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      Marjorie Taylor Greene tells Bill Maher she believes extraterrestrials are demons

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      Republican US House member Marjorie Taylor Greene has said she believes in demons, surmising that they might be aliens who fell from heaven, and claims to have been unaware that key figures in the antisemitic space lasers conspiracy she floated were Jewish.She made those bizarre remarks as a guest on Friday on HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher after winning some fans among Democrats who once loathed her – yet had come to appreciate how the far-right Georgia representative had recently broken with Republicans on various issues. Those include healthcare, Gaza, the federal government shutdown that began on 1 October and the handling of documents pertaining to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who was friends with Donald Trump before the latter man won two presidencies.Greene’s appearance on Maher’s show perhaps made evident the ideological distance between the congresswoman – who has conspicuously avoided directly criticizing Trump himself – and some of her newer, cross-aisle admirers.Maher on Friday asked another of his on-air guests, film-maker Dan Farah, to discuss his new documentary, The Age of Disclosure, and how it explores the way some senior US military officials apparently theorize earnestly that “demons” may be responsible for what some colloquially refer to as unidentified flying objects, or UFOs.The Real Time host, who is generally considered to be left-leaning, subsequently asked those on the show: “Do you think demons and the devil are real?”Greene, who was first elected to Congress in 2020, confidently answered: “Absolutely. I’m a Bible-believing Christian. And I believe those could be fallen angels.”As Maher replied: “Fallen angels? The aliens are fallen angels?” Greene continued: “That’s possible – I think that’s what they could be. That’s what makes sense in my worldview.”The Fifth Column podcast host Michael Moynihan was also participating in the discussion, and Maher called on him to say whether he agreed with Greene. “No,” Moynihan said. “I’m sorry.”At another point in the show, Maher invited Greene to revisit her infamous 2018 social media screed positing that wildfires that had devastated California were ignited by a laser beam from space under the control of the Rothschild banking dynasty.The progressive watchdog Media Matters uncovered that post weeks into Greene’s first congressional term. And her colleagues at the time voted to remove her from her House committee assignments, with the Rothschild family having repeatedly been subjected to antisemitic conspiracy theories.Greene on Friday declared to Maher that she initially “didn’t even know the Rothschilds were Jewish”.“Before politics … I [did] not know much of any of this stuff,” Greene said. “I never even said the word ‘Jewish’ in the … post.”Maher pointed out that “‘Rothschild’, to a lot of people, is almost synonymous with the word ‘Jewish’”.Greene replied: “I had no idea … Now I know it’s Jewish.”Amid laughter and applause, Maher retorted: “Right. Well, now we know … That’s what I’m here for – to make sure that people in Congress know what the fuck you’re talking about.” More

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      Three killed in US military strike on alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean

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      The US military has carried out another lethal strike on alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea, US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said.Hegseth said on Saturday the vessel was operated by a US-designated terrorist organization but did not name which group was targeted. He said three people were killed in the strike.It’s at least the 15th such strike carried out by the US military in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific since early September.In a posting on X, Hegseth said the vessel “was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics.”The US military has now killed at least 64 people in the strikes.Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States. He has asserted the US is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, relying on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration when it declared a war on terrorism after the 11 September 2001 attacks.US lawmakers have been repeatedly rebuffed by the White House in their demand that the administration release more information about the legal justification for the strikes as well as greater details about which cartels have been targeted and the individuals killed.Hegseth said in the posting that “narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home” and the Defense Department “will treat them EXACTLY how we treated Al-Qaeda.”Senate Democrats renewed their request for more information about the strikes in a letter on Friday to secretary of state Marco Rubio, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Hegseth.“We also request that you provide all legal opinions related to these strikes and a list of the groups or other entities the President has deemed targetable,” the senators wrote.Among those signing the letter were senate minority leader Chuck Schumer as well as senators Jack Reed, Jeanne Shaheen, Mark Warner, Chris Coons, Patty Murray and Brian Schatz.The letter says that thus far the administration “has selectively shared what has at times been contradictory information” with some members, “while excluding others”.Earlier Friday, the Republican chair and ranking Democrat on the senate armed services committee released a pair of letters sent to Hegseth written in late September and early October requesting the department’s legal rationale for the strikes and the list of drug cartels that the Trump administration has designated as terrorist organizations in its justification for the use of military force. More

