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JD Vance responded to the backlash over his past "childless cat ladies" comment — by clarifying that he has nothing against cats.
In a Friday episode of "The Megyn Kelly Show," host and conservative personality Kelly asked the Republican vice presidential nominee to weigh in on the controversy surrounding the comment.
Vance defended himself, telling Kelly, "Obviously, it was a sarcastic comment. I've got nothing against cats, I've got nothing against dogs. I've got one dog at home and I love 'em Megyn. People are focusing so much on the sarcasm and not on the substance of what I actually said, and the substance of what I said, Megyn — I'm sorry, it is true."
Vance continued: "I know the media wants to attack me and wants me to back down on this, Megyn, but the simple point that I made is that having children, becoming a father, becoming a mother, I really do think it changes your perspective in a pretty profound way."
Vance told Kelly that he had nothing against stepparents either.
"It's not a criticism of people who don't have children," Vance told Kelly. "I explicitly said in my remarks, despite the fact the media has lied about this, that this is not about criticizing people who, for various reasons, didn't have kids. This is about criticizing the Democratic party for becoming anti-family and anti-child."
Vance first made the "cat ladies" comment in a 2021 Fox News interview while he was campaigning for the Ohio Senate.
He told Fox News at the time, "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," pinpointing Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as part of that group.
Just days earlier, Vance had brought up childless adults again during a speech at an Intercollegiate Studies Institute conference. That time, Vance suggested that those who don't have kids should have less voting power than those who do.
He floated voting changes that would give parents an extra vote for each child they have.
"If you don't have as much of an investment in the future of this country, maybe you shouldn't get nearly the same voice," Vance said at the time.
Since Trump selected Vance as his running mate last week, the cat comment has resurfaced and drew harsh criticism from Democrats, Hollywood celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, and even some Republicans.
Kamala Harris's campaign joined in on Friday, highlighting Vance's appearance on Kelly's show and accusing him of doubling down.
Harris's stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, also jumped in to defend her stepmom, writing in an Instagram Story, "How can you be 'childless' when you have cutie pie kids like Cole and I," referencing her brother. She added, "I love my three parents" in reference to Harris, her biological father and Harris's husband Doug Emhoff, and her biological mother.
If elected to the presidency, Harris would not only be the first female president and first South Asian president, but also the first president without biological children since James Buchanan, who served from 1857 to 1861.
