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When asked by The New York Times to respond to his 2022 comments about wanting abortion to be illegal nationwide, J.D. Vance acknowledged that he made the remarks but said his views have since changed. “When the Supreme Court threw this back primarily to the states, what all Republicans should have learned is when you see people voting, sometimes even people who describe themselves as pro-life, voting for increased access to abortion, the conclusion that we should take from that is we’ve lost the trust of the American people,” Vance said.
Vance cited Ohio’s abortion referendum, where voters approved a constitutional amendment ensuring abortion access, as an example of this loss of trust. “I think the proper thing to take from that is we have lost the trust of the American people. When we went out there and campaigned for our position, they instinctively mistrusted us, and we need to get trust back.”
Despite his shift in tone, Vance continued to emphasize the GOP’s need to be the “pro-family party” as they seek to win over women voters, encouraging them to “choose life.” He also clarified that he has never supported a national abortion ban but would endorse a 15-week limit with exceptions. “I endorsed the Lindsey Graham bill that had exceptions, and after a threshold, I think it was 15 weeks with reasonable exceptions, that’s a reasonable place to kind of draw the line,” he explained.
Throughout the conversation, Vance reiterated that both he and Donald Trump support leaving abortion policies to individual states, a position likely to frustrate activists advocating for a federal ban.
When asked about his controversial “childless cat ladies” remark, Vance admitted, “They were dumb comments. I think most people probably have said something dumb, have said something that they wish they had put differently.” He clarified that his original remarks were meant to highlight what he sees as a growing anti-child sentiment in society. Vance shared a story of witnessing a mother dealing with her children’s behavior on a train, noting how other passengers reacted with frustration. “There’s this pathological frustration with children that just is a new thing in American society. I think it’s very dark.”
Vance also addressed a growing concern where some argue that people should refrain from having children due to climate change, calling it “a very deranged idea.” He stated, “Doesn’t mean you can’t worry about climate change, but in the focus on childless cat ladies, we missed the substance of what I said.”
Despite his past remarks, Vance declined to criticize Kamala Harris, who is a stepmother, stating, “Everything that I know about Kamala Harris is that she’s got a stepfamily, she’s a very good stepmother to her stepchildren. I would never accuse Kamala Harris along these lines.”
