Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, has come to the defense of the former president's running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, following backlash over comments he made about childless Democrats, The Hill reported Thursday.
In 2021, Vance questioned Vice President Kamala Harris' fitness for office as someone who doesn't have biological children.
In a post Thursday on X, Leavitt wrote that Vance's comments are "being taken out of context and unfairly attacked."
During a speech at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, which was posted by Leavitt, Vance defended his posture, saying he wasn't referring to people who "struggled to find the right girl, find the right guy" or those who couldn't have children "for biological, medical reasons." He said his comments were directed at those who could have children but elected not to.
Vance was invited on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" in July 2021 following his initial remarks, where he said the country is run by Democrats and "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 told Carlson. "And it's just a basic fact. You look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC, the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. And how does it make any sense that we've turned our country over to people who don't really have a direct stake in it."
His comments have resurfaced in recent days following President Joe Biden's abrupt decision to end his campaign for reelection and Harris becoming the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee.
Buttigieg, the Transportation Secretary who is gay, now has twins. The Hill reported he said he and his husband Chasten Buttigieg had been going through a "heartbreaking setback in our adoption journey" at the time of Vance's comments. Although he acknowledged Vance could not have known that, "maybe it's why you shouldn't be talking about other people's children."
Actress Jennifer Aniston also weighed in, according to The Hill, saying she couldn't believe "this is coming from a potential VP of the United States." She said she prays Vance's daughter is "fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day."