Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, attacked childless teachers in 2021 in remarks that surfaced Tuesday.
In his public comments, he specifically criticized Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.
“You know, so many leaders on the left, and I hate to get so personal on this, but they’re people without children who are trying to brainwash the minds of children,” Vance said at the Center for Christian Virtue Leadership. forum moderated by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt and group chairman Aaron Baer in October 2021.
Vance was joined by other Republican candidates in the 2022 Ohio Senate race.
When the candidates were asked about handling school-related issues and how to be more responsive to parents, Vance took aim at Weingarten, who has described herself as a “wife,” saying she “doesn’t have a single child.”
“If he wants to brainwash and destroy the minds of children, he should have his own and leave us the hell alone,” he said in a 30-second clip by the liberal news site Heartland Signal, which resurfaced Tuesday. Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign later confirmed the clip.
NBC News reviewed all of Vance’s comments about the event.
Vance previously drew widespread criticism for other comments that surfaced in 2021, calling Harris one of those “childless cat ladies” who “want to make the rest of the country miserable.”
Weingarten, whose union endorsed Harris last month, spoke at the Democratic National Convention last week in support of his bid for the presidency. Taylor Van Kirk, Vance’s spokesman, told NBC News in a statement on Tuesday that Vance “continues to loudly call this bullshit in defense of children.”
“There is no greater threat to American children than the left-wing indoctrination being spread in our schools by radicals like Randi Weingarten with the support of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz,” Van Kirk said.
A spokeswoman for the teachers union referred NBC News to Weingarten’s comments with an X about Vance’s remarks.
“Gross! JD Vance’s comments are sad and hurtful to millions of modern families and school teachers, including Catholic nuns, none of whom should be subjected to family decisions,” Weingarten wrote.
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said in a statement to NBC News that former President Donald Trump and Vance disrespect teachers who “dedicate their lives to serving students.”
“Instead, they choose to attack and degrade us while pushing an extreme, unprecedented Project 2025 agenda against America that fundamentally jeopardizes our children’s future and gives Trump unprecedented power over our daily lives,” Pringle said.
Vance is not the first Republican to downplay Weingarten’s status as a parent.
“Randi Weingarten is a joke. Randi Weingarten doesn’t even have kids of her own. What the hell does she know about raising and teaching kids?” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said in an interview with Fox News in 2021.
Rep. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., made similar remarks about Weingarten last year.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
