There is no delicate way to put this: Usha Vance’s new YouTube show—“Storytime with the Second Lady”—is some real woke s--t.
Only three episodes have dropped, but between the featured books, the first two “special readers,” and the pro-library premise, Vance’s show for kids throws off major “I used to be a registered Democrat” vibes.
“Libraries are such wonderful places to pick out new books and make friends,” Vance says in the introduction to the show.
Her husband’s boss Donald Trump disagrees. The president has dismissed the notion of an institution dedicated to learning or culture. “I don’t believe in building libraries or museums,” he told reporters. There are a few nods to the MAGA base as Vance, pregnant with her fourth child, does her best to project a tradwife image. She folds her hands as she sits surrounded by stuffed animals and Lego creations with her Yale Law School diploma nowhere in sight.
“We turned my office into a reading nook,” the former Supreme Court clerk tells the audience in episode one.
What else would she do with all that space? Sure, Vance once occupied an office at the elite law firm, Munger, Tolles & Olson, whose partners overwhelmingly skew blue, but those days are over. Litigating high-profile cases is so 2024. Reading Beatrix Potter with a flat affect is what 2026 is all about.
Still, like the silver streaks in Vance’s dark hair, there are flashes in these videos that Vance’s natural tendencies veer away from the right. Tucked into the first three episodes, we found a dozen liberal-coded Easter Eggs (with non-toxic dye of course.)
1: You’re Sure This Is MAGA Approved?
Let’s start with Vance’s flawed mission. Reading is an activity for the leftie elites. Think president Barack Obama publishing the list of books he read each year and liberal gals Reese and Oprah overseeing book clubs. Elites on the right seem to prefer wrestling to reading. It’s hard to picture Markwayne Mullin curling up on the couch with a cup of chamomile and a copy of “Strangers” by Belle Burden.
2: Erm... JD, About Your Budget
Vance explains at the top that, “Through books we’ve learned so many new things about science and nature…,” a clear signal that she still cares about both. Meanwhile, the Trump/Vance administration’s latest budget released this week calls for slashing the National Science Foundation by 55%. This week also saw the feds dismantling the National Forest Service.
3: So, the Melania Question
Why is Vance, a human, even reading to children? Self-described visionary Melania Trump just declared that the future of teaching is humanoid robots. Is the Second Lady subtly undermining the First?
4: We Have To Talk About Those Shelves
The opening sequence to Storytime with the Second Lady pans Vance’s book shelves where you might expect to see a copy of Lara Trump’s The Never-Give-Up Pup, or maybe even Marlon Bundo’s A Day in the Life of the Vice President illustrated by former second lady Karen Pence.
Instead, we find Treasure Island, written by 19th century Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson, who once informed his father that he rejected Christianity and did not believe in God, and Anne of Green Gables, written by Canadian Lucy Maud Montgomery, who bucked expectations by having both a family and publishing twenty novels and over a thousand short stories in the early 20th century.
5: Oh Gosh, Don’t Tell Trump!
There are multiple copies of books written by kid author Rocco Smirne and his co-writer/mother Arioth Harrison Smirne, who works at the White House Historical Association. In the adorable book, Rocco Travels with the Presidents!, a young boy rides in Joe Biden’s Corvette, bicycles with Jimmy Carter, boards Air Force One with Bill Clinton, and walks toward the Beast with Barack Obama. The book was published in 2021, but you know which president does not appear…? Ronald Reagan made it in. Warren Harding made it in. But #45 is absent. (You can watch the book read by its authors here.)
6: What Happened to Trickledown?
Vance kicks off the first episode with The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by British writer and illustrator Beatrix Potter. On the surface, it’s a story about an adventurous bunny, but there’s a deeper meaning. Peter Rabbit represents the working class who trespasses onto private land because he’s hungry. Big Ag (represented by grouchy Farmer MacGregor) chases him off, caring only about profits. In the end, Peter snuggles with his sweet mother while MacGregor turns Peter’s jacket and shoes into a scarecrow. It’s a tale of class struggle… and Potter’s sympathies are decidedly not with the rich land owners.
7: Were No Tradwives Available?
Vance’s second episode welcomes “special reader” Danica Patrick, who reads a book based on the Disney animated movie, Cars. Patrick blasted through the glass ceiling at 170 mph when she became the first woman to win an IndyCar series race. Vance asks about her racing days and Patrick replies, “Lots of great memories. Lots of exciting moments, both crashing and—which everybody loves watching. I like to watch the crashes now, too.” Vance’s eyes scream, “It’s a kids’ show!” Patrick self-identifies as conservative, but for her own life, she chose to prioritize her racing career over starting a family. At 44, Patrick is divorced and, currently, has no children, which makes her a sad feminist in the eyes of her fellow Trump supporters.
8: And Umm, You Know About Disney, Right?
Also, the Cars franchise is owned by Disney, the wokest of the Hollywood studios. Vance clearly sanctioned this choice instead of finding a book from a property owned by Rupert Murdoch or David Ellison.
9: This Really Doesn’t Sound Trumpy
The wokeness meter goes off the charts in episode 3 when Vance is joined by Brent Poppen, a Paralympic bronze medalist who suffered a spinal cord injury when he was in his teens. It’s lovely that Vance centers Poppen’s story since the Center for American Progress notes that the “first six months of the second Trump administration was an all-out war against disabled people.”
Poppen reads from his own work Playground Lessons: Friendship and Forgiveness, which delivers a powerful message about empathy. Harley, the main character, is a wheelchair user, but as the narrator explains, “Harley just wants the other children to see him the same way they see each other.” And they do. When a teacher invites Harley to join the able-bodied kids who are playing basketball, they accept him. The narrator sums up the lesson: “Winning is not important. It was all about playing with the other children.” You don’t get less Trumpy than that.
10: This Doesn’t Look Like Mar-a-Lago
The whole look of the show is cozy with no gold leaf anywhere. The production spent some money (but not Kristi Noem ad money) to build a “Second Lady’s Little Public Library” which sits in the corner. This piece of furniture nods to the nation-wide “Little Public Library” program which is a non-profit organization with the slogan: “Take a book. Share a book.” Sounds pretty socialist.
11: Please Don’t Tell Moms for Liberty
And what about Vance’s motives for launching a show? Why is someone affiliated with the government inserting herself between a parent and their child? Liberals may trust teachers to teach, but in the MAGA movement, only parents are capable of making decisions about when—and if—their child gets measles or learns to read.
12: And Finally...
Finally, the wokest thing about Vance’s show…? There’s a woman of color in every episode.
You can find Vance’s show on Youtube. In seven days, the first episode grabbed 12,000 views. The second episode with Danica Patrick had 2,800. And the third with Brent Poppen was up to 3,700 views.
