John Bolton, Trump’s former national security adviser, has also joined those criticizing running mate J.D. Vance for past comments he made about “childless women who like cats.”
Bolton believes the comments could have political resonance similar to that of 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who called some Trump supporters “deplorables.”
“Vance’s comments are a testament to the [former Secretary of State] “Hillary Clinton famously called Trump supporters ‘deplorables’ during the 2016 election,” Bolton said Friday on CNN’s “The Source.”
“[I] “So unless politicians learn, it’s one thing to attack your opponent, it’s another to attack your opponent’s supporters,” Bolton said.
“And that’s not how you win friends and influence people,” Bolton continued. “I don’t think Vance has learned the lesson that Hillary Clinton unfortunately learned in 2016. And that’s going to be detrimental to Trump as the election approaches.”
Vance, a Republican senator from Ohio, was named Trump’s running mate less than two weeks ago. He is seen as a possible successor to the MAGA moniker from the president and is friends with Donald Trump Jr.
However, he has faced major backlash in 2021 after he said that “childless, cat-loving women” are running the country – comments that sparked criticism from the likes of Hollywood’s Jennifer Aniston.
“This is just a basic fact. [Vice President] Kamala Harris, [Secretary of Transportation] Pete Buttigieg, [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)] “The entire future of the Democratic Party depends on people without children,” Vance said. “What does it mean to turn this country over to people who have no direct stake in it?”
Vance said Friday on SiriusXM’s “The Megyn Kelly Show” that his comments about “childless, cat-loving women” were “sarcastic.”
“I know the media is going to attack me and want me to back down on this, Meghan, but what I’m saying is, having a child, becoming a father, becoming a mother, really does change your perspective in a pretty fundamental way,” Vance said.
Vance clarified that his cat lady remark was sarcastic, saying he wasn’t criticizing Democrats, but people who choose not to have children or who have difficulties having children.
CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins seemed surprised by the intensity of Bolton’s comments about Vance.
“This is the most reprehensible thing you can hear from a Republican. What someone has said is on par with what Hillary Clinton said in 2016 about ‘a bunch of deplorables,'” Collins said.
The Hill has reached out to Vance and a spokesperson for the Trump campaign.
