WASHINGTON: Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance is learning the hard way that the Internet doesn’t just love cats, it loves childless cat ladies too, as comments resurfaced in which he argued that those without children are less fit to rule.
In a 2021 clip, Vance also mentioned Kamala Harris, now the Democratic presidential candidate, among others, when he told Fox News that those who hadn’t had children, particularly “childless cat ladies,” were “unhappy” and had “no vested interest” in the country.
The comments sparked a firestorm of ridicule and accusations that the father of three represents a sexist, out-of-touch Republican mentality that has no place in the modern age.
“It would be funny if it weren’t so sad,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told MSNBC, adding, “My God, they went after the catmen, good luck with that!”
If Harris, who has two stepsons, defeats former Republican President Donald Trump in November’s election, she would not only become the first woman president but also the first woman of Black and Asian descent, which would expose her to a host of demographic attacks.
While several Republicans have flagged her lack of biological children as a problem, her online “KHive” of fans have defended themselves with memes, outrage, and supportive posts from celebrities, politicians, and members of her own family.
An outraged Jennifer Aniston referenced her infertility, which the actress has spoken out about in the past, while comedian and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg asked, “Now what the hell?”
The resurfaced clip from 2021 shows Vance, then a U.S. Senate candidate for Ohio, telling Fox's Tucker Carlson that the United States was being run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are unhappy with their lives and the choices they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country unhappy, too.”
“It’s just a basic fact: Just look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC: The entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children,” Vance said.
“And how does it make sense that we have handed over our country to people who actually have no direct interest in it?”
Buttigieg, who is U.S. transportation secretary and adopted two children that year, told CNN the comments were offensive, given the issues he was facing at the time with adoption.
“He couldn’t have known this, but maybe that’s why you shouldn’t talk about other people’s children,” Buttigieg said.
Harris has two stepchildren, Cole and Ella, from her husband Doug Emhoff and his first wife.
Their mother, Kerstin Emhoff, said in a statement to CNN that the attacks on Harris were “unfounded.”
“For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala co-parented with Doug and me,” she said.
“I love our extended family and am grateful to have them with me.”
Ella, 25, who refers to Harris as “Momala,” meanwhile wrote on Instagram that “I love my three parents.”
“How can you be 'childfree' when you have adorable kids like me and Cole?”
Harris supporters were quick to point out that no U.S. president has ever physically given birth, as all have been men. A handful of them have never produced offspring.
Most notable among these was George Washington, the first American president who, like Harris, helped raise his wife's children from a previous marriage.
Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Republican Sen. John McCain, warned that Vance's comments “are activating women on all sides, including my more conservative friends who support Trump.”
The focus on politicians’ children comes at a time when reproductive health and abortion access, issues championed by Harris, are front and center in this year’s election.
“Political leaders should have children. They should certainly at least be married,” Blake Masters, a former congressional candidate and Trump-backed venture capitalist, wrote in X.
“If you don’t manage or can’t manage a family, how can you relate to a group of families or govern wisely for future generations?” he said.
In a 2021 speech, Vance went so far as to suggest that people with children should have more voting rights.
“When you go to the polls in this country as a parent, you should have more power,” he said in quotes unearthed by the Washington Post, adding, “if you’re not invested as much in the future of this country, maybe you shouldn’t have nearly as much of a voice.”
Vance's campaign has since dismissed the comments as a “thought experiment.”
