JD Vance’s ‘Cat Ladies’ Insult Sparks Criticism of Trump’s VP Pick

Just a week after riding high on conservative euphoria at the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump’s running mate is confronting a harsher reality.

Comments JD Vance made in 2021 disparaging “childless cat ladies” are drawing criticism from not only Democrats, but also some members of his own party.

“If you’re trying to win suburban women and you call suburban women ‘childless cat ladies,’ you’re not going to convince them to come over to your side,” said Tomi Lahren, a conservative political commentator. “I think it’s funny as a Republican, but I don’t think a lot of suburban women that are on the fence are going to find it funny.”

The controversy is bubbling up just as the Trump campaign grapples with a shift in the dynamics of the 2024 election race. President Joe Biden’s exit and his deputy Kamala Harris’ likely ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket have energized the party’s base and donors, bringing in much-needed buzz and money.

On Friday, Vance said on the The Megyn Kelly Show that his remarks weren’t about “criticizing people who for various reasons didn’t have kids.” Instead, “this is about criticizing the Democratic Party for becoming anti-family and anti-child,” he said.

Swing State Vote

Since announcing her run for president, the 59-year-old Harris has narrowed the lead Trump, 78, had built against Biden in polls following the president’s disastrous debate performance in late June.

That means it will be even more crucial for Republicans to woo undecided and independent voters in critical swing states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. Vance, with his Appalachian roots and record of giving voice to working class concerns, is a key part of the Trump campaign’s strategy in those states.

“I have been trying to warn every conservative man I know — these JD comments are activating women across all sides, including my most conservative Trump supporting friends,” Meghan McCain, the daughter of former Republican presidential candidate John McCain, said in a post on X. “These comments have caused real pain and are just innately unchristian. This is not who we are.”

The comments that have generated the most criticism were made by Vance in a 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson, who was then with Fox News. “We are effectively run in this country, via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too,” he said.

He specifically referred to Harris, New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, saying “How does it make any sense that we have turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it.”

Harris supporters were quick to point out that she is the stepmother to two children with her husband, Doug Emhoff.

Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, pointed to separate comments the Ohio senator made in 2021 for what she described as “important context.” In that instance, during a speech delivered at a conference a few days before the interview with Carlson, Vance said that the target of his remarks about the “childless left” weren’t those unable to have children due to medical or biological reasons.

Now, Vance, 39, will have to face off with whoever Harris picks as her running mate. In an acknowledgment of the way race and gender are factoring into the 2024 election, Harris is mostly considering male and White candidates for the post.

In recent days, Vance has largely focused on targeting Harris, especially over the Democrats’ handling of migration at the southern US border.

“The Democrats are in complete disarray with the most unpopular Vice President in history as their party’s nominee,” said Taylor Van Kirk, a spokesperson for Vance. “The only childlessness we should be talking about are the childless parents who lost their kids to the murderous thugs and deadly fentanyl coming across Kamala’s southern border.”

Since his pick as Trump’s potential VP, Vance hasn’t leaned in on issues that could potentially put off more moderate voters. During his speech at the RNC, he didn’t focus on his views against abortion.

Still, his critics are likely to scour for more comments from his past that could potentially weaken his — and Trump’s — electoral position.

Emily Jashinsky, a conservative political commentator, suggested that Vance should change his approach. “The right should appeal to the victims of the culture it seeks to repair, not denigrate them when our entire argument is that these women were set up for failure by others,” she said on her news show.

With assistance from Nancy Cook.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.