Tomi Lahren warns JD Vance's 'childless cat ladies' remark could make women move away from Trump in 2024

WASHINGTON, DC: Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren has sharply criticized JD Vance, the Ohio senator and vice presidential candidate, over his controversial comments about Kamala Harris and other Democratic figures.

Lahren described Vance's remarks as a "bad move" that could jeopardize the Republican ticket's chances in the upcoming election.

The controversy over JD Vance’s 2021 comments

The backlash stems from a 2021 interview in which JD Vance criticized Harris, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for not having biological children.

In the interview, Vance suggested that these Democrats, whom he labeled as "childless cat ladies," were misusing their positions to make others miserable due to their own personal dissatisfaction.

During a SiriusXM interview with Megyn Kelly on Friday, Vance defended his comments, clarifying that he intended to critique the Democratic Party’s alleged anti-family stance rather than disparage individuals without children.

Vance argued that his remarks were about the Democrats’ policies and values, rather than a personal attack on those who choose not to have children.

Tomi Lahren warns of fallout from JD Vance's remarks

According to Newsweek, despite JD Vance’s defense, Lahren argues that the damage might already be done.

On Friday's episode of Fox News' 'Outnumbered', she stated, "The attacks on [Harris] personally — on whatever her past, personally, may have been or calling her a 'childless' lady — none of those are going to work, and they're going to make women second-guess their support for what they may have felt for Donald Trump."

Lahren emphasized that such comments could alienate women voters and undermine support for the Trump-Vance ticket.

Lahren further criticized the approach, saying, "Don’t call women dumb. It just doesn’t work. On Republican women or liberal women, it just doesn’t work. There are much better ways to attack Kamala."

She argued that personal attacks and derogatory language are not effective strategies and could lead to voter backlash.

JD Vance’s 2021 remarks and defense

In a video from 2021, Vance had told Fox News' Tucker Carlson, “We are effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, 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.”

Vance questioned why the country would be governed by people who, in his view, lack a direct stake in its future.

Vance's spokesperson, Taylor Van Kirk, defended the comments, claiming they were taken out of context and twisted against him. Van Kirk stated, "The only childlessness we should be talking about are the childless parents who lost their kids to the murderous thugs and deadly fentanyl coming across Kamala's southern border."

Lahren’s criticism is part of a broader reaction from conservative women who find Vance’s comments problematic.

Conservative women criticize JD Vance’s remarks

Meghan McCain shared her personal experience on X (formerly Twitter), writing, "One of my best friends did rounds and rounds of unsuccessful IVF wanting to have a child. It is still painful to talk about. This 'childless women' comment by JD Vance has made so many waves with so many different friends of mine for its insensitivity and cruelty to women."

Corie Whalen, a media relations director at a Republican think tank and former congressional staffer, also expressed her discontent on X.

Whalen stated, "I’m a right-leaning woman who agrees with almost nothing the Biden-Harris administration has done, but the primal hatred and disgust Vance stokes in me transcends politics."

She added, "I suspect I am not the only woman of my vintage, so to speak, who feels this way."

Lahren has also questioned Trump’s choice of Vance as his running mate. On Thursday, she remarked on X, "I like JD Vance, but I’m not sure the calculation as VP pick checks out."

She cautioned that Vance's past comments could resurface and create additional challenges, warning, "It’s not gonna be easy to get around some of these."