J.D. Vance Tells Tucker Carlson The Quiet Part Out Loud: He Wants A 'Healthy Ruling Class'
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Controversial right-wing Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance bashed Democrats as miserable “childless cat ladies” who don’t serve a “healthy ruling class,” he told Tucker Carlson on Fox News.
The Republican candidate — a venture capitalist and author of “Hillbilly Elegy” — attacked Democrats who don’t have children because, he claimed, “they don’t have a stake” in the system, he explained to Carlson on Thursday night. Vance, 36, who has been married seven years, has two children.
“If we want a healthy ruling class in this country, we should invest more, we should vote more, we should support more people who actually have kids,” Vance told Carlson.
He singled out Vice President Kamala Harris (who has two stepchildren), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Both Ocasio-Cortez, 31, and Buttigieg, 39, rather famously have dogs, not cats, and Buttigieg isn’t a lady. Buttigieg’s husband, Chasten Buttigieg, on Monday slammed Vance’s earlier comments attacking the “childless left” for being heartless and pointed out that the men are currently seeking to adopt a child.
Bringing a child into this world can be a long, difficult and often heartbreaking process for any family. Shame on @JDVance1 for this tactless take. As a father, he should know better. As a wannabe Senator, it's clear that empathy isn't his strong suit. https://t.co/tEpeR7qX3Q
— Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (@Chasten) July 26, 2021
It’s unknown what Ocasio-Cortez’s family plans are — or if that’s anybody’s business or has any effect on her political commitment. Vance could be right, though, that the Democrats he named have no interest in serving the “ruling class.”
Vance’s comment may have been a slip of the tongue (he didn’t correct himself), but Ocasio-Cortez was convinced the candidate said exactly what he actually meant.
She clapped back in a tweet Friday: “When you accidentally let your billionaire funder-talk slip out on TV, you say things like ‘a healthy ruling class.’”
When you accidentally let your billionaire funder-talk slip out on TV, you say things like “a healthy ruling class” https://t.co/u7sf0fGPI4
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 30, 2021
Lots of others piled on Vance, including those who pointed out how little Vance’s Republican Party does to financially support children in struggling families or to fight for services like health care for families.
Backhanded way for them to begin a new way to discriminate against LGBTQ and women in leadership. Having kids is a personal choice. This is some kinda messed up.
— Steven Erickson-Charles 🏳️🌈👨🏼🤝👨🏻 (@StevenErick1976) July 30, 2021
It's kind of strange that these people claim to care so much about how many children people are having and yet they viciously defend a system that makes it financially unviable for most people to have children.
— Daniel Ford (@Djengo44) July 30, 2021
Attacking women for not wanting to procreate. 🙄
Where have we heard that one before? pic.twitter.com/quhKYv1Ty1— Comrade Del Boy (@ComradeDelBoy) July 30, 2021
My wife and I are proud childless cat ladies. What a hilarious insult 😆
— 【 Badass Britt 】🏳️🌈 (@brittca) July 30, 2021
Soooooo the people who are infertile or unable to carry children are just SOL, then?
Yikes on several bikes.— Heather #AcePride #BLM (@MyLaundryStinks) July 30, 2021
For the record, some of the greatest & most compassionate, responsible, intelligent people that I know are part of the “Childless left.”
— 9fm (@aJellyElectric) July 30, 2021
Global Poverty and Increasing Wealth of Rich
Richest 1% now owns half the world’s wealth
The wealthiest 1 percent of the world’s population now owns more than half of the world’s wealth, according to a new report.https://t.co/703CkpUhoz— Dr. Zia Ahmed Khan (@ziaahmedkhan) July 30, 2021
SERIOUSLY⁉️How about a healthy wage instead.
From the beginning, minimum wage was meant to be a living wage. Families could live off it comfortably, rather than struggling paycheck-to-paycheck. FDR was a major proponent.
Cost of living rises; min wage hasn't changed since 2009. pic.twitter.com/s9IGNt3d34— 🖖 Lukafio Fahcienda ° A Mystaran Grognard ᐰ (@Flores_AnthonyJ) July 30, 2021
"Those who seek systems of government based on the regimentation of all humans beings by a handful of individual rulers...call this a new world order. It isn't new, and it isn't order..." FDR pic.twitter.com/toJ71Xl5Rf
— Bruce Ishkoday (@FireDancer7474) July 30, 2021
ok, this shit is very weird.
— Fred (@WaywardWinifred) July 30, 2021
Also on HuffPost
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.