Sen. JD Vance, the Republican nominee for vice president, is doubling down on remarks he made in 2021 about "childless cat ladies" running the country that sparked backlash this week.
Vance told "The Megyn Kelly Show" in an interview that aired Friday: “Obviously, it was a sarcastic comment. I’ve got nothing against cats" and then blamed the media for "focusing so much on the sarcasm and not on the substance of what I actually said.”
Vance made the remarks in 2021 on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris, now the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, as one of the “childless cat ladies” running the nation who “want to make the rest of the country miserable too."
The Ohio Republican added, "If you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.”
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Vance told Kelly in Friday's interview, “It’s not a criticism of people who don’t have children. I explicitly said in my remarks ... this is not about criticizing people who for various reasons don’t have kids. This is about criticizing the Democratic Party for becoming anti-family and anti-child.”
Vance also accused the media of wanting "to attack me and [wanting] me to back down," before adding that "what this is fundamentally about [is] the Democrats in the past five to 10 years, Megyn, they have become anti-family."
Vance's 2021 remarks resurfaced this week and quickly drew criticism from celebrities, politicians and members of Harris' family. Some of the criticism drew comparisons between Vance's "childless" comments and his stance on abortion rights and reproductive health care.
Earlier this week, after Vance's 2021 comments resurfaced, actress Jennifer Aniston was one of the highest-profile names to criticize the senator, posting on her Instagram Stories: "I truly can’t believe this is coming from a potential VP of The United States."
"All I can say is ... Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day. I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option. Because you are trying to take that away from her, too," Aniston added.
Harris' stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff also posted on Instagram, writing "How can you be ‘childless’ when you have cutie pie kids like Cole and I?," referring to her brother Cole Emhoff.
Ella Emhoff added, "I love my three parents."
Her comments were posted over an image of a statement her mother, Kerstin Emhoff, gave to news outlets, saying: "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.
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:
