Usha Vance appeared to take a bit of a stumble as she stepped off the helicopter at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland before getting on a flight to Alaska, where Vice President JD Vance will campaign in the run-up to the midterm elections.
The second lady seemingly missed a step and almost tripped as she disembarked the helicopter holding the couple's nine-week-old infant Alec Neel Vance in a baby carrier strapped around her body on Monday, Oct. 5. However, Usha Vance quickly regained her footing and composure, smiling as she gathered herself and soothed her baby.
Vance exited the aircraft behind her holding their daughter Mirabel, 4.
The family then walked over to the waiting jet that would fly them to Anchorage, where Vance will headline a Republican
National Committee rally supporting Sen. Dan Sullivan's reelection against Democrat Mary Peltola.
"Usha and a couple of the kids are joining," Vance said before boarding the plane. "This is Usha's 50th state, which is why we are bringing a nine-week-old baby on a 7.5-hour flight to Alaska — so if I give a speech tonight and I look haggard and stressed out, that's exactly why."
The Vances welcomed Alec on July 19 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
"We are excited to announce that our baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born this morning," the Vance family said in a statement on social media. "Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother."
Alec joins his siblings Ewan, 9, Vivek, 6, and Mirabel, 4.
In the weeks after giving birth, Usha Vance has made limited public appearances. She last attended the state dinner on Sept. 24 President Donald Trump hosted for Chinese President Xi Jinping during his three-day state visit to Washington. The second lady brought old-school glamour in an off-the-shoulder gold Oscar de la Renta gown for the occasion.
Usha Vance keeping 'open mind' on JD Vance's potential presidential run
Usha Vance, in an interview with Fox News' "Fox & Friends" which aired Aug. 26, said she was open to whatever her husband chose to do ahead of 2028 and taking it “one step at a time” as the vice president focuses on the midterm general election on Nov. 3.
"Whatever it is that he feels is the right thing for him to do, we're going to have a good time doing it," she told host Rachel Campos-Duffy. “We will make the best of it in the best possible way."
The second lady's comments come as Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio emerge as potential successors to Trump to lead the Republican Party in the 2028 presidential election.
Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Usha Vance appears to stumble while deboarding helicopter with infant
