WASHINGTON: US Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance is learning the hard way that the Internet loves not only cats but also childless catwomen, as comments resurfaced in which he claimed the childless were less fit to govern.
In a 2021 clip, Vance singled out Kamala Harris, now the Democratic presidential candidate, among other things when he told Fox News that those who hadn't reproduced, especially “childless cat ladies,” were “unfortunate” and had no “direct stake” in the country.
The comments have sparked a storm of mockery and accusations that the father-of-three represents an out-of-touch, sexist Republican mindset that has no place in the modern era.
“It would be funny if it wasn't so sad,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz told MSNBC, adding, “My God, they went after 'cat people,' good luck with that!”
If Harris, who has two stepchildren, beats Republican former President Donald Trump in November's election, she will not only become the first female president, but also the first woman of black and Asian heritage, opening her up to a number of attacks along demographic lines.
While several Republicans have flagged her lack of biological children as a problem, her online “KHive” of fans has mounted a defense — via memes, indignation and supportive posts, including from celebrities, politicians and members of her own family.
An upset Jennifer Aniston pointed to her own infertility, which the actor has been vocal about in the past, while comedian and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg asked “Now, what the hell?”
The rerun clip from 2021 shows Vance, then a U.S. Senate candidate from Ohio, telling Fox's Tucker Carlson that the United States was run by “a bunch of childless catwomen who are unhappy with their own 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 children,” Vance said.
“And how does it make sense that we've handed our country over to people who don't really have a direct stake in it?”
Buttigieg, who is the US transportation secretary and adopted two children in the same year, told CNN the comments were hurtful given an adoption backlash he was facing at the time.
“He couldn't have known that, but maybe that's why you shouldn't talk about other people's kids,” Buttigieg said.
Harris has two stepchildren, Cole and Ella, by her husband Doug Emhoff and his first wife.
Their mother, Kerstin Emhoff, said in a statement to CNN that the attacks on Harris were “baseless.”
“For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has co-parented with Doug and I,” she said.
“I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it.”
Ella, 25, who refers to Harris as “Momala,” meanwhile wrote on Instagram that “I love my three parents.”
“How can you be 'childless' when you have cutie pie babies like cole and me.”
Harris' supporters were quick to point out that no US president has ever physically given birth, as all have been men. A handful have also never produced any offspring.
Chief among them was George Washington, the first president of the United States who, like Harris, helped raise his spouse's children from a previous marriage.
Meghan McCain, daughter of the late Republican Sen. John McCain, warned that Vance's comments are “activating women across the board, including my most conservative Trump-supporting friends.”
The focus on politicians' children comes as reproductive health and access to abortion — topics Harris has championed — take center stage in this year's election.
“Political leaders should have kids. Sure, they should at least be married,” venture capitalist and Trump-backed former congressional candidate Blake Masters wrote on X.
“If you don't run or can't run your own household, how can you relate to a constituency of families, or govern wisely with consideration for future generations?” he said.
In a 2021 speech, Vance went so far as to suggest that people with children should have more votes.
“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 don't have as much investment in the future of this country. , you might not should get almost the same vote.”
Vance's campaign has since dismissed the comments as a “thought experiment.”
