# JD Vance, Usha Vance, and Erika Kirk **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 3, 2025, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527 "2025-11-03T11:32:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/81 "2025-11-05T00:34:33Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > My point was that they stood close enough to each other to shake hands before the interview, and while she did have heels (probably 2 inches at the most) on, he was barely taller than she was. You are right… and I’m sorry that I ruined that moment with cheap humor. Trump is almost short enough to be a jockey… with the exception that you’d need one hell of a husky Clydesdale to lug around his huge 350 lb jiggling girth. It would be an insult to The Cartwrights to call him “Hoss”. Given how much of America’s money has been squandered by his ignorance, his grifting, and his lies, maybe we should just call him “Loss” ? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/82 "2025-11-05T03:44:29Z")
That’s OK. I knew what YOU meant as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/83 "2025-11-05T11:45:14Z")
"JD Vance…! You have won the Let’s Make A Deal ‘deal of the day’ ! Now, would you rather sleep with, A) Charlie Kirk’s wife B) Your Own wife or C) The Broyhill Sectional that Carol Merrill is now standing in front of…? [Heard in the background] \< “Take the Box…!” “Take the Box…!” \> ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/84 "2025-11-05T12:31:09Z")
Broyhill. Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time. … A long time. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/85 "2025-11-05T16:22:30Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time. … A long time. Hey, that’s my line! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/86 "2025-11-05T16:22:38Z")
Right!? And Carol Merrill. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/87 "2025-11-05T17:45:38Z")
I used to watch Let’s Make a Deal to see Carol Merrill. Cute as a button. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/88 "2025-11-05T21:17:12Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Usha did not convert to Catholicism, so it was never a “real” marriage. Annulment after giving the right amount of money to buy an indulgence. The Catholic church does NOT require the spouse to convert in order to be married in the Church. You DO have to agree to raise the children with full knowledge of the church (which basically amounts to raising them Catholic). [What Are the Requirements for Marrying a Non-Catholic Christian? | Catholic Answers Q&A](https://www.catholic.com/qa/what-are-the-requirements-for-marrying-a-non-catholic-christian) [May Catholics Ever Marry Non-Christians? | Catholic Answers Q&A](https://www.catholic.com/qa/may-catholics-ever-marry-non-christians) Personal cite: my husband (Jewish) and I (Catholic) went through all the pre-Cana stuff through the campus Catholic church. We ultimately did not pursue a church wedding, however. I don’t know what went on when Vance and Usha got married - if he’s devout enough, likely they did some similar process and obtained the necessary dispensations. If they did NOT, then he’s not married in the eyes of the Church so no annulment is necessary, but a fair bit of confession and penance because he’s been Living In Sin. As far as an annulment if they DID jump through all the hoops…. yeah, it can usually be accomplished but some lying may be involved as to grounds. A cousin of mine got an annulment by (I gather) stating that he went into the marriage planning to never have children. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/89 "2025-11-05T21:39:45Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I don’t know what went on when Vance and Usha got married - if he’s devout enough, likely they did some similar process and obtained the necessary dispensations. They married in 2014; Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019. So, it wasn’t even an issue at the time of the marriage. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/90 "2025-11-05T21:46:43Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019. Considering what a world class phony JD is, I’m going to assume he converted to please someone other than Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/91 "2025-11-05T21:53:39Z")
Entirely possible. He had apparently been raised in an Evangelical family, but rejected Christianity and became an atheist. He claims that he began to re-examine faith while he was in law school, which would have been 2010-13 (i.e., six to nine years before he officially converted to Catholicism). So, who knows? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/92 "2025-11-05T21:54:36Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Usha did not convert to Catholicism, so it was never a “real” marriage. Annulment after giving the right amount of money to buy an indulgence. Pope Leo XIV would refuse to grant the annulment just as an FU to MAGA via Vance. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/93 "2025-11-05T22:31:50Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Pope Leo XIV would refuse to grant the annulment just as an FU to MAGA via Vance. As I noted a few posts back: Vance was _not_ a Catholic in 2014, when he married Usha; he was an atheist. So, “would he need an annulment” really isn’t relevant, because they were not married in the Catholic Church. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2025, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/94 "2025-11-06T01:49:32Z")
If this divorce/affair thing ever happens, I vote for the new couple to be named J’Erika’D. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2025, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/95 "2025-11-06T03:53:33Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Vance was _not_ a Catholic in 2014, when he married Usha; he was an atheist. So, “would he need an annulment” really isn’t relevant, because they were not married in the Catholic Church. Actually, AIUI, the church considers marriages between two non-Catholics to be valid, i.e., binding, marriages unless proven otherwise. So while Vance would not have needed an annulment to remarry as a Catholic after ending his non-Church-sanctioned marriage **had he been a Catholic at the time of that marriage** , he **would** need an annulment to remarry in the Church after having been previously married as a non-Catholic. Because marriage to a non-Catholic partner in a non-Church-approved legal marriage ceremony is not a valid marriage **for a Catholic** , and hence requires no annulment for remarriage eligibility within the Church, but **is** valid for a non-Catholic, so it **does** need annulment. Funky, huh? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2025, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/96 "2025-11-06T04:05:45Z")
And, interestingly, Erika Kirk was raised and baptized a Catholic; I had assumed that she was some flavor of Evangelical Protestant, but it appears that she may still be a practicing Catholic. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2025, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/97 "2025-11-06T04:38:07Z")
I think that about the closest she’d ever be to Catholic would be if she and JD had a date at a White Sox game ( and if Noah Schultz beaned her with a wild pitch ). “There seems to be some confusion on the field. It seems like a wild pitch may have struck a fan. An ’ E ’ is showing on the scoreboard, but umpires are reviewing. And now the ’ E ’ has been replaced with a cross.” "Looks like The Vatican has spoken. " ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2025, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/98 "2025-11-06T06:44:39Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > heartbroken widow. She recently said that she [sees a lot of similarities to her late husband in VP Vance](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/erika-kirk-jd-vances-embrace-145545287.html) and they were [bizarrely touchy](https://i.imgur.com/jBk5NOp.jpeg) at a political event. It is completely abnormal for a As of my writing this, one link has two clicks. The other 42 clicks. I’ll leave it to the reader to determine which is which. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2025, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/99 "2025-11-06T08:41:17Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > a fair bit of confession and penance because he’s been Living In Sin. Wonder whether his conversion was detailed enough to get into **[cilices](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cilice)**. The ones described in the wikiarticle are harmless, some have metal spikes! 😁 > [@Locrian](#): > > If this divorce/affair thing ever happens, I vote for the new couple to be named J’Erika’D. I love that. Let me picture the wedding guests blowing **trump** ets and horns until the **[walls come tumbling down](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Jericho)**. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527/100 "2025-11-07T21:21:07Z")
Another theory: he’s resorted to cheating with a real human woman because the tariffs have made his usual side piece too expensive… [https://www.npr.org/2025/11/07/nx-s1-5566671/furniture-price-trump-tariffs](https://www.npr.org/2025/11/07/nx-s1-5566671/furniture-price-trump-tariffs) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jd-vance-usha-vance-and-erika-kirk/1024527.md?page=6)