J.D. Vance attacks on Kamala Harris ‘Childless Cat Ladies’ are devoid of economic realities for women. High inflation, cost of living crisis, lack of universal childcare
In an election race that is starting to feel like a fever dream for many Americans, this week delivered another contentious attack; against the experiences of childless Americans and their deserved ‘stake’ in the nation’s future.
In a resurfaced 2021 interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, then-Senate-candidate J.D Vance launched a tirade against democrats and their choices (or not) in family life, suggesting that as single people, they do not have a “direct stake” in the country, describing them 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.”Attack on a growing electorate
His remarks earned a rare rebuke from America’s sweetheart actress Jennifer Aniston, whose childless life has been a media obsession throughout her blazing career. The 55-year-old called out Vance’s highly insensitive stance towards the many women who, like herself, didn’t have the opportunity to choose their outcomes, humanizing the pain of infertility and a glaring lack of empathy, compassion, and rational judgment from a man who sees himself as a born leader.
Aniston is not alone. His words have come under fire from women across the broad spectrum of society, considered not just insensitive but poor politics. Most notably it is also in sharp contrast with Donald Trumps recent campaign tagline at the Republican National Convention, declaring himself a ‘President for all Americans.’ For J.D. Vance it would seem, just not the childless ones, aka 38% of the population.
His remarks are even more baffling considering, childless Americans are a fast growing electorate with national fertility rates reaching a historic low in 2023 (the lowest level since the U.S. began tracking birth rate data in 1979). National health statistics data shows that now twenty percent of American women are childless at the age of 44, and the share of U.S. adults under 50 who say they are unlikely to ever have kids rose from 37% in 2018 to 47% in 2023.
Yet this was not a slip of the tongue view by Vance. Ever the dogmatic Christian, he doubled down on his position in an interview with Megyn Kelly this week. He did, however, apologize to any cats he may have offended.Where is the tally on past President’s biological children?
It is no coincidence these comments have come at a particularly jarring political moment, where American voters are less than four months away from deciding their next President, and all eyes are on Vice President and democratic nominee Kamala Harris, who Vance gave a specific mention in his remarks.
