JD Vance calls ‘childless cat ladies’ remark ‘one of the dumbest things’ he ever said
Vance in the summer of 2024: “People are focusing so much on the sarcasm and not on the substance of what I actually said. The substance of what I said, Megyn — I'm sorry, it's true." https://t.co/aKJzHGJsta https://t.co/owhb46Av04
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) June 15, 2026
WASHINGTON, DC: Vice President JD Vande has finally disowned his infamous “childless cat ladies” remark, calling it “one of the dumbest things” he has ever said in a striking reversal from a line he spent years defending.
The admission arrives after repeated backlash and renewed scrutiny tied to his political future. It also comes as expectations continue to build around a possible 2028 presidential campaign.
JD Vance reverses long-defended comment
In his new memoir, 'Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith', Vance acknowledges that the 2021 remark was a mistake.
“One of the dumbest things I ever said came when I argued that ‘childless cat ladies’ across the Democrat Party were running our country into the ground,” Vance writes, according to NBC News.
He goes even further in the book, describing it as “a boneheaded comment, intentionally (and successfully) provocative rather than illuminating”.
The comment dates back to a 2021 appearance on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show, when Vance, then running for the US Senate in Ohio, described Democrats as “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made”.
“It’s just a basic fact,” Vance said at the time. “You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC — the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.”
The remark resurfaced during the 2024 election after Vance joined Donald Trump’s ticket and quickly became one of the most scrutinized moments from his political past.
Taylor Swift helped revive controversy
The backlash spread far beyond politics.
Actor Jennifer Aniston had publicly criticized the remark, saying, “I truly cannot believe this is coming from a potential VP.”
Oprah Winfrey referenced the controversy during the 2024 Democratic National Convention, while Selena Gomez joked about it during the Emmy Awards.
Perhaps the most high-profile response came from Taylor Swift. When endorsing Kamala Harris for president in 2024, Swift posted a photo with one of her cats and signed her message, “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady,” directly invoking Vance’s comment.
The controversy became one of the defining cultural flashpoints surrounding Vance during the campaign.
2028 race puts old remarks back in focus
What makes the new admission notable is that Vance previously resisted backing away from the comment.
During the 2024 campaign, he told Megyn Kelly that critics were focused on “the sarcasm and not the substance” of his remarks.
“The substance of what I said, Megyn — I’m sorry, it’s true,” Vance said at the time.
He also told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ that he had no regrets about “making a joke three years ago,” while arguing the comment was being “willfully misinterpreted”.
Now, the vice president is taking a different tone as attention shifts toward what comes after Trump’s second term.
In a CBS ‘Sunday Morning’ interview, Vance said he and his wife, Usha, “will absolutely sit down and talk about what comes next for our family” after the 2026 midterm elections. He also said Trump would “be very supportive of anything that I ultimately decide to do”.
Vance is widely viewed as a potential contender for the 2028 Republican nomination, though potential rivals include Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
His decision to label the remark “boneheaded” removes a line that had repeatedly resurfaced as one of the most politically damaging comments attached to his national profile.
