New York- A South Asian woman confronted US Vice President J D Vance over his faith and inter-religion marriage to Second Lady Usha Vance, as well as over the Trump administration's policies on immigration.

In an exchange that has gone viral, the young woman, adorning a 'bindi', questions Vance at a Turning Point USA event on Wednesday at the University of Mississippi.

“I did not agree with many of the things that you said right ahead of this, but I don't think that's my point to discuss here,” the young woman said as she addressed Vance.

She then went on to say that Vance is married to Usha Vance, who is not Christian and who grew up in a Hindu household.

“You are raising three kids in an intercultural, racial, religious household. How are you maintaining or how are you teaching your kids not to keep your religion ahead of their mother's religion...How are you balancing that?”

Responding to the“personal” question about his interfaith household, Vance said,“Yes, my wife did not grow up Christian. I think it's fair to say that she grew up in a Hindu family, but not a particularly religious family in either direction.”

The US Vice President said when he met his wife, both of them were“agnostic or atheist”.

“The way that we've come to our arrangement is she's my best friend. We talk to each other about this stuff. So we've decided to raise our kids Christian,” he said.

Vance said that on most Sundays, Usha goes to church with him.

“... I've told her, and I've said publicly, and I'll say now in front of 10,000 of my closest friends, do I hope eventually that she is somehow moved by the same thing that I was moved in by church? Yeah, I honestly do wish that, because I believe in the Christian gospel, and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way,” he said.

“But if she doesn't, then God says everybody has free will, and so that doesn't cause a problem for me. That's something you work out with your friends, with your family, with the person that you love.”

The exchange went viral and Vance's comments drew major flak.

In response, he said in an X post on Friday that Usha has no plans to convert to Christianity.

Hitting back at social media posts criticising his comments, he said,“First off, the question was from a person seemingly to my left, about my interfaith marriage. I'm a public figure, and people are curious, and I wasn't going to avoid the question.”

“Second, my Christian faith tells me the Gospel is true and is good for human beings. My wife–as I said at the TPUSA–is the most amazing blessing I have in my life. She herself encouraged me to reengage with my faith many years ago.

“She is not a Christian and has no plans to convert, but like many people in an interfaith marriage–or any interfaith relationship–I hope she may one day see things as I do. Regardless, I'll continue to love and support her and talk to her about faith and life and everything else, because she's my wife,” he said.

At the Turning Point USA event, the South Asian woman also questioned the administration's immigration policies, amid the intense crackdown on immigrants in the second term of the Trump presidency.

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