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      Trump news at a glance: president threatens military action in Nigeria over alleged killings of Christians

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      In describing his foreign policy agenda, Donald Trump has proclaimed an “America First” policy.But on Saturday the US president threatened to launch attacks in Nigeria in response to alleged violence against Christians, saying he had instructed his newly named department of war to “prepare for possible action”.“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump posted on social media.The warning of possible military action came after Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, earlier on Saturday pushed back on Trump announcing the day before that he was designating the west African country “a country of particular concern” for allegedly failing to rein in the persecution of Christians.Here are the key storiesTrump threatens to go into Nigeria ‘guns-a-blazing’ over attacks on ChristiansDonald Trump on Saturday said he had ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria as he stepped up his criticism that the government was failing to rein in the persecution of Christians in the west African country.“I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action,” he wrote on social media. “If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!”Read the full storyJD Vance repeats comments he wants wife Usha to convert to ChristianityJD Vance is doubling down on comments he made about wanting his wife, Usha Vance, who is Hindu, to convert to Christianity – remarks that drew political backlash from some quarters.At an event with Turning Point USA at the University of Mississippi to honor the conservative group’s slain founder Charlie Kirk, an audience member questioned the US vice-president about how he sees the links between American patriotism and Christianity.Read the full storyTrump’s immigration raids continue through Halloween in Chicago and Los AngelesDonald Trump’s immigration crackdown continued on Halloween night as federal agents were seen in Chicago and Los Angeles on the holiday, according to multiple reports.In Chicago, where the president has unleashed military troops to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as agents carry out arrests and push back against protesters, several people were arrested on Friday. ICE agents descended on the city and its suburbs as part of their operations, and protesters were also detained during clashes with law enforcement.Read the full storyObama criticizes Trump and Republican policy in stump speech for Abigail SpanbergerBarack Obama headlined a rally Saturday in Virginia to try to secure a victory for the state’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, who leads in polls days before the election.Obama moved between criticizing Donald Trump and Republican policy and rhetoric – with a bit of humor – while also explaining how Abigail Spanberger could help counter what Democrats see as the country’s downward trajectory.Read the full storyFlights delayed across US amid air traffic controller shortages as shutdown drags onNearly 50% of the 30 busiest US airports faced shortages of air traffic controllers, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Friday, leading to flight delays nationwide as a federal government shutdown hit its 31st day.The absence of controllers on Friday is by far the most widespread since the shutdown began, with one of the worst-hit regions being New York, where 80% of air traffic controllers were out, the agency said.Read the full storyWhat else happened today:

      As Barack Obama stumps for other Democrats, the party gets to see what it lost, writes David Smith in this politics sketch about the former president.

      Trump policies loom large over New Jersey’s unpredictable governor’s race, writes Anna Betts in New Jersey.
      Catching up? Here’s what happened on 31 October, 2025. More

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      As Barack Obama stumps for other Democrats, the party gets to see what it lost

