Nikki Haley says JD Vance’s ‘childless cat ladies’ slur is ‘not helpful’

‘If you want to talk about things, stick with policy,’ former Trump UN ambassador tells fellow Republicans

Former Trump UN Ambassador Nikki Haley acknowledged during a Sunday interview that JD Vance’s comments about “childless cat ladies” are not “helpful.”

Vance has faced criticism for a number of unearthed comments from his past, most notably for telling Fox News host Tucker Carlson in 2021 that the US was being run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”

“It’s just a basic fact — you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC [Alexandria Ocasio Cortez] — the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children,” he said. “And how does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?”

Harris has two stepchildren and Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, adopted twins in August 2021.

Appearing on Face the Nation, Haley said: “No, it is not helpful to talk about whether women have children or whether they don’t. It’s not helpful to say any of those things that are personality-driven, or anything else.”

“I’ve said that now, will continue to say to Republicans, ‘Stop it. That’s not helpful. You know, if you want to talk about things, stick with policy,’” she added.

Nikki Haley said on Sunday that personal insults from Republicans are not ‘helpful’ (AP)

The former South Carolina governor also referenced other Vance comments from 2021 regarding the leader of a teacher’s union, whom Vance said should have “her own” children if she wants to “brainwash” students in school.

Haley noted that while she’s backing former President Donald Trump on policy, she disagrees with his personal style. She added that she also departs from Trump on child tax credits, instead supporting more widespread tax cuts. Haley said that she also disagrees with mandating that insurance companies or the government pay for fertility treatments.

She noted that she hasn’t been asked to support Trump on the campaign trail or to advise on debate preparations ahead of Tuesday’s showdown, but added that she’s “happy to be helpful” if her aid was requested.

Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney sharply criticized Haley for backing Trump during an appearance on ABC’s This Week on Sunday.

“I can’t understand her position on this in any kind of a principled way,” Cheney said.

“I think that the things that she said, that she made clear when she was running in the primary, those things are true,” she added.

During the primary, Haley slammed Trump as unqualified to serve in the nation’s highest office, but since dropping out has changed to a more supportive tune.

“Those of us who have fidelity to the Constitution, have a responsibility and a duty to recognize [that] this is not about partisan politics,” Cheney said.