'Quick backlash': Senate GOP warns JD Vance to expect 'far more intense' scrutiny in 'national spotlight'

01 August 2024

When now-Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) angrily railed against "childless cat ladies" and "childless Democrats" in 2021 and 2022, his comments received some criticism in liberal and progressive media outlets. But it wasn't a huge story.

Now that Vance is Donald Trump's running mate in the 2024 presidential election, his attacks on childless Americans have come back to haunt him in a major way. And many Republicans, according to reports, are privately saying that Vance has become a liability for Trump's campaign.

In a Washington Post column published on August 1, journalist Paul Kane highlights GOP senators' views on Vance and all the scathing criticism he is being bombarded with. And Vance, some of them noted, is finding that running in a presidential race brings much more aggressive scrutiny than running a U.S. Senate race in Ohio.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) told the Post, "What you learn very quickly here, and you can only learn through time, is that even if your comments were meant in jest or they were hyperbolic — they weren't really intended (to be offensive) — in this league, you don't get a bye week. Everything, everything, you say gets parsed."

Tillis continued, "That can only come from having experienced a lot of sunrises and sunsets on the road, and that would be the one thing that J.D. can't possibly have. Because he's only been in the public eye as an elected official for two years."

Similarly, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) told the Post, "When you are going from cable TV to podcasts, it's part of surfing out there."

Kane notes that Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) has been highly critical of Vance, telling reporters, "It was offensive to me as a woman. Women make their own determinations as to whether or not they're going to have children."

Kane also observes that the "cat ladies" controversy is hurting Vance in polls.

"Those types of comments help in a low-turnout GOP primary," Kane explains, "but Senate Republicans are not surprised they have caused a stir and led to a quick backlash against Vance. According to an ABC/Ipsos poll released last weekend, Vance's unfavorable ratings spiked eight points to 39 percent in a week. They say that Vance is quickly learning that the national spotlight is far more intense than the Senate one."

Read Paul Kane's full Washington Post column at this link (subscription required).

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