Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance claimed calling leading Democrats “a bunch of childless cat ladies” was just a “sarcastic remark” as he tried to fend off accusations of misogyny and direct fire at Harris’ own running mate, Tim Walz. , on Tuesday.
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“The media wants to be offended by a sarcastic remark I made before I even got to the United States Senate,” the Ohio senator and Republican vice presidential nominee told reporters in Philadelphia.
In response, Harris’ spokeswoman said Vance and Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, “were not pro-family, they’re anti-women,” adding, “Women are paying attention — and exercising their power in elections.”
Vance was in Philadelphia in direct opposition to Harris and Walz as the vice president and Minnesota governor prepared to host their first joint rally in the Pennsylvania city.
Vance called Walz a “joke” and “one of the most far-left radicals in the entire United States government at any level,” and accused the governor of “wanting to send more manufacturing jobs to China” and weakness. protests for racial justice in Minneapolis in the summer of 2020.
Even so, Vance still faced questions about his “childless cat ladies” comment in which he named Harris.
Speaking in 2021 to then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Vance called senior Democrats in Congress and the Biden administration “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are unhappy with their lives and their choices and that’s what they want to do.” the rest of the country is also miserable.
“It’s just a basic fact – look at Kamala Harris, [transportation secretary] Pete Buttigieg, AOC [congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] – The entire future of the Democrats is under the control of childless people. And what’s the point of us handing over our country to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?”
Harris is a stepmother to two children. In 2021, Buttigieg adopted two children with her husband Chasten. Ocasio-Cortez has no children.
Vance’s remarks — and other controversial statements — surfaced after Trump selected him as his running mate last month.
Democrats and outside voices, including actress Jennifer Aniston, have labeled the “childless cat ladies” comments offensive. The poll shows that the public agrees. On Tuesday, a University of Massachusetts Amherst poll showed 64 percent of respondents said they opposed the claim that not having biological children would hinder Harris’ ability to be president. Only 15 percent of Republicans approved.
Vance addressed the “childless cat ladies” controversy a day after his wife Usha Vance, the mother of his three children, insisted the comment was just a “joke.”
Usha Vance told Fox News that her husband “honestly … that it can be really hard to be a parent in this country and sometimes our policies … make it even harder.”
He failed to mention that JD Vance recently helped block a bill to establish the right to in vitro fertilization (IVF), a treatment that helps millions who would otherwise have no children.
In Philadelphia, the “childless cat ladies” comment was brought up near the end of the event, where Vance repeatedly disparaged the media.
She told the reporter: “Now you asked about the remarks I made which you said hurt millions of women. Well, here’s what I’d say—”
A woman in the audience shouted, “This Catwoman loves you.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Vance said amid cheers, adding, “We love you too.”
He continued: “What I said is very simple. I think American families are good, and government policies should be more pro-family. Now, if the media wants to be offended by a sarcastic remark I made before I even ran for the United States Senate, the media has a right to be offended.”
He then elaborated on the reasons he said he was offended by Harris, from his role on immigration and border policy to the fact that he had not given a single interview since becoming the Democratic nominee.
Related: JD Vance’s wife says his ‘childless cat ladies’ comment was ‘flashy’
Harris campaign spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika told the Guardian: “This may come as a surprise to Vance and Trump, but women don’t value their personal choices and freedoms when politicians invade their bedrooms and doctor’s offices. , trying to tell them if and when they will have children.
“It’s especially strange coming from the same man who voted against IVF protection and called universal daycare ‘class warfare against ordinary people.’
“Vance’s comments make it clear: she and Donald Trump aren’t pro-family, they’re anti-women. Women are paying attention — and will use their electoral power to elect Vice President Harris in November.”
