Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter criticized Ohio GOP Senator JD Vance for comments he made about Vice President Kamala Harris. In a 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, Vance referred to Harris as one of the “childless cat ladies” who “want to make the rest of the country miserable too.” He also said, “If you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.”
Harris is the stepmother of Doug Emhoff’s two children, Ella and Cole, who call her “Momala.”
“We’re publishing a power list today of childless cat ladies. Who’s on the top of it? Taylor Swift with 100 million followers on X…This is galvanizing women voters as well as men.”
— The Daily Beast’s @JoannaColes on JD Vance’s ‘childless cat lady’ comments energizing voters pic.twitter.com/3fvqlQTOzV
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) July 26, 2024
Kerstin Emhoff, Doug Emhoff’s ex-wife, called Vance’s comments “baseless.” She told NBC News, “For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I. She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective, and always present. I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it.”
Ella Emhoff, 25, posted on her Instagram story in support of her mother’s statement. She wrote, “How can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like Cole and I?” She also added, “I love my three parents.”
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who now has two children, also criticized Vance’s comments. He said on CNN, “The really sad thing is, he said that after Chasten and I had been through a fairly heartbreaking setback in our adoption journey. He couldn’t have known that, but maybe that’s why you shouldn’t be talking about other people’s children.”
Buttigieg added, “It’s about … people’s families whose well-being will depend on whether we go into a future led by somebody like Kamala Harris who is focused on expanding the prosperity and the freedom, the well-being of our families.”
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
