JD Vance says people took his childless cat lady comment ‘the wrong way’

Republican vice presidential contender JD Vance was back in the hot seat Sunday over comments he made while running for the US Senate in 2021 about Americans — particularly women — without children.

The Ohio senator spoke to NBC’s Kristen Welker just a few days after his running mate spoke to her colleagues at the network during a trip to the southern border. In his interview, he was asked once again whether he “regrets” making a dig at “childless cat ladies” — something he said he did not regret doing. Instead, he said he regretted that Democrats were supposedly “lying” about the context of his remarks.

He also fired back at the idea that some women voters may take his words as a “gut punch” and would wonder if he’d really represent both men and women.

“Look, I regret certainly that a lot of people took it the wrong way, and I certainly regret that the DNC and Kamala Harris lied about it,” Vance said.

WATCH: Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) says he regrets that people took his 2021 childless cat lady comments “the wrong way.”<a rel=«nofollow» target="_blank" href=«https://twitter.com/kwelkernbc?ref_src=» https:>@kwelkernbc

: “Do you regret what you said?”<a rel=«nofollow» target="_blank" href=«https://twitter.com/JDVance?ref_src=» https:>@JDVance: “I have a lot of regrets, Kristen, but making a joke three years ago is not at the top ten of the list.” pic.twitter.com/fhYqS6UoNc

When Welker pressed him again, he answered: “I have a lot of regrets, Kristen, but making a joke three years ago is not at the top ten of the list.”

Welker’s line of questioning did not get intothe meat of Vance’s comments at all; namely, the assertion that a woman’s role in society is primarily as a childbearer. Vance made several comments to this regard,