Usha Vance Called Out After People Notice A Bizarrely Awkward Detail About The Decor For Her Summer Party

On Saturday, Camp VPR (which stands for Vice President's Residence) was held as a one day summer event hosted by Second Lady Usha Vance at the Vice President's official residence in Washington, D.C. on the grounds of the Naval Observatory. Camp VPR began in 2025.

The event was put on to promote the Second Lady's Summer Reading Challenge for kids in grades K–8. Children's literacy campaigns have been promoted by multiple First Ladies and Second Ladies with Vance following in the footsteps of Second Ladies Marilyn Quayle, Tipper Gore, and Dr. Jill Biden.

To promote her event, Vance posted a carousel of photos on Instagram with the caption:

"We kicked off an exciting summer of sunshine, outdoor play, and reading at Camp VPR. Keep the fun going all summer long with my Summer Reading Challenge!"

You can see Vance's post here:

But one feature in the Camp VPR decor drew attention—and criticism—for the visual impression it made.

The two photos that caused bewilderment and backlash can be seen here:

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As a result, the hashtag #LynchingLiteracy trended, including in the comments on Vance's post.

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Camp participants took part in assorted arts and crafts and a variety of outdoor activities.

Representatives from the Library of Congress attended Vance's event, bringing baseball memorabilia from the Library’s collection. The D.C. Public Library Bookmobile was also in attendance to offer kids the opportunity to receive library cards for public libraries in the D.C. metro region.

Neither the White House nor the Vance's have commented on the backlash over the hanged books.