Vance shrugs off criticisms over his sexist comments that have dragged down his favorability

Donald Trump’s running mateJD Vance brushed off the onslaught of negative media coverage over his past misogynistic remarks — and once again stood by his “childless cat lady” comment.

Much of the media hysteria has focused on a resurfaced interview from 2021 in which Vance referred to Vice President Kamala Harris, who has two stepchildren, as a “childless cat lady.” The comment sparked the wrath of Harris allies, social media users, Jennifer Aniston and even Kerstin Emhoff — the ex-wife of second gentlemen Doug Emhoff.

Speaking toNBC News on Tuesday, Vance defended his past attack but clarified that he did not mean for it to include those having difficulty conceiving.

“What I was criticizing and continue to criticize is a particular neurosis in American leadership that I think leads people to say crazy things, like ‘You shouldn’t have children because climate change is a threat to the future,’” Vance said Tuesday.

“Climate change may very well be a problem, but it is not a problem that should motivate people to not have families. And I think that attitude is quite damaging. It’s quite destructive,” the Ohio Senator continued.

“I’ll keep on calling it out, even though I’m sure that Democrats will misrepresent what I say,” he added. “I just think that the substance of what I said is actually quite defensible.”

While the internet has condemned Vance’s “childless cat lady” comment, Vance’s former classmates have slammed his pivot from calling Trump “America’s Hitler” to becoming his running mate, and Democrats have labeled Vance as “weird” in the weeks since the first-term Ohio Senator joined the 2024 GOP ticket.

Despite shrugging off the offensive remarks, Vance boasts the lowest favorability rating of any VP pick