Trump defends JD Vance's 'childless cat ladies' comment: 'He feels family is good'

Former President Donald Trump defended his running mate JD Vance's controversial "childless cat ladies" comment, saying the vice presidential nominee "likes families."

Trump appeared on Fox News for an interview on Monday and said Vance only tried to express how much he values families.

"He grew up in a very interesting family situation, and he feels family is good. And I don't think there's anything wrong in saying that," the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election said.

Vance, who was announced as Trump's running mate during the Republic National Convention, made the disparaging comment toward various Democratic figures in 2021 during an episode of Fox News's "Tucker Carlson Tonight." The Ohio senator added how people without children don't have a "direct stake" in America's future.

When the editor-in-chief of MeidasTouch Network shared the clip from the 2021 interview last week, the post went viral amassing more than 25 million views on X and eliciting responses from popular celebrities like actor Jennifer Aniston and comedian Whoopi Goldberg.

'He loves family'

When Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked Trump whether Vance was an "excellent pick" ahead of the November election, the former president responded, "He's got tremendous support, and he really does among a certain group of people - people who like families."

"That does not mean that people who aren't members of a big family… he's not against anything. He loves family, it's very important to him," Trump said.

While Trump vouched for Vance, he did share his thoughts about the value of family and parenting.

"You know, you don't meet the right person, or you don't meet any person. But you're just as good, in many cases, a lot better than a person that's in a family situation," Trump said.

JD Vance: 'Childless cat ladies' comment was 'sarcastic'

During the Megyn Kelly Show on Friday, Vance addressed his old jab at Democrats saying, "Obviously, it was a sarcastic comment."

"People are focusing so much on the sarcasm and not on the substance of what I actually said," Vance said. "The substance of what I said, Megyn - I'm sorry, it's true."

Vance, who is a father of three, said the comments were not toward people who don't have children but rather the Democratic Party which has become "anti-family and anti-children."

"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," Vance said. "I'm making an argument that our entire society has become skeptical and even hateful towards the idea of having kids."

Vance also spoke about Vice President Kamala Harris' family.

"I wish her step-children and Kamala Harris and her whole family the very best," he said. "The point is not that she’s lesser. The point is that her party has pursued a set of policies that are profoundly anti-child."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Donald Trump defended JD Vance's 'childless cat ladies' comment