Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC), said on Saturday that Ohio Senator JD Vance has a problem with his “own masculinity” following resurfaced “childless” remarks he made and the subsequent backlash.
Since Vance became former President Donald Trump‘s running mate last month at the Republican National Convention, the senator has been in the spotlight for past remarks he made. Vance has recently faced criticism for saying the United States is run by “childless cat ladies” during an interview with Fox News in 2021 while running for U.S. Senate, pointing to Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee who began her bid for the White House after President Joe Biden stepped down from the 2024 race on July 21, as an example.
“We are effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, so they want to make of the country miserable too,” he said at the time.
However, Vance has continued to defend himself amid the backlash. Taylor Van Kirk, a spokesperson for Vance, said in a previous statement to Newsweek, “Once again, the leftwing media have twisted Senator Vance’s words and spun up a false narrative about his position on the issues. The Democrats are in complete disarray with the most unpopular Vice President in history as their party’s nominee. The only childlessness we should be talking about are the childless parents who lost their kids to the murderous thugs and deadly fentanyl coming across Kamala’s southern border.”
Trump has also defended Vance in an interview with Fox News on Friday and said, “He’s not against anything. He loves family. It’s very important to him. He grew up in a very interesting family situation, and he feels family is good. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong in saying that.”
During Saturday’s MSNBC‘s The Weekend, Steele, who is a co-host on the program, discussed Vance’s comments as he suggested he has a problem with his “own masculinity,” adding that it’s about “projection of their own self view.”
“The thing I find most fascinating is witnessing the number of Republican men who seemingly have a problem with their own masculinity because that’s what at the end of the day is all about. This is about a projection of their own self view. I give you [Senator] Josh Hawley, I give you JD Vance, but I also want to give you how Governor Tim Walz responded,” Steele said.
Although it’s not clear why Steele referred to Hawley, the Missouri Republican senator said earlier this week that Vance’s remarks are “not a great choice of words,” but that the campaign should stay on offense, according to Politico.
Meanwhile, Democratic Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, who is said to be a contender for Harris’ running mate, previously said in a Thursday “Dads for Kamala” Zoom interview, “I think that’s what you see that’s just so terrifying about these guys like Vance and Trump. Look, they’ve got their vision of what a family looks like and I’ll defend them to have that, just don’t tell me what my family looks like.”
Steele reiterated Walz’s remarks and said on Saturday, “That’s it at the end of the day. It’s what my vision of what a family is undermines your vision of how your family is living out its history, it’s future.”
Newsweek has reached out to Trump’s campaign and Vance’s spokesperson via email for comment.
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Steele’s comments come after David B. Cohen, professor of political science at the University of Akron in Ohio, previously told Newsweek that Vance’s attempts to backtrack on those remarks might be harming his popularity, and by extension, the Trump campaign.
“While attacks on women who don’t have biological children—be that by choice or because of medical reasons—may go over well with most of the MAGA base, it’s offensive to many other Americans, including independents and disaffected Republicans—voters the Trump campaign desperately needs in order to win the crucial battleground states,” Cohen said, adding that it is no surprise that rumors are now circulating that the former president is reconsidering his VP pick.
“It’s not an accident that many Republicans are now unhappy with the Vance pick and talk of Trump dumping him from the ticket has gained traction. A running mate is always supposed to be a net plus for a presidential ticket—if they become a net negative that is a very bad omen for that campaign,” Cohen said.
However, Trump’s campaign and even Trump himself have denied such reports.
Trump’s communications director, Steven Cheung, denied reports that the former president was regretting picking Vance as his running mate in a previous statement to Newsweek.
“President Trump is thrilled with the choice he made with Senator Vance, and they are the perfect team to take back the White House. And any reporting to the contrary is nothing but ridiculous fake news from either nonexistent sources or individuals who have no idea what’s going on,” Cheung said.
Meanwhile, Harris is expected to decide who will be her running mate in the coming days.