket.Still, the optics proved combustible, especially after Vance\u2019s remarks just minutes later, when he hoped Usha would be \u201cmoved by the same thing that moved me in church.\u201dAlthough he seemed to partly walk back the remarks the next day, saying, \u201cShe is Hindu, has no plans to convert, and I\u2019ll love and support her always,\u201d the comments reverberated across the country, including in Hindu circles. The Hindu American Foundation called the remarks \u201cdeeply disrespectful,\u201d and urged Vance to \u201cengage with Hinduism\u201d rather than frame it as inferior.The palpable uptick in Christian nationalism vis-a-vis Hindus also surfaced at another Turning Point event in Ohio earlier this month when a conservative student asked Vivek Ramaswamy, who is running for governor, how he would represent the state which is majority Christian when he is a self-professed Hindu. After a brief disquisition on Hinduism, Ramaswamy called him on stage, gave him a copy of the U.S Constitution, and asked him to read aloud Article VI, Clause 3: “No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”\u201cI’m not running to be pastor of Ohio. I’m running to be governor of Ohio,\u201d Ramaswamy quipped.<\/div>\n