United States Vice-President Kamala Harris defended herself against criticism that questioned her humility based on her not having biological children in a sharp rebuke to recent comments made by Republican Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
During a taped interview on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, hosted by Alex Cooper and released on Sunday, Harris responded to Sanders’s claim that Harris “doesn’t have anything keeping her humble” because she is not a mother. Harris stated, “I don’t think she understands that there are a whole lot of women out here who, one, are not aspiring to be humble.”
The remarks from Sanders, who served as a deputy press secretary during the Trump administration, came during a rally in September. She told the crowd, “My kids keep me humble,” before adding, “Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn’t have anything keeping her humble.”
In her response, Harris, who is a stepmother to her husband Doug Emhoff’s two children, Cole and Ella, emphasized the importance of lifting up women and families, regardless of biological ties. “We have our family by blood, and then we have our family by love. And I have both. And I consider it to be a real blessing,” she shared, highlighting her relationship with her stepchildren.
While Harris celebrated her family and love, Sanders hit back in a statement emailed to The Hill, denying that her criticism targeted Harris's motherhood status. Instead, Sanders argued that Harris confirmed her lack of humility by not believing leaders should be humble, referencing Harris’s stance on leadership.
The exchange stems from a broader cultural debate about family structures and leadership. In 2021, JD Vance, Trump’s running mate for the upcoming 2024 election, made controversial remarks that criticized women without biological children, referring to them as “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives.”
Harris labeled Vance’s comments as “mean and mean-spirited,” while Vance later expressed regret over how his comments were perceived but did not retract them entirely.
Harris's appearance on the podcast is part of a media push as she navigates criticism over her limited public interviews since securing the Democratic nomination.
