Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) is turning to a beloved internet strategy, posting cat photos, to do damage control for his resurfaced “childless cat ladies” comment that stirred an uproar among critics.
Vance made the dig during a 2021 interview with Fox News in which he lamented that the U.S. was being run by “a bunch of 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.”
“It’s just a basic fact—you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC—the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children,” Vance continued. “And 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?”
Vance’s comments prompted a flurry of criticism, including from actress Jennifer Aniston, who had previously opened up about her fertility struggles, and drew a number of mocking memes.
At the Democratic National Convention, Oprah Winfrey referenced it telling the crowd that when a neighbor’s house is on fire, no one asks about the homeowner’s race, religion, sexuality, or political leanings.
“We just try to do the best we can to save them,” Winfrey said, adding: “And if the place happens to belong to a childless cat lady—well, we try to get that cat out too.”
Vance repeatedly tried to brush off the years-old remark, but numerous old comments continue to resurface showing his apparent disdain for women without kids.
“I made a sarcastic comment years ago that I think that a lot of Democrats have willfully misinterpreted,” Vance told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
“I regret, certainly, that a lot of people took it the wrong way, and I certainly regret that the [Democratic National Committee] and Kamala Harris lied about it,” he said.
Vance previously stressed that his quip was nothing more than a sarcastic joke and criticized the media for focusing on the joke and not the point he was trying to make—that, in his opinion, the Democratic Party and its policies had become “anti-family.”
“Obviously, it was a sarcastic comment. I’ve got nothing against cats,” he added in a July interview.
In his quest to prove he has nothing against cats, Vance chose a new tactic on Wednesday night: sharing a photo of a cat donning a “Cats for Vance” bandana.
“I wonder if this cat knows…” Vance joked.
The post got praise from supporters—including one X user who declared, “I’m a cat lady and you have my vote.”
“even the cats are voting for Trump,” joked someone else.
But critics of Vance seized on the quip as another opportunity to further mock Vance.
“Yes, your cat knows that you’re weird,” quipped one person.
“Cat looks scared !” said someone else.
“That cat looks like a hostage,” echoed another poster.
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