JD Vance walks back ‘childless cat ladies’ remark in new book
Vice President JD Vance reflected on a controversial comment he made five years ago, where he called Democrats “childless cat ladies,” criticizing their leadership in a provocative manner. In his new memoir, *Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith*, Vance admits the comment was “boneheaded” and intentionally provocative. The remark, made during a 2021 campaign while mocking Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats, drew notable criticism and was later linked to sexist attitudes against women who haven’t had children.Vance acknowledged regret over the statement, stating he could have expressed his point more effectively and attributed his reflection to his Christian faith. He also discussed his spiritual journey, including his conversion to Catholicism in 2019, and credited his wife Usha Vance, who practices Hinduism, for encouraging his faith. Vance plans to promote his memoir on Fox News and has addressed the incident publicly, recognizing it as a mistake influenced by his desire to provoke rather than clarify.
Vice President JD Vance called himself “boneheaded” in his new memoir for once deriding Democrats as “childless cat ladies,” five years after he made the divisive comment.
In Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, Vance admitted fault in making the comment.
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“One of the dumbest things I ever said came when I argued that ‘childless cat ladies’ across the Democrat Party were running our country into the ground,” he wrote in a book excerpt reported by NBC News.
“The comment caused two firestorms: the first when I made it, the second years later during a political campaign,” he continued. “It was a boneheaded comment, intentionally (and successfully) provocative rather than illuminating.”
In 2021, Vance mocked then-Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats as “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.” At the time, he was running for a Senate seat in Ohio. The comment resurfaced in 2024 when Donald Trump chose Vance as his running mate.
Harris’s campaign for president latched onto Vance’s words as a sexist attack against women who haven’t given birth. While running for the White House two years ago, Vance defended his criticism of Democrats.
“I have a lot of regrets,” he said on NBC News’s Meet the Press in August 2024, “but making a joke three years ago is not at the top 10 of the list.”
After some reflection, Vance said he could have made his intended point about Americans being opposed to having children “much more effectively” instead of “enraging” people. He pointed to his Christian faith as a reason for why he should have been less antagonistic.
“When I consider the Church’s admonition to respect the dignity of every life, this was a clear moment where I failed,” he wrote.
The vice president is releasing his second memoir on Tuesday, 10 years after Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis was published. His latest book covers his conversion to Catholicism in 2019 and his spiritual journey since then.
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In his upcoming memoir, Vance credited his wife, Usha Vance, for encouraging him in his Christian faith even though she practices Hinduism. She helped edit his latest writing.
Vance is set to go on Fox News’s Hannity at 9 p.m. Monday to discuss Communion, among other topics.
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