JD Vance Says He Regrets ‘Childless Cat Ladies’ Remark Was Taken Wrong Way

Donald Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, has said he regrets that people took his “childless cat ladies” comment the wrong way.
Vance has faced backlash over comments he made while running for the Senate in 2021 that resurfaced after Trump, the Republican nominee, announced him as his running mate.
In those remarks, Vance questioned the leadership of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and others, claiming they don’t have a “direct stake” in the country because they do not have biological children.
“We are effectively run in this country via the Democrats” 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,” he said on Fox News in 2021.
In an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press that aired Sunday, Kristen Welker repeatedly pushed Vance about whether he regretted making those remarks.
Asked about women without children who feel that Vance would not represent them if elected vice president because of what he said, the senator called it a “sarcastic comment” that Democrats have “willfully misinterpreted.”
Welker responded: “You’re calling it a sarcastic comment and yet some women, and you got the feedback in real time, felt like it was a gut punch to them personally. Do you regret making that comment?”
Vance said: “Look, I regret certainly that a lot of people took it the wrong way, and I certainly regret that the DNC and Kamala Harris lied about it.”
Asked again if he regretted what he said, Vance replied: “Look Kristen, I’m going to say things from time to time that people disagree with. I’m a real person. I’m going to make jokes. I’m going to say things sarcastically.”
The “sarcastic comments were made in the service of a real, substantive point,” he added. “This country has become too anti-family. It’s too expensive to afford a house, it’s too expensive to afford groceries. Donald Trump, and I want to change that.”
Welker then asked if Vance wished he had not made the remarks, given how many women have said they were offended.
“I think that it’s much more important for me to just be a normal human being who sometimes says things people will disagree with,” he said. “I have a lot of regrets, Kristen, but making a joke three years ago is not at the top 10 of the list.”
The Trump-Vance campaign has been contacted for comment via email.