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Women have put up with Republican attacks on their rights for decades — but they're drawing a line at attacks on their pets.
Former president Donald Trump's campaign has repeatedly struggled to win over women voters in light of the GOP's attacks on reproductive healthcare, and statements like those from his vice president pick aren't exactly helping.
Shortly after he was announced as Trump's running mate, an old interview of JD Vance's with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson began circulating online, in which he said that the U.S. is being run by Democrats, corporations, and “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."
Vance has also directed the comment at vice president Kamala Harris since she's announced her campaign for president, becoming the likely Democratic nominee following President Joe Biden's dropping out. Vance doubled down on his words last week, saying on Megyn Kelly’s podcast: "Obviously, it was a sarcastic comment. I’ve got nothing against cats."
In response to the blatant sexism, thousands of self-proclaimed cat ladies have begun campaigning for Harris — all while wearing Vance's insult as a badge of honor. "Cat Ladies for Kamala Harris" held a Zoom meeting on Tuesday, hosted by Christine Pelosi, a political consultant and daughter of Nancy Pelosi, and Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic party.
The call was complete with a slideshow of pet pictures set to ABBA's "Dancing Queen," and a surprise appearance from Nancy Pelosi, who said the purpose of the meeting was to fight for women's rights to “love how they wanna love, and live how they wanna live”.
“When JD Vance couched his opinion on our freedom, we decided that the cat ladies are striking back,” Pelosi said. “He didn’t realize what an opportunity he was giving us, and what he would unleash.”
The group, originally called "Pet Lovers for Kamala," recently changed its name specifically to troll Vance. It is still welcoming of all fur babies, including the dogs of Donna Brazile, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee, and Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois congresswoman, who also attended the call.
Other fundraising groups such as Win With Black Women, Win With Black Men, and White Dudes for Harris have met in the past week, raising historic amounts for Harris' campaign in just a few days following its launch.
