JD Vance’s 2021 ‘Childless Cat Ladies’ Remark Resurfaces
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), now former President Donald Trump’s running mate, has received criticism over past comments suggesting the country should not be run by “childless cat ladies.”
Vance’s Quote: In a July 2021 interview with Fox News (Right bias), Vance said: “We’re 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. It’s just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC. The entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. And how does that make any sense, when we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?”
For Context: Vice President Kamala Harris has two stepchildren, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg adopted two children in August 2021. Critics of Vance’s remarks reportedly include politicians like Buttigieg and celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, as well as some fans of Taylor Swift.
How the Media Covered It: Coverage was much more common in left-rated outlets, often highlighting female celebrities’ reactions. The New York Times (Lean Left bias) said Vance’s “insult” sparked “bipartisan outrage.” While Newsmax (Right bias) covered a Trump aide who defended Vance, as well as Vance’s later remark that he was referring to people who “elected not to” have children, a National Review (Right bias) senior editor said it was “rotten” to “pit people with children against people without.”
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
Women rally around Kamala Harris after J.D. Vance calls her a ‘childless cat lady’ in resurfaced video![AllSides Media Bias Rating: Center AllSides Media Bias Rating: Center](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/bias-center.png)
![](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/styles/feature_image_300x200/public/GettyImages-2163092217-e1721984569371.jpg?itok=-g-UJ06j)
– Cat ladies unite. Many women were already mobilized to support Kamala Harris; now J.D. Vance has spurred even more of them into action. Donald Trump’s VP pick, in a resurfaced 2021 Fox News appearance, said that “childless cat ladies,” including Harris, were running the Democratic Party—to the detriment of the country.
Here’s his full quote, via the Guardian:
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...
From the Left
Vance Denigrated Harris for Being Childless. Her Blended Family Is Defending Her.![AllSides Media Bias Rating: Lean Left AllSides Media Bias Rating: Lean Left](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/bias-leaning-left.png)
![](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/styles/feature_image_300x200/public/25dc-women1-superJumbo.jpg?itok=vkp8OwD3)
In a 2021 interview with Fox News, JD Vance lamented that the United States was being run by “childless cat ladies” like Vice President Kamala Harris, women who he claimed had no “direct stake” in the country’s future.
This week, Ms. Harris received a powerful gesture of support from one of her biggest advocates: the mother of her stepchildren.
“For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I,” Kerstin Emhoff said in a statement released by the office of the...
From the Right
Trump Aide Defends Vance's 'Childless Cat Lady' Comment![AllSides Media Bias Rating: Right AllSides Media Bias Rating: Right](https://www.allsides.com/sites/default/files/bias-right.png)
Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, has come to the defense of the former president's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, following backlash over comments he made about childless Democrats, The Hill reported Thursday.
In 2021, Vance questioned Vice President Kamala Harris' fitness for office as someone who doesn't have biological children.
In a post Thursday on X, Leavitt wrote that Vance's comments are "being taken out of context and unfairly attacked."
During a speech at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, which was posted by Leavitt, Vance defended his posture, saying he...
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