Downward angle icon Downward angle icon. Second Gentleman’s Doug Emhoff slammed Senator J.D. Vance after it was revealed that he had previously criticized Vice President Kamala Harris. Nathan Howard/Getty Images Second Gentleman’s Doug Emhoff fired back at Senator J.D. Vance’s criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris. In a 2021 interview, Vance claimed Harris was part of a “childless, cat-loving woman” gang. Harris is also co-parent with Emhoff’s two children from his previous marriage.
Second gentleman Sen. Doug Emhoff slammed Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio on Friday after it was revealed that Sen. Vance had criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for not having children, despite being a co-parent to two children from Sen. Emhoff’s previous marriage.
“What he said was terrible. It was stupid. It was ignorant. And the reaction, not just around the country but around the world — you just look at what Jennifer Aniston said — I think it struck a chord with just about everybody and upset them, because family is family to everybody,” Emhoff told former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara on Bharara’s podcast, released Friday.
Emhoff said Vance’s comments show he doesn’t understand the realities of modern families.
“You’re basically saying to a lot of people in this country and in this world that they don’t matter,” Emhoff said.
“The only thing I have a problem with is this old-fashioned idea of what you might call a traditional family,” he added. “It’s so abhorrent. I was so proud of Kirsten. We loved her so much, we were so close, we co-parented so beautifully and seamlessly as a trio, and it was hard. It hurt my feelings. It was upsetting. I was so proud of my daughter, Ella, for supporting her mother and her mothers.”
Mr Emhoff’s daughter Ella Emhoff and his ex-wife Kirsten Emhoff have previously accused Vance of targeting their family – both Ella and her brother Cole were teenagers when Mr Emhoff and Ms Harris were married.
“These are baseless attacks. Kamala has been co-parenting with Doug and me for over a decade, since Cole and Ella were teenagers,” Kirsten Emhoff said in a statement to CNN. “She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective and always there for us. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her there.”
Vance’s comments have only exacerbated his struggle to appeal to the public: He has already set a record as the most disliked major vice presidential candidate, even after the convention.
Taylor Van Kirk, a spokesman for Senator Vance, said his past comments had been misinterpreted.
“Once again, the left-wing media has misinterpreted Senator Vance’s words and created a false narrative about where he stands on the issues. Democrats are in complete disarray after nominating the most unpopular vice president in history as their party’s nominee,” Van Kirk said in a statement to Business Insider.
In a 2021 interview, Vance, who would later be elected to the U.S. Senate, blasted the next generation of Democratic leaders for not having children.
“This country is effectively run through the Democrats and the corporate oligarchy by childless catwomen who are miserable about their lives and the choices they’ve made, so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too,” Vance told Fox News host Tucker Carlson at the time.
Vance stressed that he wasn’t making fun of people who can’t have children, but he included Harris in that group, even though she is stepmother to Emhoff’s two children since marrying him in 2014.
On Friday, Vance sought to correct some of his earlier comments amid the backlash, without backing down from his belief that Democrats are “anti-family.”
“Obviously, it was a sarcastic comment. I don’t have anything against the cat, I don’t have anything against the dog,” Vance told former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly on her podcast. “People are so focused on the sarcasm that they’re not focusing on what I actually said. Megyn, what I said is true, and I’m sorry.”
In selecting Vance, former President Donald Trump made clear he was promoting someone he could help lead a populist movement that has replaced traditional conservatism within the Republican Party.
