The Second Spouse & SignalGate
A Very Special Throwback Thursday
Second Lady Usha Vance was heading to Greenland to attend a dog-sledding competition. (I drove a dog sled once, when I attended a conference in Big Sky, MT—it’s pretty fun.) She was going to be joined by NSA Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who would be visiting the Pituffik Space Base on the northwest coast of Greenland. The administration was calling the Second Lady’s visit a diplomatic event, Greenland’s government has stated that she—like anyone else—is welcome to attend, but that this was an aggressive move and very much not welcomed.
Now, in the wake of SignalGate, in which Vance did not come out looking great, VP Vance is joining his wife in Greenland. Neither the Danish government nor the Greenlanders, are particularly excited about this the VP’s planned visit. Trump’s calls to make the autonomous Danish territory part of the U.S. have not been welcomed by either the Danes nor the Greenlanders (who have their own touchy relationship.) They were already blessed with a visit by Donald Trump Jr. and MAGA leader Charlie Kirk.
Since acquiring Greenland is an idee fixe of Trump’s, Vance can show his loyalty. The Signal leak showed Vance disagreeing with Trump’s decision and Trump does not take this sort of thing well. On the other hand, it’s possible that planned protests of Usha Vance had made her trip untenable and having her husband join removed her from the public and focused on the U.S. base.
Since it was originally Usha Vance’s trip, for Throwback Thursday, I thought I’d share a short take on the role of the Second Spouse (originally posted here on June 21, 2022). Just as the VP’s role has expanded over the past half-century, so (in a much more modest way) has that of the Second Spouse. In the Biden administration, as discussed below, Doug Emhoff took this role to a new level. I’ve written before that a VP visit is the diplomatic equivalent of capital ship port call. A visit by the Second Spouse is perhaps more akin to cruiser stopping by—certainly significant but a bit lower key.
Usha Vance is an extraordinarily capable individual. It is possible that in a lower-key visit to a fun cultural event, she might have made a good impression and even smoothed over some of the hard feelings created by Trump’s rhetoric. In that sense, adding the VP to the visit is counterproductive diplomatically (although useful for U.S. domestic politics). Greenland isn’t prepared to provide sufficient security to the VP and didn’t invite him. Now their visit is limited to the Space Base.
Given her own formidable talents and Melania Trump’s limited interest in the First Lady role, we can expect Usha Vance to advance the role of the Second Spouse even further. It’s a development worth watching.
What’s Doug Doing
There are some topics even too niche for us (which is saying something.) We always thought the doings of the second spouse would have to be taken on by some other enterprising academic. But our nation’s first Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff seems to have jumped into the role and is taking on quite a lot. He’s clearly relishing the public appearances that are part and parcel of being a political spouse, but leading the U.S. delegation to the inauguration of South Korea’s president was a whole new level of second spousing.
Context
There is a modest (albeit gossipy) literature about First Ladies, including a recent Showtime series (sorry, I don’t subscribe so no reviews.) Some exceptional women have occupied the role – women who in other times would have risen far in their own right, such as Abigail Adams and Dolly Madison. Other propelled their husbands on, such as Florence Harding. Woodrow Wilson’s second wife was, when he was incapacitated by stroke, de facto president. Eleanor Roosevelt set a new standard for First Ladies as a major political asset. Other recent First Ladies have played significant roles: Jackie as a symbol of political Camelot, Nancy as a critical inside player, and Hillary tried to play an Eleanor Roosevelt role.
Second spouses have played a less significant role. John C. Calhoun’s wife Floride’s social shunning of Peggy O’Neill Eaton – wife of Andrew Jackson confidant a Secretary of War John Eaton led to the Petticoat Affair. It tied into the Nullification Crisis and the final breakdown of the patrician politics of the founders. For the next major role of a Second Spouse, we jump ahead to Garrett Hobart, VP to McKinley, and his wife Jennie Tuttle Hobart. Jennie was a charming socialite and talented hostess. McKinley’s wife suffered from epilepsy and was sometimes unable to fulfill her duties as hostess, Jennie stepped into the breach in a modest manner, avoiding any appearance of usurpation.
In more recent times, as the VP has grown in stature so has the role of the Second Lady. Insider VPs tend to bring politically experienced and savvy wives with them. Unsurprisingly, the big jump in the role of the Second Spouse occurred under Mondale (more on him below), as he re-invented the vice presidency. Mondale gave four of his staff positions to his wife. An artist, Joan Mondale was nicknamed “Joan of Art” for her advocacy for the arts and served as chair of the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities. She managed to get GSA to put money into art in federal buildings and for the Department of Labor to expand opportunities for unemployed artists. As VP, Mondale fought to restore funding for the arts, when asked for his justification he replied, “Because I wanna stay married.”
Barbara Bush had a frosty relationship with First Lady Nancy Reagan and her role was limited, as was that of Marilyn Quayle (who was in fact very politically savvy.) Tipper Gore and Lynne Cheney were prominent figures in their own right. Jill Biden, who had been a Senator’s wife for decades stepped easily into the Second Spouse role. What is most remarkable about Dr. Biden is that she maintained an intense teaching load at Northern Virginia Community College, (and was an active and well-regarded faculty member), while also attending to her duties as Second Spouse. Finally, Karen Pence, an experienced political spouse, played a more active role given Melania Trump’s reticence in the public eye.
Analysis
South Korea is a major ally with which we have an extensive joint warfighting capability. One would expect the delegation to be led by the Secretaries of State and Defense to lead, if not the President or Vice President—not the Second Gentleman and the Secretary of Labor. But it turns out Biden was traveling to the region just a few weeks later, so as a matter of protocol it was not appropriate to send top level officials to the inauguration. The South Koreans were in no way offended by the standing of the U.S. delegation. Emhoff did a bit of symbolic diplomacy, touring Seoul’s Gwangjang Market with Hong Seok-cheon, a South Korean celebrity who is gay. The Incoming South Korean administration has been less than enlightened on LGBTQ issues and this was an important message of support.
The bigger picture is the emergence of another asset. Time is the most valuable commodity for anyone, but particularly national leaders. The VP has emerged as a critical presidential surrogate. (Harris’ summit with Caribbean leaders is a good example of how the VP can fill gaps with constituencies and interests that the White House might overlook.) If the Second Spouse can take on some of the more symbolic duties, that’s another useful piece on the board.