If there's one thing most Americans knew about Sen. JD Vance of Ohio before Tuesday night's debate, it's that he really hates childless cat ladies. The number of mean comments Donald Trump's running mate has made about cats, childless women, or any combination of the two are too numerous to count. Cat owners/childless people (categories he regularly conflates) are "miserable" and "sociopathic", according to Vance. They should have fewer votes and pay more in taxes, as punishment. His obsession with bullying and shaming people who don't have children has led more than one person to wonder, "Does J.D. Vance actually like being a parent?"
Vance would like you to believe, however, that this isn't a matter of personal psychology, but a well-considered political philosophy. He has repeatedly insisted that only parents have "an investment in the future of this country." Vance doesn't seem to think people can care about people beyond their immediate, biological family, and so need to physically create children to care about policies that impact the youngest generation. During Tuesday night's debate, he brought up his "beautiful children," attempting to enhance his self-styling as a man who cares because he is a father. He insisted that he wants a Republican Party that is "pro-family." He insisted he's "pro-baby."
