Donald Trump defends J.D. Vance's 'childless cat lady' comments by saying it shows a key value is close to his heart
Donald Trump doesn't seem concerned with the reemergence of running mate J.D. Vance's 'childless cat lady' comments and the slew of ensuing criticism.
Rather, the former president and 2024 Republican candidate claims the remarks prove Vance is a family man as he defended picking the Ohio Senator to join his ticket.
'He loves family. It's very important to him,' Trump told Fox News host Laura Ingraham during an interview aired Monday evening.
'He grew up in a very interesting family situation. And he feels family is good,' Trump added of Vance. 'And I don't think there's anything wrong in saying that.'
The vice presidential nominee said in a 2021 interview with then-Fox host Tucker Carlson that the U.S. is being run by Democratic '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.'
Donald Trump defended in a Fox News interview his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance's 'childless cat lady' comments
'How does it make any sense that we've turned our country over to people who don't really have a direct stake in it?' he added.
Vance has three children, Ewan, 6, Vivek, 4, and Mirabel, 2 with wife Usha, who he met when the two attended Yale together.
Ever since Vance's comment reemerged, critics have jumped to Vice President Kamala Harris' defense.
Harris, who became the de facto Democratic presidential nominee last week, has no children of her own, but has two step-daughters with husband First Gentleman Doug Emhoff.
Emhoff's ex-wife Kerstin called attacks 'baseless' and went on to say Harris is a 'loving, nurturing, fiercely protective' co-parent of her children.
Vance said Friday in clarifying what he meant in his comments from 2021 that Democrats are pushing 'anti-child' policies.
'I wish her step-children and Kamala Harris and her whole family the very best,' the Republican Senator said. 'The point is not that she's lesser. The point is that her party has pursued a set of policies that are profoundly anti-child.'
Vance has three children Ewan, 6, (right) Vivek, 4, (left) and Mirabel, 2, (not pictured) with wife Usha
Trump, while backing up his running mate, also said he doesn't place a higher value on adults who have children versus those who are not parents.
'You know, you don't meet the right person, or you don't meet any person,' Trump said to Ingraham. 'But you're just as good, in many cases, a lot better than a person that's in a family situation.'
The former president says Democrats are blowing Vance's years-old remark out of proportion.
'He's got tremendous support, and he really does among a certain group of people, people that like families,' Trump said. 'He made a statement having to do with families. That doesn't mean that people that aren't a member of a big and beautiful family with 400 children around and everything else, it doesn't mean that a person doesn't have – he's not against anything.'
'Now, they took that as an indication that people that don't have families… oh it's so crazy,' he added.
Speaking on The Megyn Kelly Show on Friday, Vance said his comments were 'obviously sarcastic.'
'People are focusing so much on the sarcasm and not on the substance of what I actually said,' he explained.
'The substance of what I said, Megyn - I'm sorry, it's true,' he added. 'This is about criticizing the Democratic Party for becoming anti-family and anti-children.'
'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. I'm making an argument that our entire society has become skeptical and even hateful towards the idea of having kids.'
Democrats say Vance's comments were anti-woman, anti-gay and insulting to those who have trouble conceiving.
