The Cat Ladies Haven't Forgotten
6/17/202618 min
This week JD Vance has been doing a lot of press; partly to sell the quote-unquote peace deal with Iran that he had a hand in brokering. But he’s also on a book tour! Communion, out this week, is Vance’s follow-up to his 2016 best seller hillbilly elegy.
Some of the excerpts being circulated are making their own headlines, like this one, quote; “One of the dumbest things I ever said came when I argued that ‘childless cat ladies’ across the Democrat Party were running our country into the ground,”
He first made his cat lady quip when he was running for office in Ohio and it came up again when he was on the campaign trail with Donald Trump in 2024.
So while Vance is attempting to claw his way back into the good books with said women, we are taking this opportunity to rerun a fabulous conversation Brooke had in 2024 with Kathryn Hughes, author of the book Catland: Louis Wain and the Great Cat Mania. In it, she traces the many meanings ascribed to cats and their guardians, because cruelty to cats has a long tradition. Early on, Hughes described the notorious case in 1730 of the Great Cat Massacre in Paris.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsBrooke Gladstone· Host0:00
[pensive music] This is On the Media's Midweek Podcast. I'm Brooke Gladstone. This week, JD Vance has been doing a lot of press, partly to sell the maybe peace deal with Iran that he had a hand in brokering, but he's also on a book tour. Communion, out this week, is the follow-up to his 2016 bestseller Hillbilly Elegy, and some excerpts from it are making headlines of their own, like this one, quote, "One of the dumbest things I've ever said came when I argued that, quote, 'Childless cat ladies across the Democratic party were running our country into the ground.'" He first made his cat lady quip when he was running for office in Ohio, but it reemerged on the campaign trail with Donald Trump in 2024. Here's Vance on Meet the Press doubling down.
Kristen Welker· Soundbite0:52
Given that people have told you directly, have spoken out, have said that they were offended, they were hurt by those comments, do you wish you never made those childless cat lady comments?
JD Vance· Soundbite1:02
I think that it's much more important for me to just be a normal human being who sometimes says things- So no regrets ... that people disagree with. I have a lot of regrets, Kristen, but making a joke three years ago is not in the top 10 of the list.
Brooke Gladstone· Host1:12
His no regrets attitude really ticked off those women in question.
Speaker 4· Soundbite1:17
You do not want to piss off cat ladies. We will come for you, and we'll have a lot of fun doing it.
Brooke Gladstone· Host1:27
So now as Vance attempts to claw his