Obama takes rare swipe at JD Vance over comments related to Michelle Obama's background

Former President Barack Obama has criticized Vice President JD Vance over his stance on immigration, pointing out that Vance's own wife is the child of immigrants.

Speaking on Malcolm Gladwell's podcast during a discussion about the impact of post-Civil War Reconstruction on America, Obama took aim at Vance's rhetoric around who counts as American, according to the Daily Beast. reporting.

Asked by Gladwell for his thoughts on the state of multiracial democracy, Obama argued that one of the two major political parties has been shaped by a politics suggesting 'we the people' refers to a specific group.

"When you have the current Vice President making a speech that is basically a blood and soil version of 'we the people,'" Obama said.

"That it matters who your parents were and how long they've been here. Despite him being married to...the daughter of an immigrant himself."

Vance's wife, Usha, whom he met at Yale Law School before marrying in an interfaith ceremony, is the child of two immigrants from India who were living in the United States at the time of her birth, automatically granting her US citizenship (Photo by Al Drago/American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. via Getty Images)

Who is JD Vance's wife, Usha Vance?

Vance's wife, Usha, whom he met at Yale Law School before marrying in an interfaith ceremony, is the child of two immigrants from India who were living in the United States at the time of her birth, automatically granting her US citizenship. Their immigration status at the time is not publicly known. The comments referenced by Obama were understood to be from a 2025 speech Vance gave to the conservative Claremont Institute think tank, in which the vice president said America is defined by a 'particular set of beliefs and way of life', adding that descendants of those who fought in the Civil War have "a hell of a lot more claim over America than the people who say they don't belong."

Vance, who was initially seen as a moderate anti-Trump voice back in 2016, has since become one of the most prominent MAGA figures within the Republican Party.

He was notably critical of a recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld birthright citizenship, the constitutional right granting citizenship to anyone born on US soil.

The Trump administration had attempted to strip citizenship from children born in the country to parents who were not citizens at the time, but the court ruled narrowly against the White House, citing the explicit wording of the Constitution.

Vance called the ruling a 'huge mistake.'

Obama and Gladwell's conversation touched on the 14th Amendment, which was passed during Reconstruction to grant citizenship, voting rights and equal protection under the law to formerly enslaved people (Higher Ground Productions)

What is the 14th Amendment and why is it being debated?

Obama and Gladwell's conversation touched on the 14th Amendment, which was passed during Reconstruction to grant citizenship, voting rights and equal protection under the law to formerly enslaved people.

Critics of birthright citizenship argue its modern application is being exploited by people seeking citizenship for their children simply by giving birth in the country.

The pair reflected on the fact that, a century ago, before the Supreme Court case that legalized interracial marriage, a sitting vice president delivering a nativist speech while married to a woman of Indian descent would have been unthinkable. 'Hypocrisy is progress', Obama said.

Despite his criticism of the current administration, Obama ended on an optimistic note, telling Gladwell that the progress made toward a multiracial democracy in recent decades 'sticks'.

"I don't get cynical," Obama said. "We have evidence of a better version of America. We've seen it."