Usha Vance, the wife of Republican presidential nominee JD Vance, defended her husband's "childless cat ladies" comments as a "quip" in an interview that aired on "Fox & Friends."
"The reality is, he made a quip in service of making a point that he wanted to make that was substantive," Vance told Fox News' Ainsley Earhardt. "And it had actual meaning."
In 2021, JD Vance, on Tucker Carlson's Fox News program, said the country was being run by Democrats and others who are "childless cat ladies."
His resurfaced comments have sparked criticism, particularly on the 2024 presidential campaign trail he serves as Donald Trump's running mate.
"What he was really saying is that it can be really hard to be a parent in this country," Usha Vance added. "And sometimes our policies are designed in a way that make it even harder."
Vance urged people to understand the context of comments, like JD Vance's, "a little bit more often."
"I just wish sometimes that people would talk about those things and that we would spend a lot less time just sort of going through this three-word phrase or that three-word phrase," Vance noted.
Vance continued to explain what she believed her husband's point was in using the phrase "childless cat ladies."
"We should be asking ourselves, why is that true?" Vance questioned. "What is it about our leadership and the way that they think about the world that makes it so hard sometimes for parents?"
"That's the conversation that I really think that we should have," Vance concluded. "And I understand why he was saying that."
