Video shows the moment Second Lady Usha Vance lost her footing while stepping off a helicopter with her 9-week-old son strapped to her chest.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The scene unfolded yesterday (Oct. 5) when the 40-year-old wife of Vice President JD Vance was walking down a helicopter at Joint Base Andrews in Prince George's County, Maryland. The footage shows Usha, with her hand on her son's head, stepping down when she suddenly stumbles. Thankfully, she manages to save herself and her infant son from a terrible tumble, grabbing the safety rails with catlike reflexes, then seemingly gliding down to the ground and finding her footing.
Meanwhile, several seemingly nonplussed military personnel looked on, never offering a hand.
Usha steps to the side, patting her son on his bottom while flashing the servicemen a smile. Her 42-year-old author and politician husband then emerges from the helicopter, carrying their 4-year-old daughter, who sports ear protection. JD had no issues stepping down the helicopter's steps before saluting the assembled military personnel.
Usha and the two tykes are joining JD on the campaign trail, next hopping on a jet to fly to Alaska in support of Senator Dan Sullivan, who is up for reelection.
"As you probably saw, Usha and a couple of the kids are joining," JD told reporters shortly after his wife's near tumble, per The New York Post. "This is Usha's 50th state, which is why we are bringing a nine-week-old baby on a seven-and-a-half-hour flight to Alaska."
"So if I give a speech tonight and I looked haggard and stressed out, that's exactly why," he joked.
The Internet Reacts to Usha Vance Slipping on Helicopter Steps While Carrying 9-Week-Old Son
Meanwhile, more than a few onlooker on X couldn't help but question why several able bodied men just stood as a woman cradling an infant baby stepped off a helicopter.
"You would think any woman stepping off would have a service member's hand ready," one X user wrote under footage of the moment. "And with a child, a service member would be ready to help if a woman stumbled. I would do the same for my wife; you would do the same for your girlfriend or mother. What's with this no help?"
"Not a muscle moved to help her," another, more succinct X user wrote. "Shame on these officers. Saluting is more important than helping a lady. What a priority," yet another onlooker wrote.
JD and Usha have four children in total, including 9-year-old and 6-year-old sons, who didn't join them on the campaign stop.
