Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), continued his brazen labeling of Democrats as “anti-kids” on Sunday, referring to COVID-19 mask-wearing as an attempt to paint his opposition as out of touch as he struggles for weeks in an often self-inflicted showdown over his past comments.
Vance told the CNN host Dana Bash Democrats had become “anti-family” in their politics, and Kamala Harris’ campaign took her “childless cat ladies” out of context. Before becoming a senator, former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson had said in 2021 that the United States was run by “childless cat ladies,” citing Harris, Pete Buttigieg, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
(Harris is a stepmother to two children, and Buttigieg adopted two children in 2021.)
“I have criticized Kamala Harris for being part of a set of ideas that exist within the American government that are anti-family,” Vance said. “I never criticize, Dana, people who don’t have children. I criticize people who are anti-children. And I think Kamala Harris…”
“You think she’s against children?” Bash retorted.
“—made bizarre statements,” Vance continued.
He claimed Harris had said it was reasonable for people not to have children because of climate change, a false reference to a remark Harris made last year expressing empathy for those struggling with “climate anxiety” as they considered having children.
Ella Emhoff Responds to JD Vance’s Claims That Kamala Harris Doesn’t Have Children
Vance then tried to compare this to mask-wearing in the time of COVID, saying Democrats didn’t understand young children enough when they imposed mask mandates on children. (Mask mandates began under the Trump administration.)
“I think if we had more people who had the right perspective and understood a little bit more about how little kids actually work, we wouldn’t have made as many mistakes,” Vance said.
“People didn’t know much about it because it was literally a new virus,” Bash said.
The exchange left Vance exhausted, prompting an attack on Bash who continued the line of questioning.
“You asked me three questions about comments I made three years ago,” Vance said. “I wonder what Kamala Harris thinks about the fact that she supported policies that opened the southern border of the United States. I wonder what Kamala Harris thinks about the fact that she lied to the American people about Joe Biden’s mental incapacity to hold this office.”
“But I’m interviewing you, not Kamala Harris,” Bash reminded him.
Buttigieg, who appeared after the taped interview, criticized Vance for dodging his past remarks and said the senator knew only one form of response: denigration.
“I’m a dog lover with two kids, but I’m one of the millions of Americans he’s managed to insult over there,” Buttigieg said. “But the other part of it is just disturbing, isn’t it, is that anyone who disagrees with him is ‘anti-child.’ And that’s part of his personality, isn’t it? He seems incapable of talking about a vision for this country in terms of nurturing or developing or helping people. That’s always a put-down.”
The Daily Show Finds Fatal Flaw in JD Vance’s Dig into ‘Childless’
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