Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter responds to Vance‘s ‘childless cat ladies’ attack

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s daughter and ex-wife criticized Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance after comments he once made referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as one of the “childless cat ladies” running the country, re-emerged.

During a July 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, Vance — now former President Donald Trump’s running mate — said Harris was one of the “childless cat ladies” who “want to make the rest of the country miserable too.”

Vance added, “If you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.”

READ: Barack and Michelle Obama endorse Kamala Harris (July 26, 2024)

Harris is stepmother to Emhoff’s two children, Ella and Cole, who refer to the vice president as “Momala.”

In a statement to NBC News, Kerstin Emhoff called Vance’s attacks “baseless,” adding: “For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I. She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective, and always present. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it.”

Ella Emhoff, 25, posted a screenshot on her Instagram story in support of her mother’s statement, adding, “How can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like Cole and I?”

READ: Kamala Harris slightly shrinks Trump’s leads in battleground states (July 25, 2024)

She also tagged her mother’s Instagram handle, writing, “Say it louder for the people in the back.” At the bottom of the image, Ella Emhoff wrote, “I love my three parents.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who now has two children, also criticized Vance’s comments, saying in an interview with CNN earlier this week, “The really sad thing is, he said that after Chasten and I had been through a fairly heartbreaking setback in our adoption journey. He couldn’t have known that, but maybe that’s why you shouldn’t be talking about other people’s children.”

“It’s about … people’s families whose well-being will depend on whether we go into a future led by somebody like Kamala Harris who is focused on expanding the prosperity and the freedom, the well-being of our families,” Buttigieg added.

READ: Why I’m supporting Kamala Harris (July 23, 2024)

Vance also argued in the interview with Carlson that people without children don’t have a “direct stake” in the future of this country, according to USA Today.

Carlson brought Vance on to talk about his stance on the “childless left,” as Vance was ramping up his campaign for his first political term as Ohio’s senator. The video shows Carlson welcome Vance on the show and asks him to explain his stance.

“We are effectively run in this country … by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they wanna make the rest of the country miserable, too,” Vance answers.

READ: Kamala Harris wins enough delegates to win Democratic nod (July 23, 2024)

“It’s just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.”

Vance argued that people with children have a “direct stake” in the future of the country, and therefore are more worthy of votes and support.