WASHINGTON: The candidate for vice president of the United States from the Republican Party, J. D. Vance is learning the hard way that the Internet doesn't just love cats, it loves childless cat ladies as comments have resurfaced claiming that those without offspring are less fit to rule.
In a 2021 clip, Vance singled out Kamala Harris, now a Democratic presidential candidate, among others, when he told Fox News that the unborn, especially “childless cat women,” were “miserable” and had “no direct stake » in the country.
The comments sparked a storm of scorn and accusations that the father-of-three represents an out-of-touch, sexist Republican mindset that has no place in the modern age.
“It would be funny if it wasn't so sad,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz told MSNBC, adding, “Oh my god, they went for the cat people, good luck with that!”
If Harris, who has two stepsons, defeats former Republican President Donald Trump in November's election, she will become not only the first female president but also the first black and Asian woman, opening her up to a series of attacks along demographic lines.
While several Republicans have pointed to her lack of biological children as a problem, her online “KHive” fans have defended her — through memes, outrage and messages of support, including from celebrities, politicians and her family members.
An outraged Jennifer Aniston drew attention to her own infertility, which the actor has talked about in the past, while comedian and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg asked: “So what the hell?”
The restored 2021 clip shows Vance, then a candidate for the U.S. Senate from Ohio, telling Fox's Tucker Carlson that the United States is run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are suffering from their lives and the choices they've made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too.”
“It's just a basic fact — you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, the AOC — the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without kids,” Vance said.
“And what's the point in the fact that we gave our country to people who really have no direct involvement in it?”
Buttigieg, who is the U.S. secretary of transportation and adopted two children that same year, told CNN the comments were hurtful given the adoption setbacks he faced at the time.
“He couldn't have known that, but maybe that's why you shouldn't talk about other people's children,” Buttigieg said.
Harris has two stepsons, Cole and Ella, with husband Doug Emhoff and his first wife.
Their mother, Kerstin Emhoff, said in a statement to CNN that the attacks on Harris were “unwarranted.”
“For over 10 years, ever since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala co-parented with Doug and me,” she said.
“I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it.”
Ella, 25, who calls Harris 'Mama', meanwhile wrote on Instagram that 'I love my three parents'.
“How can you be 'childless' when you have cute kids like Cole and I.”
Harris supporters were quick to point out that no US president had ever given birth physically, as all were men. A handful also never produced offspring.
Chief among them was George Washington, America's first president, who, like Harris, helped raise his wife's children from a previous marriage.
Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Republican senator John McCain, warned that Vance's comments would “energize women on all sides, including my most conservative friends who support Trump.”
The focus on the children of politicians comes at a time when reproductive health and access to abortion — topics that Harris championed — are taking center stage in this year's election.
“Political leaders should have children. Surely they should at least get married,” the venture capitalist and former Trump-backed congressional candidate wrote on X.
“If you don't or can't manage your own household, how can you communicate with families or manage wisely with respect for future generations?” he said.
In his 2021 speech, Vance went so far as to suggest that people with children should have more votes.
“When you're running for office in this country as a parent, you should have more power,” he said in quotes unearthed by the Washington Post, adding “if you don't have that much investment in the future of this country. , maybe you shouldn't get nearly the same voice.”
Vance's company has since dismissed the comments as a “thought experiment.”
