With the U.S. midterm elections just a week away, political leaders have ramped up their campaigns to urge voters to support their parties. Democrats are working to regain control of Congress, while Republicans are stepping up efforts to retain power.
Among the issues Republicans are using to win over voters are border security and immigration. Critics have also accused the party of fueling anti-Asian rhetoric, including rhetoric targeting Indians. At a Republican rally on Monday, Vice President JD Vance recalled the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, linking the period’s fuel shortages and rising prices to countries in a region he said Americans struggled to pronounce.
“I remember driving to a local gas station to wait hours in line for gasoline that was now, of course, more expensive because of a region of the world made up of countries and names that I cannot even pronounce,” Vance said at the rally.
READ: JD Vance defends ‘indentured servants’ remark, says criticism targets employers, not H-1B workers (October 19, 2026)
He later argued that ordinary Americans, rather than politicians’ children, had gone to fight in the wars that followed the attacks.
“In the aftermath of 9/11, it wasn’t the politicians’ kids who went off to fight the war. It was us. It was the people in this room. It was me and my family,” he added.
Vance’s remarks drew criticism, particularly over what critics described as his attitude toward nonwhite Americans. Journalist Mehdi Hasan questioned whether Vance would make similar remarks in front of his Indian immigrant in-laws.
In a post on X, Hasan wrote: “JD Vance’s in-laws’ names are Radhakrishna Chilukuri and Lakshmi Chilukuri. I wonder if he tells them this stuff, too. To their faces. Or does he just save it for white MAGA rallies? Truly a racist pathetic embarrassment of a son-in-law to his brown Indian immigrant in-laws.”
Vance is married to Usha Vance, the daughter of Indian immigrants from South India. Born in the United States, Usha became the country’s second lady when her husband took office as vice president.
The criticism extended beyond Hasan, with several social media users also accusing Vance of expressing anti-Asian views.
“Vance saves the immigrant bashing for MAGA rallies. His own in-laws deserve a braver son-in-law,” one user wrote.
Another questioned why Vance was invoking memories of high gas prices linked to overseas military engagements.
READ: JD Vance’s ‘fart left’ slip at North Carolina rally sends crowd laughing, goes viral (September 22, 2026)
Vance’s remarks come amid controversy over his recent criticism of the H-1B visa program, which allows U.S. employers to hire skilled foreign workers. India is one of the program’s major sources of applicants. The Trump administration has also intensified immigration enforcement through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Concerns about anti-South Asian hate have also grown in the United States. According to a September 2026 report from Stop AAPI Hate, anti-South Asian slurs in monitored online spaces increased by 109% between January 2023 and December 2025. The report also found that 48% of South Asian adults said they had experienced a hate act because of their race, ethnicity or nationality in 2025.