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      “It’s not as if we didn’t see some of this coming,” said Barack Obama, a note of bleak humour in his voice. “I will admit it’s worse than even I expected, but I did warn y’all!”The crowd at a sports arena in Norfolk, Virginia, half-laughed and half-groaned. “I did,” Obama added. “You can run the tape.”He did. The former US president spent 2024 sounding the alarm about the horror show that awaited if Donald Trump ever got back to the Oval Office. Trump won the election anyway a year ago on Wednesday.Among the many unintended consequences is the return of Obama to the political stage. Former presidents used to slink away to running foundations or writing memoirs and avoid criticising their successors but that is one more norm that has bitten the dust.Obama has had 25 public engagements or remarks in the past six months, according to a list released by his office. He has tackled everything from USAID to redistricting to Tylenol. He is filling the vacuum left by Trump’s most immediate predecessor, Joe Biden, who turns 83 this month.Now Obama is back on the campaign trail, for Democrats running for governor in New Jersey and Virginia. It gives him a platform to deliver an alternative State of the Union address. And the gloves are off.To hear the expectant buzz of the 7,000-plus crowd in Norfolk as candidate Abigail Spanberger promised that Obama’s entrance was just moments away was to be reminded that Democrats did once have a president who could match Trump’s superstar charisma.“We love you!” someone shouted from the stands, just as they do at Trump rallies. “We miss you!”The backdrop was a giant stars and stripes and supporters waving mini-flags and signs. But whereas Trump is all big orange hair, dark blue suit, white shirt and red tie, Obama’s hair was short and grey and he wore a blue shirt open at the collar with sleeves rolled up. Trump often gets compared to a stand-up comedian but Obama has the sharper act.View image in fullscreenLiberated from the burden of seeking elected office for himself again, he clearly revelled in skewering the president with scathing and scorching lines, as if auditioning for late-night TV.“It’s hard to know where to start, because every day this White House offers up a fresh batch of lawlessness and recklessness and mean-spiritedness and just plain craziness,” Obama said, with the crowd cheering each word, wondering perhaps why Chuck Schumer and the rest of them can’t do plain talk like this.The former president ran through an exhausting but not exhaustive list of Trump’s offences: turning the justice department against his political opponents; replacing career prosecutors with loyalists; firing decorated officers because they might be more loyal to the constitution than to him; deploying the national guard to US cities to stop crime waves that don’t exist; ICE agents pulling up in unmarked vans and grabbing people, including US citizens; a health secretary who rejects proven science and promotes quack medicine; a top White House aide who calls Democrats domestic extremists; and a poor labour economist who got fired for reporting bad jobs numbers.“I mean, it’s like every day is Halloween,” Obama said, “except it’s all tricks and no treats.”He acknowledged that plenty of people voted for Trump because they were “understandably frustrated” with inflation and gas prices and the difficulty of affording a home and worried about their children’s children, saying: “So they were willing to take a chance.”It certainly worked out well for Trump and his family, with crypto ventures with hundreds of millions of dollars and for wealthy allies and corporations whose tax bills went down. But for ordinary people, Obama continued, life is harder than ever, with healthcare premiums set to double or triple and the government shut down.“As for the president,” Obama said, “he has been focused on critical issues like paving over the Rose Garden so folks don’t get mud on their shoes, and gold-plating the Oval Office, and building a $300m ballroom.“Virginia, here’s the good news. If you can’t visit a doctor, don’t worry, he will save you a dance. And if you don’t get an invitation to the next White House shindig, you can always watch the festivities and all the beautiful people on Truth Social.”The crowd lapped it up. Obama was on a roll. He lambasted Republicans for putting on “a big show of deporting people and targeting transgender folks. They never miss a chance to scapegoat minorities and DEI for every problem under the sun.“You got a flat tire? DEI.“Wife mad at you?”The audience rejoined: “DEI!”It was a reminder that humour is a potent political weapon. That is why Trump’s allies tried to oust TV host Jimmy Kimmel and why California governor Gavin Newsom gets under their skin.Obama turned to the artificial intelligence videos that Trump posts on his Truth Social account, including one showing himself wearing a crown, flying a fighter jet and dumping brown liquid on No Kings protesters.“All the nonsense we see on the news every day, the over-the-top rhetoric, the fabricated conspiracies, the weird videos of a US president with a crown on his head flying a fighter jet and dumping poop on protesting citizens, all of that is designed to distract you from the fact that your situation has not gotten better,” he said.There it was: the man who had inspired with his words – yes, we can; hope and change; there is not a liberal America and a conservative America, there is the United States of America – had been reduced to uttering the word “poop” from the stage. When they go low …Obama dutifully heaped praise on Spanberger and urged Virginians to vote for her. It was a performance of wit and wisdom that reminded America what it has lost – and Democrats what they have never been able to recreate. The party needs someone who will take the fight to Trump. But its best candidate for 2028 is the one who cannot run. More

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      Obama criticizes Trump and Republican policy in stump speech for Abigail Spanberger

