Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance thought they were sharing a sweet family milestone. The proud parents released their first official family photo on Friday, July 24 after wecolming their fourth child, newborn son Alec Neel Vance. Usha and Vance posed with their other childre n, sons, Ewan, 9, Vivek, 6, and daughter, Mirabel, 4. Vance’s new family photo drew swift mockery online, with critics zooming in to slam its staging, framing and “propaganda”-like feel. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Alec’s arrival makes Usha the first second lady to give birth in office in more than 150 years. The new Vance family photo showed Usha dressed in all white, with two of her middle children at her sides. ‘Is This Guy For Real?’: JD Vance Humiliates Wife Usha with Another Shocking Admission That Exposed an Uncomfortable Truth About Their Marriage Vance held baby Alec, who wore a matching swaddle, while big brother Ewan sat to his left. The proud dad of four wore a cream shirt, blue pants, and a gray jacket. “Thank you for all the good wishes as we settle into life as a family of six,” the caption on X read. “Meet Alec — and enjoy these attempts at taking a decent family photo with four kids!” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Second Lady Usha Vance (@slotus) Usha delivered Alec on July 19 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, which Vance announced on X. “We are excited to announce that our baby boy, Alec Neel Vance, was born this morning,” the family said in a statement. “Usha and the baby are happy and healthy, and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother.” She shared the new family image in a joint post on Instagram. It was also reposted by Vance on Twitter, where social media users from zoomed in on the new family photo. “Hi uhh, family and newborn photographer here…and umm, just, like…what the f—k?” one wrote. Critics picked apart the staged setup, but their attention soon shifted to something else hiding in plain sight. “I think it’s nice he included his couch as part of his family,” someone joked. Another user joked, “I would be so pissed if my husband invited his side couch to our family photos.” The “couch” joke stems from a debunked viral rumor detailing Vance’s alleged lewd act in his 2024 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” Users spread the hoax with a fake book citation, convincing many it was real. Some critics called the image “political propaganda,” arguing it tried to portray the Vances as an “everyday, down-to-earth” family. “I think it’s quite a choice to center the man, holding the newborn baby, while the woman, who just created and birthed that baby, is made to sit off to the side,” one observer noted. “It says a lot about how he views his wife and children.” Commentators criticized the photo’s composition, calling for a tighter grouping, higher angle, and different poses. Some questioned why the Vances chose that image, suggesting that better shots never made the cut. View on Threads “Usha straight looks like a paid actress in these,” said on IG user. She’s doing the I’m fine this is what happy looks like right? Right? Others went darker, writing, “It’s giving Get Out for me,” a nod to Jordan Peele’s psychological film about a Black man meeting his white girlfriend’s family. Not everyone extended sympathy. “She’s absolutely complicit. Her and Melania are not victims,” one user shot back. The comment likened Usha to first lady Melania Trump, whom critics have accused of enabling her husband’s political rise. After giving birth to their second son, Usha and Vance held back from sharing Alec’s face with the world. Then comes President Donald Trump doing the Vance’s grand reveal without even asking. He shared an image of Vivek cradling his baby brother while Mirabel sat beside them. “Congratulations! A perfect baby boy for the wonderful Vance family,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. BREAKING : President Trump on Truth Social: “Congratulations! A perfect baby boy for the wonderful Vance family.” pic.twitter.com/dpk2yl1Hi1— Dr Charlie Ward (@DrcharlieWardQ) July 27, 2026 The birth marked the couple’s long-awaited fourth child after years of debate over expanding their family. In his June memoir “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith,” Vance revealed Usha resisted having a fourth child for years. Public service had put the family in the spotlight, and she wanted no part of expanding it. That changed after Usha comforted Erika Kirk in the wake of her husband Charlie Kirk’s death. “As my wife held Charlie Kirk’s widow on the first day of her terrible sorrow, Erika told Usha between sobs that she regretted having only two kids with Charlie,” Vance wrote. “For years, I’d asked Usha to have another baby, and for years, she told me she was done. … But something changed for Usha, and not long after we buried my friend, she became pregnant with our fourth child, a boy.” Vance had previously opened up about how he and his wife agreed to expand their family. View on Threads Back in March in Auburn Hills, Michigan, he joked: “When we decided to run for vice president, she said you can become VP or have a fourth baby. But, ladies and gentlemen, I am persuasive, so I got both.” What should have been a tender introduction to baby Alec instead reopened questions about who really controls the Vance family narrative. Historic birth and politics aside, the world is just happy that he is healthy. ‘I Would Be So Pissed’: JD Vance and Usha Tried to Share a Sweet Family Photo, But One Bizarre Staging Detail — and a Closer Look At Her Face — Uncovered What Was Hidden in Plain Sight ...read more read less