JD Vance admits 'childless cat ladies' comment was 'one of the dumbest things I ever said' in new memoir

The mea culpa

Vice President JD Vance writes in his new book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, that the 2021 insult he lobbed at Democrats was "an error" and a "boneheaded comment." He made the remark during an appearance on Tucker Carlson's since-cancelled Fox News show while running for the U.S. Senate from Ohio.

“One of the dumbest things I ever said came when I argued that 'childless cat ladies' across the Democrat Party were running our country into the ground. It was a boneheaded comment, intentionally (and successfully) provocative rather than illuminating.”

The viral backlash

Vance's smear targeted then-Vice President Kamala Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It did not gain wide traction initially, but resurfaced and went viral in 2024 after he became Donald Trump's running mate.

Jennifer Aniston, who had revealed her own IVF struggles, said she "truly cannot believe this is coming from a potential VP." Oprah Winfrey invoked the remark at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Actors Selena Gomez and Candice Bergen later referenced it at the Emmy Awards.

A spiritual journey

Vance recounts a near-fatal drive through Virginia's Appalachian Mountains after his grandmother's funeral, when his car hurtled toward a guardrail and mysteriously stopped. He describes it as an almost "supernatural experience" that chipped away at his atheism, culminating in his 2019 conversion to Catholicism.

“Even during my later years as a strident atheist, the experience sat there inconveniently in the back of my mind, as if it existed to annoy me, to challenge the confidence I had in the laws of the universe.”

From Never Trumper to VP

The book also tells the story of Vance's political conversion, from ardent critic of Donald Trump to his running mate. He argues the shift was driven by the belief that Trump had proved himself an effective president, not by ambition. Vance acknowledges that critics see it as a cynical maneuver.

2028 horizon

Communion is widely read as a potential prelude to a 2028 White House run. Vance told The Atlantic that political leaders should "talk about what influences them, what motivates them, what inspires them," adding that he aimed to project "humility and grace" in the book.