Praise for Hungary and people having more children: Takeaways from Vance’s statements on birth rates

One of the catchphrases of this election came from a moment three years ago when Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance mocked Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats he accused of being anti-family and called them “childless cat ladies.”

The Harris campaign and her Democratic allies seized on the comments to brand the Trump-Vance ticket as “weird,” forcing the former president and his vice presidential nominee to better explain his views. Vance has long expressed his concern for falling birth rates, saying the U.S. will not be able to continue as a nation if current trends hold.

Vance has not apologized and says he was taken out of context, arguing he did not criticize people for not having kids, but for “being anti-child.”

Here’s a review of what Vance has said.

What are Vance’s family views?

Even before Vance got into politics, he has been clear about his concerns regarding birth rates.

In a 2021 speech at the conservative nonprofit Intercollegiate Studies Institute in Virginia, he floated an idea to allow parents to cast ballots on behalf of their children. He has since said that was a “thought experiment” and not a policy proposal and said it would be “ridiculous” to change the voting system.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> RELATED COVERAGE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Beyond ‘childless cat ladies,’ JD Vance has long been on a quest to encourage more births </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> VP nominee JD Vance to dissolve last vestige of mothballed charity,