In response to JD Vance doubling down on his attacks on millions of Americans without children, DNC Spokesperson Aida Ross released the following statement: 

“Instead of taking responsibility for his behavior and apologizing to the millions of Americans without children who JD Vance has callously insulted and ridiculed, he is instead doubling down on his view that they are ‘psychotic’ and should be discounted in our democracy. Vance’s induction on Donald Trump’s ticket continues to be an utter catastrophe – no wonder he is the most unpopular VP nominee in decades. Even Trump knows he’s an absolute weirdo who isn’t ready for primetime.”

NEW: JD Vance TRIPLED down and stood by his insulting comments attacking millions of Americans without children.

ABC15 Arizona: “Do you see how [your comments] may have hurt people though?” […]

Vance: “I’ve already answered the question… I am happy to defend what I said because what I said is true… That’s what I said and I stand by it.”

Vance has been trying and failing to defend his wildly out-of-touch attacks.

NBC News: “JD Vance doubles down on ‘childless cat ladies’ dig: ‘I’ve got nothing against cats’”

CBS News: “JD Vance defends ‘childless cat ladies’ remark amid backlash”

CNN: “JD Vance attempts to defend 2021 ‘childless cat ladies’ comment amid backlash”

Vance has a history of insulting childless adults as “sociopathic,” “deranged,” and “psychotic.” 

CNN: “Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance has a history of making disparaging remarks toward people without children, a CNN KFile review of his comments shows, including fundraising off his now-infamous ‘childless cat lady’ remarks in a series of emails that called Democratic leaders ‘childless sociopath’ who ‘don’t have a direct stake in this country.’

“In November 2020, Vance said on a conservative podcast that childless Americans, especially those in the country’s ‘leadership class,’ were ‘more sociopathic’ than those with children and made the country ‘less mentally stable.’ Vance added that the ‘most deranged’ and ‘most psychotic’ commentators on Twitter – now known as X – were typically childless.”

Vance has repeatedly attacked and disparaged Americans who don’t have children, and wants to undermine their role in our democracy.

Pat Rynard, Courier Newsroom: “JD Vance says Americans without children should ‘face the consequences and the reality’ and not get ‘nearly the same voice’ in democracy”

The Federalist: “J.D. Vance, a U.S. Senate candidate from Ohio, called out the ‘childless left’ whom he said have ‘no physical commitment to the future of this country’ in a fiery speech given to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s conference on the Future of American Political Economy…

“‘Why is this just a normal fact of…  life, for the leaders of our country to be people who don’t have a personal and direct stake in it via their own offspring?’

“‘The Democrats are talking about giving the vote to 16-year-olds,’ Vance noted. ‘Let’s do this instead. Let’s give votes to all children in this country, but let’s give control over those votes to the parents of the children.’ He continued, asking, ‘Doesn’t this mean that nonparents don’t have as much of a voice as parents? Doesn’t this mean that parents get a bigger say in how democracy functions?’ He answered with a simple ‘yes’ after saying ‘the Atlantic and the Washington Post and all the usual suspects’ would criticize him.”

ABC News: “[Vance] suggested that the country needed to ‘reward the things that we think are good’ and ‘punish the things that we think are bad’ — before suggesting that individuals without children should be taxed at a higher rate than those with children.”

Vance also has an anti-choice record that includes saying he’d like “abortion to be illegal nationally,” celebrating when Trump overturned Roe v. Wade, and attacking exceptions for rape and incest.

CNN: “JD Vance said in 2022 he ‘would like abortion to be illegal nationally’”

“JD Vance said he ‘certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally’ and was ‘sympathetic’ to the view that a national ban was necessary to stop women from traveling across states to obtain an abortion.”

Washington Post: “Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance argues against need for rape and incest exceptions in abortion laws”

Daily Beast: “J.D. Vance suggested he would support prohibiting abortion even in cases of rape and incest—and dismissed those catalysts as ‘inconvenient.’”

Vance: “I think that what I really think on – so first of all, the Dobbs decision, everybody knows, overruled Roe v. Wade – I think that was the right decision.”

Vance suggested women should stay in violent marriages.

Vance: “This is one of the great tricks that I think the sexual revolution pulled on the American populace, which is the idea that like, ‘well, OK, these marriages were fundamentally, you know, they were maybe even violent, but certainly they were unhappy. And so getting rid of them and making it easier for people to shift spouses like they change their underwear, that’s going to make people happier in the long term.’”

Vice: “JD Vance Suggests People in ‘Violent’ Marriages Shouldn’t Get Divorced”

Vance somehow also thinks that policies that support families and child care are a “war against normal people.”

Vance: “‘Universal day care’ is class war against normal people.”

Vance: “It turns out that normal Americans care more about their families than their jobs, and want a family policy that doesn’t shunt their kids into crap daycare so they can enjoy more ‘freedom’ in the paid labor force.”

Trump refused to say if JD Vance is ready to lead on day one.

Harris Faulker, Fox News: “When you look at JD Vance, is he ready on day one?”

Trump: “Is he what?”

Faulkner: “Ready on day one if he has to be?”

Trump: “I’ve always had great respect for him. And for the other candidates too. But I will say this, and I think this is well documented; Historically, the vice president in terms of the election does not have any impact, I mean virtually no impact.”

Vance is making history as the most disliked VP nominee our country has seen in decades – and many Americans don’t think he’s ready to lead.

Newsweek: “JD Vance Is the Least Liked VP Nominee in Decades, According to Polls”

“JD Vance is the first non-incumbent vice presidential nominee to have a net-negative favorable rating after a convention since 1980, according to poll numbers.”

Salon: “‘Making history in the completely wrong way’: JD Vance is really unpopular and ‘dragging Trump down’”

“Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, is making history as Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate, but not in the way that the Trump campaign had hoped. According to a CNN survey taken after the Republican National Convention, Vance has an approval rating of -6 points, making him the first vice presidential nominee to enter the general election with a negative rating since 1980.

“‘Frankly, I don’t really understand the pick, and apparently neither do the American voters,’ CNN data analyst Harry Enten said on Tuesday’s OutFront with Erin Burnett. Vance, he said, is ‘dragging Trump down.’”

Newsweek: “Nearly four in 10 people do not believe Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, is ready for the presidency if necessary, according to a new survey.

“The poll also found that one-third (33 percent) were not sure if Vance was ready for the presidency or not. This is a possible sign that the Hillbilly Elegy author, who has been a senator for less than two years, still needs to raise his national political profile since being named as the Republican vice presidential nominee.

“It has already been suggested that Trump may have made a mistake in picking Vance as his 2024 running mate.”