Former President Donald Trump's choice for Vice President, JD Vance, has been grappling with the fallout from past comments that many women find offensive. Despite attempts to distance himself from those remarks, Vance is still on the defensive as the campaign trail heats up.
Since former President Donald Trump selected "Hillbilly Elegy" author and Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate, Vance has been forced to contend with a trove of old media clips that women who support the Trump-Vance ticket are concerned will hurt their election chances.
Years ago, Vance said in a media interview that "a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made" should not be in a position to run the country, lumping Vice President Kamala Harris into that category. He also said that Congress should "tax the things that are bad, and not tax the things that are good" by imposing a higher tax rate for individuals without children.
JD Vance's Controversial Remarks Shadow His Vice Presidential Bid
Vance's team claims that his launch at the Republican National Convention last month was successful, and that the Harris campaign resurrected old media clips to demonize their opponent. However, women supporting the Republican ticket still feel that his comments and efforts to correct course have fallen short and believe that the junior senator with an "inspiring story" should "take back control" of the narrative.
"JD's phrasing is extremely off-putting to undecided women voters. He needs to adjust his delivery to convey the message, or the Trump-Vance brand is destined to fail," Jessica Reed Kraus, founder of the House Inhabit Substack, told Fox News Digital.
JD Vance's Controversial Remarks Shadow His Vice Presidential Bid
Rachael Dean Wilson, managing director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) at the German Marshall Fund and former adviser to the late Sen. John McCain, added that "attemping to divide women along the lines of mothers vs. non-mothers is poisonous" and only "benefits" American adversaries.
"Putting aside the campaign tit-for-tat, attempting to divide women between mothers and non-mothers is harmful to our communities and political discourse," she explained. "I urge women of all political affiliations to fight against the tribalism that these attack lines promote on both sides. While this is an undoubtedly domestic conversation, I always emphasize that significant domestic discord and polarization benefit our foreign rivals and undermine the United States' standing in the global arena."
JD Vance's Controversial Remarks Shadow His Vice Presidential Bid
Vance has taken steps to distance himself from the past. Last week, he visited the southern border and criticized the Biden administration's policies, which have caused an increase in violent and drug-related crime due to record border crossings. He also appeared on the Full Send podcast, which targets a young, male Generation Z audience.
In an interview with "Fox and Friends," Usha Vance, wife to JD Vance, stated that her husband's "cat ladies" comment was "a quip intended to emphasize a point he wanted to make that was substantive."
JD Vance's Controversial Remarks Shadow His Vice Presidential Bid
"I just wish people would occasionally discuss those issues and spend less time dwelling on this or that three-word sentence."
The "essence" of what JD Vance intended to convey in those remarks, according to him, is that public policy in the United States has turned "anti-family."
"Obviously, it was a sarcastic remark. I have nothing against cats or dogs. I have a dog at home, and I adore them," Vance said of the cat comment during an interview with Megyn Kelly. "However, look, this is not about — people are focusing so much on the sarcasm rather than the substance of what I actually said, and the substance of what I said, Megyn, I'm sorry, it's true. It's accurate that we've become anti-family. It's true that the left has evolved into an anti-child stance. It's just true that raising a family has become far more difficult."
That message has found some support. Hannah Claire Brimelow, co-host of "Timcast IRL," agrees with Vance, stating that "we should prefer leaders who have children because our values are supposed to be passed down to the next generation, and having children alters your view on your place in a civic society."
She also mentioned that the Harris campaign's decision to "dig up a clip from 2021 to attack Vance seems to indicate they don't have much else to criticize him for."
However, nearly two weeks have passed since the proverbial cat got out of the bag, and Vance is still on the defensive. Vanessa Santos, president and CEO of public relations firm Renegade DC, claims that Vance "needs to regain control of the narrative."
"The Harris campaign and the media are collaborating to ensure that this 'cat lady' news cycle receives maximum attention and causes maximum harm to Trump-Vance. JD must regain control of the narrative. He must face these dishonest media figures head-on, defend himself, and expose their blatant hypocrisy."
Taylor Van Kirk, a spokesperson for Vance, responded in a statement to Fox News Digital, "Senator Vance is laser focused on exposing Kamala Harris's weak, failed, and dangerously liberal record, and that's exactly what he'll do across key swing states over the coming days."
"Kamala Harris’s policies have resulted in crippling inflation, a major crisis at our southern border, and rising crime – her goal is to make Americans less wealthy and less secure. Democrats are creating false narratives about JD because they recognize that their policies have been a catastrophe for American families," she said. ". JD has a compelling tale to tell and a lovely family. His tale resonates with men and women alike, especially parents and young Gen Z voters who are concerned that the American dream is slipping away from them. Move on from the 'cat lady' media storm and double down on criticizing Democrats for their harmful and disastrous policies."
