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Election 2024 updates: Vance, in 2020, said those without kids are 'more sociopathic'

Vance made the comments on a podcast in November 2020.

ByABC NEWS
Last Updated: July 30, 2024, 12:46 PM EDT

Vice President Kamala Harris is moving full steam ahead in her bid for the White House, with her campaign saying Sunday it has raised more than $200 million in less than a week.

Former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, have several campaign events set up this week as they aim their attacks on Harris.

Harris has secured commitments from enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee if they all honor their commitment when voting, according to ABC News reporting.

8 hour and 29 minutes ago

Biden says he's talking with Harris about VP choices

President Joe Biden told reporters Monday night after returning from a trip to Texas that he's "talking" with Harris about her choices for vice president.

Biden was also asked about hitting the trail for Harris, and said he "did" with his trip.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle

10 hours and 58 minutes ago

Vance, in 2020, said those without kids are 'more sociopathic'

Republican vice-presidential candidate, Sen. J.D. Vance speaks during a campaign rally, July 20, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Evan Vucci/AP

As Vance continues to face criticism for his 2021 comments about "childless cat ladies," more of his previous comments about individuals without kids have resurfaced.

In a podcast from November 2020, Vance said those without kids -- especially in America's leadership class -- were "more sociopathic" than those with kids and made the country "less mentally stable."

Vance's comments occurred on the podcast after he discussed the impact having children had on him.

Vance also added that the "most deranged" and "most psychotic" people on Twitter, now known as X, are people who don't have kids.

"There's just these basic cadences of life that I think are really powerful and really, really valuable when you have kids in your life, and the fact that so many people, especially in America's leadership class, just don't have that in their lives, you know, I worry that it makes people more sociopathic, and ultimately, our whole country a little bit less less mentally stable," Vance said in the podcast.

"And of course, you talk about going on Twitter. Final point I'll make is you go on Twitter, and almost always the people who are most deranged and most psychotic, are people who don't have kids at home."

CNN was the first to report on the podcast.

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie

10:14 AM EDT

Trump out with $12M ad buy criticizing Harris on the border

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, July 20, 2024, in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Evan Vucci/AP

Trump's campaign is targeting Harris in its biggest television ad buy since at least January, reserving eight-figure dollar worth of airtime in six key battleground states, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact.

The 30-second ad zeroes in on the rhetoric that Harris "failed" in her role handling immigration issues in President Biden's administration, calling her "weak" and "dangerously liberal."

"This is America's border czar, and she's failed us. Under Harris, over ten million illegally here, a quarter of a million Americans dead from fentanyl, brutal migrant crimes, and ISIS now here," a narrator in the ad says, followed by an interview clip of Harris appearing to admit she hasn't visited the border.

Harris was assigned to address the root causes of migration in Central and South America. She made one visit to the southern border operations in June 2021.

The Harris campaign hit back that Trump was responsible for "killing the toughest border deal in decades" and accused him of misrepresenting her record.

"As a former district attorney, attorney general, and now vice president, Kamala Harris has spent her career taking on and prosecuting violent criminals and making our communities safer. She'll do the same as president," said Harris campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa.

-ABC News' Soorin Kim and Gabriella Abdul-Hakim

9:17 AM EDT

Trump attempts to clean up Vance's 'childless cat ladies' comments

Appearing on Fox News "The Ingraham Angle" on Monday night, Trump attempted to clean up his vice presidential pick's previous comments about "childless cat ladies," but didn't really address the comments.

Instead, he rambled about how Vance is pro-family.

"He made a statement having to do with families. That doesn't mean that people that aren't a member of a big and beautiful family with 400 children around and everything else, it doesn't mean that a person doesn't have, he's not against anything, but 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," Trump said downplaying Vance's comments.

Trump also attacked Democrats, saying they spun Vance's words out of context. He then quipped that "in many cases" people without a family are better off than those with one.

"You don't meet the right person, or you don't meet any person, but you're just as good, in many cases, a lot better than a person that's in a family situation," Trump said.

-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh

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