Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, said he regretted that people had misconstrued his comment about “childless cat ladies.”
Vance faced strong backlash for comments he made during his 2021 Senate run, which resurfaced after Trump, the Republican nominee, announced him as his running mate.
In those remarks, Vance questioned the leadership qualities of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and others, claiming they had no “direct stake” in the country because they do not have biological children.
“We are virtually run by the Democrats in this country,” by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are unhappy with their own lives and the choices they’ve made and therefore want to make the rest of the country unhappy, too,” he told Fox News in 2021.
In an interview with NBC News’ Meet the press On The Sun, which aired on Sunday, Kristen Welker repeatedly asked Vance if he regretted his comments.
WATCH: Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) says he regrets people “misconstruing” his comments about the childless cat lady in 2021.@kwelkernbc: “Do you regret what you said?”@JDVance: “I have a lot of regrets, Kristen, but making a joke three years ago is not in the top ten of the list.” pic.twitter.com/c5gWaA6LTT
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) 25 August 2024
When asked about childless women who felt that Vance’s comments would not represent them if he were elected vice president, the senator described them as a “sarcastic comment” that Democrats had “intentionally misinterpreted.”
Welker responded: “You call it a sarcastic comment, and yet some women – and you received the feedback in real time – felt it was a punch in the gut for them personally. Do you regret making that comment?”
Vance said: “Look, I obviously regret that a lot of people took it the wrong way, and I obviously regret that the DNC and Kamala Harris lied about it.”
When asked again if he regretted his statement, Vance replied: “Listen, Kristen, I’m going to say things from time to time that people don’t agree with. I’m a real human being. I’m going to make jokes. I’m going to say things sarcastically.”
Peter Zay/AFP via Getty Images
The “sarcastic comments were made in service of a real, factual point,” he added. “This country has become too anti-family. It’s too expensive to afford a home, it’s too expensive to afford groceries. Donald Trump and I want to change that.”
Welker then asked if Vance wished he hadn’t made the comments, given the many women who said they were offended.
“I think it’s much more important for me to just be a normal human being who sometimes says things that people don’t agree with,” he said. “I have a lot of regrets, Kristen, but making a joke three years ago is not at the top of the list.”
The Trump-Vance campaign team was asked for comment via email.