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      Barack Obama headlined a rally Saturday in Virginia to try to secure a victory for the state’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, who leads in polls days before the election.Obama moved between criticizing Donald Trump and Republican policy and rhetoric – with a bit of humor – while also explaining how Abigail Spanberger could help counter what Democrats see as the country’s downward trajectory.“As for the president, he has been focused on critical issues like paving over the Rose Garden so folks don’t get mud on their shoes, and gold-plating the Oval Office and building a $300m ballroom,” Obama said. “So Virginia, here’s the good news. If you can’t visit a doctor, don’t worry, he will save you a dance.”The former US president stopped in the afternoon in Norfolk, Virginia, to stump for the former representative who at 55% support among voters leads the Republican lieutenant governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, by 14 points, according to a YouGov survey conducted from 17 to 28 October.Obama later spoke in Newark, New Jersey, on behalf of the US representative Mikie Sherrill, whom 51% of voters favor, as compared with Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican state assembly member, who has 42% support, according to the same report.Obama spoke after Sherrill, continuing his criticism of Trump and his policies. “We’ve got a president who deployed the national guard in American cities and claimed to be stopping crime waves that don’t actually exist,” Obama said. “We’ve got masked ICE agents in unmarked vans pulling people in off the streets, including US citizens, on the suspicion that they don’t look like real Americans.“It’s like every day is Halloween except it’s all tricks and no treats,” Obama said amid reports of immigration raids taking place in Chicago and Los Angeles even on Halloween night.He highlighted Sherrill’s experience as a navy helicopter pilot, federal prosecutor and mother of four, saying it made her “the kind of leader who understands the mission”. “She knows who she’s supposed to serve,” Obama said.Earlier Saturday, Obama called New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and offered to be a “sounding board” if the 34-year-old Democratic frontrunner wins the election. He also praised Mamdani’s campaign, a spokesperson confirmed to Reuters.“Zohran Mamdani appreciated President Obama’s words of support and their conversation on the importance of bringing a new kind of politics to our city,” said Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec.Mamdani, a Uganda-born state assembly member, has polled well ahead of his main rival, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, before the 4 November general election.The 4 November elections, in states that have flipped back and forth between Republican and Democratic governors, are seen as indicators of how the country feels about Trump and the two parties in the off-year race.“There is absolutely no evidence Republicans’ policies have made life better for you, the people of Virginia,” Obama said at the rally. “They have devoted enormous energy trying to entrench themselves in power and punishing their enemies and enriching their friends and silencing their critics.”“It’s time to point America in a better direction by electing Abigail Spanberger as your next governor,” Obama added.Virginia voters will be electing a female governor for the first time. Spanberger is a former CIA analyst who served three terms in Congress; Earle-Sears became lieutenant governor in 2022, making her the first woman of color to hold a statewide office in Virginia.In an October debate, Earle-Sears, a US Marine Corps veteran, focused on culture-war issues like transgender women in sports.“Are you going to change in a gym where men are nude in the locker rooms?” Earle-Sears asked Spanberger. “Are you going to do that, Abigail? I don’t think you will. What about your girl children?”Spanberger responded that there should never be nude men in women’s locker rooms and that decisions on transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports “should be made between parents and educators and teachers in each community. It should not be dictated by politicians.”At the rally Saturday, Spanberger said her opponent was “focused on the wrong things”.“We need a governor who will recognize that Virginians are struggling to afford the rising costs in healthcare, housing and energy,” said Spanberger, who was the first Democrat to win her district in almost 50 years.The former president touted Spanberger’s rank as one of the most bipartisan members of the House.“Abigail has real, practical plans to grow the economy and strengthen Virginia schools and lower the cost of everything from housing to healthcare to energy, and she is willing to reach across the aisle to make it happen,” Obama said.He referenced the thousands of federal workers who have lost their jobs because of the Trump administration’s efforts to cut federal spending. An estimated 750,000 workers have also been furloughed amid the government shutdown.Virginia, right next to Washington DC, has a large federal workforce and has been especially hurt by those job cuts.One rally attendee, Tanya Keller, a 60-year-old Norfolk resident, said she supports Spanberger because she thinks Spanberger is rational and concerned about people losing federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid coverage.Obama “reminded us what is at stake, what is important and how we have to fight being divided”, said Keller, who has volunteered for Spanberger’s campaign.Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the race has centered on Trump’s policies. Sherrill, a former navy helicopter pilot and federal prosecutor, focused in a debate last month on the impact of tariffs on grocery prices and of the “big, beautiful bill” on healthcare and utility costs. She said that Ciattarelli refused to stand up to Trump.“He’ll do whatever Trump tells him to do,” she said. “All he says is: ‘Trump’s right.’” More

