Usha Vance is stepping forward to defend her husband, Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance, regarding his controversial "childless cat ladies" remark.
In an interview with Fox News, she stated that critics had misinterpreted her husband's words, taking them too seriously.
JD Vance originally made these remarks in a 2021 interview, arguing that individuals without children should not lead the country and describing women without kids as "miserable."
These comments resurfaced when former President Donald Trump selected Mr Vance as his running mate, prompting swift backlash from critics, including actress Jennifer Aniston.
In her defence of her husband, Ms Vance told Fox News that the remarks were intended as a "quip" and urged people to consider the broader context of his statement.
She addressed the criticism that Mr Vance's comments were insensitive to those facing fertility issues, asserting that he would "never, ever, ever want to say something to hurt someone who was trying to have a family, who really, was struggling with that."
Ms Vance acknowledged that there are various reasons why people may choose not to have families, many of which are valid.
During his 2021 Senate campaign, Mr Vance appeared on Fox News and told then-host Tucker Carlson that the US is led 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 also questioned why several high-profile Democrats, including Kamala Harris, who is running to replace Joe Biden as president, do not have children.
JD Vance argued that leaders without children were making decisions for the future despite not having a "direct stake in it."
He suggested that childless individuals often live in small apartments, pursue wealth, careers, and "status," and eventually "hate" those with families and homes, whom he claimed are happier and better suited to lead the country.
Mr Vance, who has three children with Ms Vance, has since defended his remarks, particularly the "childless cat ladies" comment, as a "sarcastic comment" aimed at highlighting a larger point.
In a discussion with conservative media personality Megyn Kelly, he stated, "People are focusing so much on the sarcasm and not on the substance of what I actually said."
He clarified that his comments were not intended to belittle those without children but to criticise the "Democratic Party for becoming anti-family and anti-children."
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