Topline
GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, has come under fire in recent days for resurfaced comments he made denouncing Vice President Kamala Harris and others as “childless cat ladies” who don’t have a “direct stake” in the country’s future—reflecting a worldview that has affected Vance’s policy views as he stands to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.
Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, holds a campaign rally at Radford University on July 22 in Radford, … [+]
Key Facts
Vance condemned Harris and other Democrats as “childless cat ladies” who “want to make the rest of the country miserable too” in a Fox News interview from 2021—repeating a line of attack that he’s repeatedly made on social media and in other public comments, also saying in 2021, “We should give miserable, childless lefties less control over our country and its kids” and that a “lack of babies … means our leaders are miserable.”
Those comments reflect broader policy views from Vance, who during his political tenure has repeatedly pushed policies that would encourage families to have children and economically benefit parents.
Tax Policy: Vance supported a higher tax rate for childless adults in a 2021 podcast appearance, ABC News reports, and has also backed an expansion of child tax credits for low-income families and a proposal by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., that would give married parents a $12,000 tax credit.
Healthcare: Vance introduced legislation in the Senate that would protect healthcare coverage for parents during their post-childbirth leave, and has also supported “universal childbirth” policies that would eliminate out-of-pocket costs during childbirth—though The Washington Post reports Vance ended bipartisan talks for legislation on that issue when he got closer to securing the vice presidential nomination.
Childcare: Though he’s supported policies to pay for childbirth, the senator has been staunchly opposed to “universal childcare” proposals that would eliminate costs for childcare, calling it a “massive subsidy to the lifestyle preferences of the affluent over the preferences of the middle and working class” in a 2021 post on X.
Married Couple Loan Forgiveness: Vance has touted a policy enacted in Hungary, in which the government provides loans to newly married couples, and then forgives those loans based on how many children the couple has or if they stay together for a certain number of years—a policy endorsement that has garnered some criticism, as the Hungarian proposal echoes a similar policy that was enacted in the 1920s and 30s by Italian Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini.
Abortion: Vance is opposed to abortion and endorsed a national ban in 2022, saying on a podcast he “certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally,” though more recently he has backed former President Donald Trump’s view that the issue should be left to the states.
No-Fault Divorce: Though he has not explicitly called for repealing no-fault divorce laws, Vance argued in a 2021 appearance that “children suffered” because of more relaxed views around divorce that started in the 1970s and as couples have increasingly viewed marriage as a “basic contract,” calling for a return to valuing marriage as “sacred” in order to preserve American families.
Economy: In that same appearance, Vance called for the U.S. to rebuild its “manufacturing economy” and create stable jobs for blue-collar workers in order to preserve marriage stability, after saying he believes that “moms and dads really are different” and that the U.S. losing “a lot of stable male employment” was “catastrophic” for the American family.
Voting Rights: Vance said in a 2021 speech he believed parents should have more voting power than childless voters, arguing, “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.”
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Crucial Quote
In comments to right-wing journalist Megyn Kelly about his “childless cat ladies” comments going viral, Vance said his remarks were “obviously … a sarcastic comment” and he has “nothing against cats,” but defended his broader views. “People are focusing so much on the sarcasm and not on the substance … and the substance of what I said, Megyn — I’m sorry, it is true,” Vance said, as quoted by The Washington Post.
Tangent
Vance’s views that emphasize the importance of married families with children echo views espoused by the Heritage Foundation, a private right-wing organization with close ties to Vance that’s recently come under fire for its 900-page policy agenda for a second Trump presidency known as “ Project 2025.” The Heritage Foundation has publicly called for “encouraging marriage at the front end of a woman’s childbearing years” in order to increase the birth rate, and Project 2025 heavily emphasizes the importance of the nuclear family and imposing policies that strengthen it. The policy blueprint calls for ending “LGBTQ equity” initiatives and others in the Department of Health and Human Services and “replacing such policies with those encouraging marriage, work, motherhood, fatherhood, and nuclear families,” for instance, along with restricting abortion rights and eliminating federal healthcare mandates around contraception coverage. About the Heritage Foundation’s proposals, Vance spokesperson Taylor Van Kirk told Forbes, “The views of any outside group have zero effect on JD’s policy positions—full stop.” Vance’s office also directed Forbes to comments Vance has made noting Project 2025 has no affiliation with the Trump campaign and saying he thinks “there’s some good ideas in there” and “there’s some things that I disagree with.”
Chief Critic
Vance’s comments denouncing “childless cat ladies” have drawn widespread condemnation from the left, particularly from female voters. Actress Jennifer Aniston attacked Vance’s comments in an Instagram post saying she “truly can’t believe that this is coming from a potential VP of the United States” telling Vance, “I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day.” Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., also criticized Vance on X Thursday, saying she is a “proud mom” of stepchildren—like Harris—and she and husband Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., were trying to conceive through in vitro fertilization before she was shot in 2011. “To suggest we are somehow lesser is disgraceful,” Giffords said. While Harris has not commented on his attacks directly, her stepdaughter Ella Emhoff posted an Instagram story Thursday saying, “How can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like Cole and I,” referring to her brother. “I love my three parents,” she added. Harris has also garnered a significant amount of high-profile support from female voters in her campaign’s opening days as Vance’s comments have gone viral, with more than 100,000 women joining a Zoom call Thursday to support the Harris campaign and fans of Taylor Swift mobilizing for the vice president.
What We Don’t Know
How Vance’s policy views would actually affect a potential Trump presidency. The vice presidential candidate is likely to fall in line with Trump’s chosen policy agenda, and the ex-president has publicly espoused more moderate positions than Vance on issues like abortion, calling for the issue to be left up to the states. (Abortion rights advocates believe he may take harsher action if elected, however.) Trump has also publicly distanced himself from Project 2025 and its more extreme proposals, though many involved with his first presidential administration helped author the policy agenda.
Key Background
Trump named Vance as his vice presidential candidate last week as the Republican National Convention was underway, siding with allies like son Donald Trump, Jr. who had pushed for him to be the nominee over more moderate choices like Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Vance was elected to the Senate in Ohio in 2022 and was previously best known as the author of memoir “ Hillbilly Elegy.” He notably spoke out against Trump in the 2016 election before he ultimately claimed his views had changed and he now supported the ex-president. Trump’s selection of Vance has come under increasing scrutiny as his more extreme views have gone viral and as President Joe Biden stepped down and endorsed Harris, shaking up a presidential race that polling previously suggested could go more easily for Trump. The vice presidential candidate has struggled in the polls, with CNN reporting he is the least-liked vice presidential nominee post-convention since 1980, and The Hill reported Friday that even some House Republicans have denounced him as Trump’s running mate.