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      Trump threatens to go into Nigeria ‘guns-a-blazing’ over attacks on Christians

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      Donald Trump on Saturday said he had ordered the Pentagon to begin planning for potential military action in Nigeria as he stepped up his criticism that the government was failing to rein in the persecution of Christians in the west African country.“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities,” Trump posted on social media. “I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians!”The warning of possible military action came after Nigeria’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, earlier on Saturday pushed back on Trump announcing the day before that he was designating the west African country “a country of particular concern” for allegedly failing to rein in the persecution of Christians.In a social media statement on Saturday, Tinubu said that the characterization of Nigeria as a religiously intolerant country does not reflect the national reality.“Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so,” Tinubu said. “Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it. Nigeria is a country with constitutional guarantees to protect citizens of all faiths.”Trump on Friday said “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria” and “radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter”.Trump’s comment came weeks after the US senator Ted Cruz urged Congress to designate Africa’s most populous country a violater of religious freedom with claims of “Christian mass murder”.Nigeria’s population of 220 million people is split almost equally between Christians and Muslims. The country has long faced insecurity from various fronts including the Boko Haram extremist group, which seeks to establish its radical interpretation of Islamic law and has also targeted Muslims it deems not Muslim enough.Attacks in Nigeria have varying motives. There are religiously motivated attacks targeting both Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalries, secessionist groups and ethnic clashes.While Christians are among those targeted, analysts say the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north, where most attacks occur.Kimiebi Ebienfa, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reiterated the commitment of Nigeria to protect citizens of all religions.“The Federal Government of Nigeria will continue to defend all citizens, irrespective of race, creed, or religion,” Ebienfa said in a statement on Saturday. “Like America, Nigeria has no option but to celebrate the diversity that is our greatest strength.”Nigeria was placed on the country-of-particular-concern list by the US for the first time in 2020 over what the state department called “systematic violations of religious freedom”. The designation, which did not single out attacks on Christians, was lifted in 2023 in what observers saw as a way to improve ties between the countries before the then-secretary of state Antony Blinken’s visit. More

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      Flights delayed across US amid air traffic controller shortages as shutdown drags on

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      Nearly 50% of the 30 busiest US airports faced shortages of air traffic controllers, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Friday, leading to flight delays nationwide as a federal government shutdown hit its 31st day.The absence of controllers on Friday is by far the most widespread since the shutdown began, with one of the worst-hit regions being New York, where 80% of air traffic controllers were out, the agency said.At least 35 FAA facilities, including several at the largest US airports, reported staffing problems. Airports affected included facilities in New York City, Austin, Newark, Phoenix, Washington, Nashville, Dallas and Denver. At some airports, delays averaged one hour or more.The shutdown has forced 13,000 air traffic controllers and 50,000 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers to work without pay.“After 31 days without pay, air traffic controllers are under immense stress and fatigue,” the FAA said late on Friday.“The shutdown must end so that these controllers receive the pay they’ve earned and travelers can avoid further disruptions and delays,” it added.The impact on the system would have been far worse on a typical Friday. However, Halloween evening traffic was 20% lower than usual, which helped mitigate the effects of staffing shortages, airline officials said.More than 5,600 flights were delayed on Friday and 500 canceled, according to FlightAware, a flight-tracking website.At New York City’s LaGuardia airport, 50% of flights were delayed and 12% canceled, with delays averaging 140 minutes, while Washington DC’s Reagan National airport had a quarter of flights delayed.Airlines are bracing for more flight disruptions.“Coming into this weekend and then the week after, I think you are going to see even more disruptions in the airspace,” the US transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom.On Thursday, air traffic control staffing shortages snarled flights at Orlando, Dallas/Fort Worth and Washington DC, with FlightAware data showing 7,300 flights delayed and 1,250 canceled across the US.Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and American Airlines have all called on Congress to quickly pass a stopgap funding bill known as a “continuing resolution” to let the government reopen amid talks on disputes over healthcare policy.The National Air Traffic Controllers Association’s president, Nick Daniels, on Friday joined the airlines in calling for a continuing resolution.The government shutdown began on 1 October and continues as a federal funding bill has stalled in Congress.Republican lawmakers want to pass a “clean” funding measure with no strings attached while Democrats have demanded talks on extending healthcare subsidies set to expire at year’s end.Airlines have repeatedly called for an end to the shutdown, citing aviation safety risks.The shutdown has exacerbated existing staffing shortages, threatening to cause widespread disruptions similar to those that helped end a 35-day government shutdown in 2019.The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels, and many had been working mandatory overtime as well as six-day weeks even before the shutdown. More

