Usha Vance pokes fun at ‘political significance’ of maternity dress

Administration Usha Vance pokes fun at ‘political significance’ of maternity dress Comments: by Finya Swai - 06/27/26 4:06 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Finya Swai - 06/27/26 4:06 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Second lady Usha Vance poked fun at a New York Times article examining the public image of pregnant women in President Trump’s orbit, joking that she did not realize her maternity dress carried so much “political significance.”

“Now that we know the political significance of my $8.75 coral maternity dress from Old Navy, can’t wait to hear what the New York Times has to say about my elastic-waistband pants and compression socks!” the second lady wrote Thursday in a post on social media.

She was responding to a story titled “The Politics and Power of the Pregnancy Image,” which discussed how the pregnancies of Vance, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s wife, Katie Miller, helped create a public image centered on family and motherhood in the administration.

The article’s author, chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman, wrote that the women had “created a notably consistent, and somewhat paradigm-shifting, picture of the White House’s family and fertility platform.”

Vance later shared a receipt showing that the coral Old Navy maternity dress featured in the article only cost $8.75 after markdowns and coupons. The dress originally retailed for $44.99.

“She bought a $50 dress for $8.75. America: meet your next director of the federal budget!” her husband, Vice President Vance wrote on social media jokingly.

A spokesperson for the NYT defended the article, saying it presented a “fair and illuminating analysis of women in the Trump administration and their ownership of motherhood and image,” in a statement to USA TODAY.

The Vances are expecting a baby boy in July, who would be their fourth child. They announced the pregnancy in January. The couple has three other young children: Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel. They welcomed their most recent child in December 2021, while JD Vance campaigned for Senate in Ohio.