Vice presidential nominee Senator J.D. Vance said in a recent interview that he regrets calling some leaders “childless cat women” because “a lot of people misunderstood.”
Since announcing his intention to run for president in 2024, Vance has come under fire for saying in 2021 that “this country is essentially run by Democrats, corporate oligarchs and childfree catwomen.”
But the senators argue that the remarks were taken out of context.
“I want to be vice president for the whole country, I want to represent all of our people, and certainly I made some sarcastic comments years ago that I think are willfully misconstrued by a lot of Democrats,” Vance said Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press.”
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Vice presidential candidate Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) addresses the crowd at a campaign rally in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on August 20, 2024. (Andy Manis/Getty Images)
Vance was then asked again whether he regretted his comments.
“I really regret that a lot of people were misled and I really regret that the DNC and Kamala Harris lied,” the vice presidential candidate told the outlet.
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“I'm going to say things from time to time that people won't agree with. I'm a human being, so I'm going to make jokes, I'm going to be sarcastic. And I think the key is to focus on policy,” Vance added. “Kristen, there are a lot of things I regret, but making a joke three years ago is not going to be in the top 10 of my regret list.”
Former President Donald Trump (left) poses for a photo with Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio before addressing a crowd at an event in Asheboro, North Carolina, on August 21, 2024. (Melissa Sue Gerrits)
The Ohio senator added that she believes the United States has become increasingly “anti-family” and wants to give women more options to start families.
“I want to change that,” he said. “When I talk to young women, whether they have children or don't want to have children, I think what I hear consistently is that a lot of young women feel like they don't have a choice.”
Vance has continued to defend his comments, but Democrats have criticized them since he was selected as former President Donald Trump's running mate for 2024.
Oprah Winfrey criticized Senator J.D. Vance's “childless, cat-loving women” remarks during a speech on the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on August 21, 2024. (Mike Seeger)
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called it “repulsive,” and Oprah Winfrey highlighted it in her speech at the Democratic National Convention.
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“Despite what some of you may think, we're not that different from our neighbors. When a house is on fire, we don't ask what race the householders are or what religion they have, or think about who their partners are or how they voted. We just do the best we can to save them,” Winfrey told attendees of the Democratic National Convention. “And if that house happens to be a childless cat lover, we try to get the cat out, too.”