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      JD Vance repeats comments he wants wife Usha to convert to Christianity

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      JD Vance is doubling down on comments he made about wanting his wife, Usha Vance, to convert to Christianity – remarks that drew political backlash from some quarters.At an event with Turning Point USA at the University of Mississippi to honor the conservative group’s slain founder Charlie Kirk, an audience member questioned the US vice-president about how he sees the links between American patriotism and Christianity.“Why are we making Christianity one of the major things that you have to have in common to be one of you guys? To show that I love America just as much as you do?” the audience member asked, after pointing out that Vance’s wife, Usha, is Hindu and they are raising their children in an interfaith marriage.Vance said that his wife grew up in a Hindu household “but not a particularly religious family” – and noted that when he met his wife they would have both considered themselves agnostic or atheist.Vance converted to Catholicism in his 30s after being raised in a loosely evangelical family. He was baptized into the church in 2019 just as he started to become a prominent supporter of Donald Trump, who chose Vance as his running mate when he successfully ran for a second presidency in 2024.“My views on public policy and what the optimal state should look like are pretty aligned with Catholic social teaching,” Vance, a former US senator for Ohio, said at the time of his baptism. “I saw a real overlap between what I would like to see and what the Catholic church would like to see.”At the Turning Point USA event, Vance said that he and his wife eventually decided to raise their kids as Christians.“Our two kids go to Christian school. Our eight-year-old just did his first communion a year ago. That’s how we decided to come to our arrangement,” Vance said, to roaring applause. “As I’ve told her, and as I’ve said publicly, and as 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 I was moved by in church? Yes. I honestly do wish that, because I believe in the Christian gospel and I hope that eventually my wife comes to see it the same way.“But if she doesn’t,” Vance went on to say, “God says that everybody has free will, so that doesn’t cause a problem with me. That’s something that you work out with your friends, your family, the person you most love.”Usha Vance has publicly stated that she doesn’t intend to convert to Christianity. In June, she told conservative blogger Meghan McCain that while the family has made church “a family experience … the kids know that I’m not Catholic”.“They have plenty of access to the Hindu tradition, from books that we give them to things that we show them to visit recently to India, and some religious elements of that visit,” Usha Vance said.The executive director of the Hindu American Foundation was critical of Vance’s remarks, telling the New York Times that the vice-president was “basically saying that … this aspect of [Usha] is just not enough”.“That’s a lot of uncertainty in the community,” Suhag Shukla said to the outlet. “This just added kind of fuel to those fears.”After his comments Wednesday, Vance replied to a social media post – which has since been taken down – that said “it’s weird to throw your wife’s religion under the bus, in public, for a moment’s acceptance by groypers”, a term for certain far-right extremists.Vance called the comment “disgusting” and an example of “anti-Christian bigotry”. He said that his Christian faith “tells me the Gospel is true and is good for human beings”.“[Usha] herself encouraged me to re-engage 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,” he wrote.“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.“Yes, Christians have beliefs. And yes, those beliefs have many consequences, one of which is that we want to share them with other people. That is a completely normal thing, and anyone who’s telling you otherwise has an agenda.” More