They just can't let it go. On Wednesday's CNN This Morning, Kasie Hunt highlighted more clips of Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) talking up the importance of having children and being critical of leftists without kids as the CNN host tried to renew the liberal network's fixation on the GOP vice presidential candidate's "childless cat ladies" remarks.
Hunt set up the discussion: "And then there's this: more past comments from J.D. Vance resurfacing where he is talking about the childless status of a political opponent. This during a 2021 Ohio Senate forum. Then-candidate Vance went after a teachers union leader who didn't have kids."
That union leader? Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers, a controversial figure for aggressively promoting school lockdowns under Covid. Notice CNN and Hunt can't evaluate what kind of wokeness and activism that AFT is pushing in schools. They're only interested in damaging Vance's standing.
Hunt said clips are "resurfacing." The source? It looks like Democrat "opposition research," but they clothe it as just popping up randomly, like a weed in the yard.
CNN ran a clip of Vance from 2021 speaking to the Center for Christian Virtue in which he complained about childless leftists trying to dictate what children should be exposed to -- against the wishes of their parents: "You know, so many of the leaders of the left -- and I hate to be so personal about this, but they're people without kids trying to brainwash the minds of our children. (editing clip) If she wants to brainwash and destroy the minds of children, she should have some of her own and leave ours the hell alone."
The CNN host added: "A CNN K-File report finding other instances in recent years where Vance brought up this topic."
Then came several clips of Vance talking about the importance of producing children and complaining about those who choose not to. After the clips played, Hunt had a skeptical facial expression and turned to the Republican member of her panel, Matt Gorman, who used to be an advisor to Senator Tim Scott. She posed:
So while that "childless cat ladies" remarks is perhaps like, you know, you can print it on a T shirt which is why it makes it so devastating for him, this is part of a pattern, Matt Gorman. There are more comments that basically underscore the philosophy he was trying to articulate with that one phrase.
Instead of defending Vance, Gorman merely observed the phenomenon of it getting easier to find video of political figures to embarrass them, leading Hunt to add:
I will also say some of those was in a televised forum for when he was running for Senate, and the other was when he was a candidate for Vice President. I mean, that's actually really interesting to me in terms of he was already articulating the "childless cat lady" philosophy -- what underlies it -- as recently as July 30.
Democrat panel member Brad Woodhouse, an advisor for the DNC, then jumped in to excoriate the GOP Senator:
You -- Matt, you did a really good job there of not addressing how disastrous your vice presidential candidate is. And, I mean, who does he think he is? I mean, some people can't have children -- some people have circumstances where they don't want children or can't have children at a certain -- at a certain time. I mean, this -- this is turning off suburban America.
There is no doubt in my mind that J.D. Vance is a huge anvil on Trump's chances of winning because of stuff like this. And he'll say, "Well, I made one comment -- it was sarcastic." It's not -- it's over and over and over, and it's really, as Tim Walz would say, "It's weird as hell."
After the CNN host played then played clips from Sunday's Meet the Press where NBC host Kristen Welker pushed Vance around on the childless remarks again, CNN politics reporter Stephen Collinson lined up with the Democrat spin: "It almost seems that some Republicans are going out of their way to widen the gender gap even though it's a massive issue in this election, and female voters -- suburban voters are going to be very important." He said conservatives like Vance woo the base with hot takes, but it's "quite damaging" when aired "on a much wider stage." That sounds like CNN's goal.
Transcript follows:
CNN This Morning
August 28, 2024
6:52 a.m. Eastern
KASIE HUNT: And then there's this: more past comments from J.D. Vance resurfacing where he is talking about the childless status of a political opponent. This during a 2021 Ohio Senate forum. Then-candidate Vance went after a teachers union leader who didn't have kids.
J.D. VANCE (at the Center for Christian Virtue, dated October 2021): You know, so many of the leaders of the left -- and I hate to be so personal about this, but they're people without kids trying to brainwash the minds of our children. (editing clip) If she wants to brainwash and destroy the minds of children, she should have some of her own and leave ours the hell alone.
HUNT: A CNN Kfile report finding other instances in recent years where Vance brought up this topic.
VANCE (at The American Conservative, dated May 9, 2019): We should care about declining fertility -- not just because it's bad for our economy, but because we think babies are good. And we think babies are good because we're not sociopaths.
VANCE: (at The American Conservative, dated July 30): Why have we let the Democrat party become controlled by people who don't have children? And why is this just a normal fact of American life?
VANCE: (on Fox's Tucker Carlson Tonight, dated July 29, 2021): We are effectively run in this country, via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs by a bunch of childless cat ladies. (editing jump) Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC -- the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.
HUNT: Hmm. So while that "childless cat ladies" remarks is perhaps like, you know, you can print it on a T shirt which is why it makes it so devastating for him, this is part of a pattern, Matt Gorman. There are more comments that basically underscore the philosophy he was trying to articulate with that one phrase.
MATT GORMAN, EX-ADVISOR TO SENATOR TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Yeah, look, I kind of keep thinking back also to earlier in the show. This is kind of a new reality now we're seeing for candidates. It got -- it changed very -- it was a little bit, 10 years ago when you had little sporadic things. What are the best attacks we have against Kamala Harris? Things on video. What are the best attacks they have on J.D. Vance? Things on video. Pelosi talking -- we talked about before whether Trump will use, you know, "I feel responsible for this." The proliferation of videos now a massive -- everybody being -- you're being videoed everywhere. And I think how candidates deal with that, especially with vetting candidates and how they respond to these attacks is going to be a huge new problem with the campaigns going forward.
HUNT: Yeah, I mean, look, I take your point. I will also say some of those was in a televised forum for when he was running for Senate, and the other was when he was a candidate for Vice President. I mean, that's actually really interesting to me in terms of he was already articulating the "childless cat lady" philosophy -- what underlies it -- as recently as July 30.
BRAD WOODHOUSE, SENIOR ADVISOR TO THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: You -- Matt, you did a really good job there of not addressing how disastrous your vice presidential candidate is. And, I mean, who does he think he is? I mean, some people can't have children -- some people have circumstances where they don't want children or can't have children at a certain -- at a certain time. I mean, this -- this is turning off suburban America. There is no doubt in my mind that J.D. Vance is a huge anvil on Trump's chances of winning because of stuff like this. And he'll say, "Well, I made one comment -- it was sarcastic." It's not -- it's over and over and over, and it's really, as Tim Walz would say, "It's weird as hell."
HUNT: Steven, this was how he addressed it in an interview on Meet the Press. He did say he has no regrets about the "childless cat lady" comment.
VANCE (on NBC's Meet the Press, dated August 25): Look, I regret certainly that a lot of people took it the wrong way, and I certainly regret the DNC and Kamala Harris lied about it.
KRISTEN WELKER, NBC HOST: Do you regret what you said, Senator?
VANCE: Listen, I'm going to say things from time to time that people disagree with. I'm a real person. I'm going to make jokes. I'm going to say things sarcastically. (editing jump) Those sarcastic comments were made in the service of a real, substantive point. This country has become too anti-family. (editing jump)
WELKER: So no regrets?
VANCE: I have a lot of regrets, Kristen, but making a joke three years ago is not in the top 10 on the list. (end clip)
(CNN's Kasie Hunt shrugs her shoulders)
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Look, as you said, he was running for office at the point he made some of these remarks. It almost seems that some Republicans are going out of their way to widen the gender gap even though it's a massive issue in this election, and female voters -- suburban voters are going to be very important. I think it does speak to the fact that primary elections are so important in politics people speak to their own concentrated ideological electorate, and they say things to woo those people that end up, when they're on a much wider stage being quite damaging.
