J.D. Vance's Biggest Political Blunder: Vice President Recalls 'Dumbest' Comment — And It Still Haunts Him
J.D. Vance has revisited 'one of the dumbest things' he's ever said in his new memior.
June 16 2026, Published 2:30 p.m. ET
J.D. Vance has branded his controversial "childless cat ladies" comment "one of the dumbest things" he's ever said.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the vice president, 41, addresses the remark — made during an appearance on Tucker Carlson's since-canceled Fox News show — in his new memoir, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.
'It Was a Boneheaded Comment'
Vance said the remark was 'intentionally (and successfully) provocative rather than illuminating.'
He writes: "One of the dumbest things I ever said came when I argued that 'childless cat ladies' across the Democrat Party were running our country into the ground."
"It was a boneheaded comment, intentionally (and successfully) provocative rather than illuminating," he added.
Vance was riding high on the success of his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy and running to represent Ohio in the U.S. Senate when he made the rude remark in 2021. He slammed Democrats as "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."
Snide Remark Aimed at Kamala Harris
Vance appeared to make a jab at Kamala Harris for not having any biological children.
He added: "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?"
At the time, Harris, then vice president, had two stepchildren; Buttigieg, then transportation secretary, was days away from adopting two sons; and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, was single and not yet engaged to longtime boyfriend Riley Roberts.
Swift Hits Back at Rude Remark
Taylor Swift dubbed herself a 'Childless Cat Lady' as a badge of honor when endorsing Tim Walz.
Vance's smear didn't initially resonate widely but it resurfaced and went viral in 2024 after he became Donald Trump's running mate, with the New York Times calling the criticism an "age-old trope" that harkened "back to the Salem Witch Trials."
His attack and subsequent doubling down drew significant backlash from critics and celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston and Taylor Swift.
Indeed, Swift dubbed herself a “Childless Cat Lady” as a badge of honor when endorsing Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Vance attempted to apologize in an interview with Megyn Kelly, saying: "I know the media wants to attack me and wants me to back down, Megyn, but the simple point that I made is that having children — becoming a father, becoming a mother — I really do think it changes your perspective in a pretty profound way."
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Vance's wife, Usha, attempted to defend her husband's remark.
Vance's wife, Usha Vance, also attempted to defend her husband’s catty comments as "a quip" taken out of context that, in her mind, expressed sympathy for parents.
Vance eventually told The New York Times in October 2024 that while he believed in the substance behind the insult, he wished he had phrased it differently.
"I think most people who probably have watched this have said something dumb — have said something that they wish they had put differently," he said.
