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Jimmy Williams
Usha Vance, wife of Senator JD Vance, defended her husband in response to the resurfaced 2021 comments about “childless cat ladies” in a “Fox and Friends” interview.
The remarks have drawn significant scrutiny and criticism, but Usha Vance insists that her husband’s intention was to highlight the challenges faced by families due to inadequate support from U.S. policies.
“He made a quip in service of making a point that he wanted to make that was substantive,” Usha Vance explained. “And I just wish sometimes that people would talk about those things and that we would spend a lot less time just sort of going through this three-word phrase or that three-word phrase, because what he was really saying is that it can be really hard to be a parent in this country, and sometimes our policies are designed in a way that make it even harder.”
Usha Vance emphasized the need to focus on the substantive issue her husband was addressing: the difficulties of parenthood in America and the need for policies that support families. “And we should be asking ourselves, ‘Why is that true? What is it about our leadership and the way that they think about the world that makes it so hard sometimes for parents?’” she added.
When asked about the offense taken by some women to the “childless cat ladies” remark, Usha Vance reiterated that her husband would “never ever” intend to hurt anyone, especially those struggling to start a family. She encouraged a deeper conversation about improving family support. “And I also understand there are a lot of other reasons why people may choose not to have families, and many of those reasons are very good,” she acknowledged. “I think what I would say is, let’s try to look at the real conversation that he’s trying to have and engage with it.”
Senator Vance had defended his comment amidst backlash, calling it a “sarcastic comment” and criticizing the media for focusing on the sarcasm rather than the substance of his point. He made the original remark on Tucker Carlson’s show, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as one of the “childless cat ladies” who want to make the country “miserable.”
Usha Vance discussed how the negative press has affected their family, admitting it has been challenging but has also helped her develop “thick skin.” “Sometimes I don’t see it all, and sometimes I do see it, and I look at and think, ‘Well, this is not the JD I know, this is not accurate,’” she said. “But I think we’ve been doing this now for a little while, and I’ve gotten kind of accustomed to it and grown a bit of a thick skin to it.”
Regarding how life has changed since Trump announced JD Vance as his running mate, Usha Vance noted the kindness and support they have received. She highlighted the significant adjustment of having a Secret Service detail and praised the agents assigned to their family. “They’ve been amazing. They’ve really taught us an incredible amount over the last couple of weeks about how to live with a security detail and all of that,” she said. “We have code names. Now, our kids had a lot of fun with that.”
Usha Vance also mentioned their decision to keep their children out of the public eye as much as possible, allowing them to maintain their privacy and childhood. She praised the Secret Service’s quick response during the assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, calling it an “incredibly shocking” incident. “From a personal perspective, I guess I try not to worry too much about that,” she added. “We’ve been really lucky. The people who are here, they’re just amazing.”
