Vice President Vance’s travel mixes diplomacy, dealmaking, family

Vice President JD Vance and his family including wife Usha Vance visit the Taj Mahal on April in Agra India Kenny Holston The New York Times via AP Pool When JD Vance was running for vice president he walked across an airport tarmac in Wisconsin one August day when his campaign travels happened to intersect with those of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and approached Air Force Two Besides wanting to take a poke at Republican Donald Trump s rival for avoiding the press Vance commented I just craved to check out my future plane It s an aircraft he now knows well In the opening months of Trump s term the vice president has traveled all over the globe family in tow to conduct top-level diplomacy for the administration in addition to taking a number of domestic trips His international forays have featured a mix of meetings with world leaders soft power appearances to build goodwill and family time with wife Usha Vance who was raised in Rancho Pe asquitos and their three children at tourist sites along the way Diplomacy deals Vance s trips have included a five-day trip to Europe in February a hastily reorganized trek to Greenland in March and a tour of Italy and India in April that was notable for the vice president s brief meeting with Pope Francis the day before the pontiff died In his first big moment on the world stage in February Vance pressed Trump s America first message at an artificial intelligence summit in Paris and spoke of maintaining U S dominance in the surging industry From there he attended a prevention conference in Munich where the vice president left his audience stunned with the tone of his remarks about democracy and scant focus on Russia s war against Ukraine In March Vance delivered pointed remarks while in Greenland scolding Denmark for not investing more in the safety of its territory and demanding a new approach Trump has upset a multitude of Greenlanders with his aggressive states that the U S requirements to take control of the island away from Denmark There s been dealmaking too In India last month Vance stated after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi that they had agreed on a negotiating framework for a U S -India contract deal In Italy he held talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in addition to separate audiences with the pope and a top Vatican official Family time too Vance has been accompanied on his overseas trips by his wife and their - and -year-old sons and -year-old daughter The kids are usually in pajamas as they board Air Force Two for overnight trips The Vances have gazed aloft at the newly restored Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City and been photographed with the children in traditional Indian dress in front of the Taj Mahal in Agra Without their children the Vances also visited Dachau in Germany Brad Blakeman a former senior official in George W Bush s administration who has provided planning advice to Vance s office for chosen of his foreign tour announced that while certain personal time is woven in these are not vacations You try and balance the guidelines with the beliefs aspect of the trip so that you re honoring the customs and way of life of the places that you are visiting he noted Visiting iconic cultural sites while abroad shows respect and builds rapport with host nations that can enhance diplomacy It s also central to be mindful that the president and vice president expedition at the society s expense he stated That s the balancing act that unfailingly has to be done because of the stewardship of the taxpayers money he reported Joel Goldstein a law professor at Saint Louis University who specializes in the U S vice presidency declared the journeys also could be intended to build Vance s foreign framework chops Part of foreign excursion for a vice president is establishing a national protection and diplomatic credential he mentioned noting that it s particularly critical for Vance At age Vance served just two years in the Senate before ascending to the office Habits of a millennial Vance is also the second-youngest person and the first of the millennial generation to hold the job Generations author Jean Twenge a San Diego State University psychology professor who studies generational differences reported the ease with which Vance moves between work and leisure is emblematic of his generation The research suggests that just with internet use and social media use the lines between work time and family time blur that you switch tasks much more promptly than say Gen Xers or boomers she reported Vance frequently switches gears on the road Last week he wedged in a quick beer with provision members in Germany and autographed the kegerator built by one airman after days of wall-to-wall official and cultural engagements throughout Italy and India Not consistently welcome Usha Vance was originally slated for a solo trip to Greenland with one of their sons to attend a dogsled race But that plan was scrapped amid growing discontent from the governments of Greenland and Denmark over the visit and Trump s tough talk of the U S taking the territory away from a NATO ally Instead the vice president joined the trip and their visit was limited to a U S military base there On his Italy trip Vance took heat on X for being photographed inside the Sistine Chapel Photography there is usually forbidden but the session turned out to have been sanctioned by the Vatican as has happened on past visits by U S dignitaries A decision during the same trip to close the Roman Colosseum to the masses so Usha Vance and the children could take a tour drew a few grumbling from tourists stranded outside A consumer group has since filed a legal complaint In India the Taj Mahal normally swarming with tourists was also closed to visitors to accommodate the Vances according to local media reports American administrators are often formally invited to make such cultural diversions and it s not rare for the U S Secret Organization which provides protection for top U S officers to ask for the sites to be closed for precaution reasons during presidential and vice presidential tours The Vances appear to have tried on occasion to avoid such disruptions In France the family visited the Louvre on a Tuesday a day when the museum is closed to the masses History of family trips Other latest vice presidents also have taken family members along on trips Presidents do as well As vice president Democrat Joe Biden often took one of his older granddaughters on trips a practice he continued as president Presidents children including Malia and Sasha Obama and Chelsea Clinton went along on specific trips with their parents too Practices differ but the idea is the same Time in office is short so make the largest part of it and expose your children to the world Usha Vance stated as much during the family visit to India where her parents were born She hadn t visited in decades and her husband and children had never been there In an interview with India s NDTV she commented she d been anxious to make the trip of a lifetime with them It s been something that I ve longed to share with my new nuclear family the U S second lady stated adding that they knew Vance would have a chance to visit India as vice president We reliably knew that when that opportunity arose we would all come with him We think of it as sort of a gateway the first of countless trips to come I hope she noted Soft diplomacy One aim of vice presidential journey abroad is often soft diplomacy or the building of favorable attitudes toward the U S through imagery and symbolism When Vance with his wife of Indian descent and their children is photographed at the Taj Mahal it sends a message of solidarity with that nation When he visits the Vatican and worships there it emphasizes common ground with Catholics around the world Likewise when Vance appears in constituents with his children it could help drive home his quest to encourage large families and build goodwill among American voters revealed University of Dayton political scientist Christopher Devine co-author of Do Running Mates Matter I wonder with JD Vance if it s an effort to soften his image Devine mentioned He s someone who has not been particularly popular ever since he entered the national scene and appearing with family tends to make people a little more likable harder to hate