Usha Vance pokes fun at NYT after analysis of the $8.75 Old Navy maternity dress she wore during viral interview with JD

Usha Vance pokes fun at NYT after analysis of the $8.75 Old Navy maternity dress she wore during viral interview with JD The paper’s fashion critic argued that Vance, and other MAGA women, have embodied the president’s ‘pro-natalist movement’ - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments It’s the Second Lady versus the Grey Lady. Usha Vance took a swipe at The New York Times after the newspaper parsed the supposed political meaning behind her wardrobe. Vance, who is expecting her fourth child, responded online after the paper’s chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman analyzed a viral Father’s Day video in which she wore a form-fitting maternity dress. Friedman suggested the clothing worn by Vance, and other prominent women within the president’s circle, reflected the administration’s “pronatalist movement.” “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,” Vance, a Yale Law School graduate and former white‑shoe attorney, wrote on X Wednesday. “And here’s the receipt,” she added, sharing proof that she purchased the low-cost outfit. The drama began when Vance interviewed her husband, Vice President JD Vance, on her podcast, “Storytime with the Second Lady,” which focuses on boosting child literacy. During the episode, released Sunday, she asked a series of breezy questions, including about children's books and stuffed animals before he read from a Winnie-the-Pooh book. A brief exchange early in the episode quickly circulated online. “Thanks for joining us today, honey,” the second lady said. The vice president replied, “of course, good to see ya,” before leaning over to lightly pat her knee — a moment some social media users described as awkward. But Friedman’s focus lay elsewhere. In an article titled “The Politics and Power of the Pregnancy Image,” she explored Vance’s choice to wear “a stretchy coral dress that hugs her stomach.” The fashion critic observed that two other prominent women close to Trump — White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Katie Miller, wife of Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller — were pregnant around the same time, too. “That three such prominent women in the MAGA movement were pregnant at pretty much the same time was, indubitably, a coincidence,” Friedman wrote. “But for an administration that has such an intuitive and strategic understanding of the power of aesthetics that an unspoken dress code in which men outfit themselves in the image of the president has developed, it has also become a telling one.” Friedman argued that by repeatedly appearing in clothing that emphasizes their rounded stomachs, the trio of women have bolstered the administration’s policies around fertility. The White House has framed family and fertility as a priority — announcing actions to expand access to fertility care, lowering costs for treatments and promoting policies intended to support family formation and maternal health. Trump has vowed to be “the fertilization president” and declared himself the “father of fertility.” The vice president said last year: “I want more babies in the United States of America.” “It almost feels like a memo went out,” Jill Filipovic, host of the “Week in Women” podcast, was quoted as saying in The New York Times piece. “They have quite intentionally opted to present themselves as, ‘I am really pregnant, and this is what women were chosen to do,’ and they are happy to say that both with their looks and their mouths.” Some in the administration have offered a different framing. While pregnant with her second child in December, Leavitt thanked the president for “fostering a pro-family environment in the White House.” She stayed working until late April, just days before her child was delivered. She gave birth to her second child on May 1, and has since returned from maternity leave, while Miller had her fourth child on June 3. Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments