Anderson Cooper couldn’t help but chuckle after playing the now-notorious 2022 clip of Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance bashing a country run by so-called “childless cat ladies.”
“What’s wrong with cats?” Cooper asked, his voice slightly cracking. “That’s weird. It’s kind of a surprising line of attack.”
CNN commentator Ashley Allison, a Democratic strategist and campaign staffer, called Vance’s argument that those without children are somehow less qualified for office “absurd.”
“I’m a childless dog lady,” Allison said, soliciting a giggle from Cooper and another panelist. Having kids, “is not a qualification on whether or not you are a leader or whether or not you have a love for this country.”
The comment lays bare the hypocrisy of Republicans hurling identity-based attacks against Kamala Harris, Allison said.
“They used to blame us for being the party for identity politics but it seems like the Republicans are doing a lot of that right now,” Allison said.
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Watch the clip below or at this link.
