Vice President Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter Ella Emhoff has come to her stepmother’s defense after a video surfaced of JD Vance attacking Harris for not having children of her own.
Emhoff, who affectionately refers to Harris as “Momala,” posted on Instagram Stories a quote from his mother Kerstin Emhoff also criticizing the attack with the caption “How can you be ‘childless’ when you have such cute kids like Cole and I?” along with the thinking emoji.
“I love all three of my parents,” wrote Ella Emhoff, 25.
His post came in response to a resurfaced 2021 clip of Vance criticizing Harris during a Fox News interview that has now gone viral.
Ella Emhoff defended her stepmother ‘Momala’ Kamala Harris in an Instagram Stories post as a video of JD Vance attacking the vice president for not having children went viral
In the clip, Vance told former host Tucker Carlson that the United States was being run by “a bunch of childless, cat-loving women who are miserable with their own lives and the choices they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too.”
Vance, 39, specifically named Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
‘The whole future of the Democrats ‘It’s controlled by people without children,’ Vance said. ‘What’s the point of us handing over our country to people who have no real interest in it?’
The video began circulating as Vance was named Trump’s vice presidential nominee and Harris secured enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, while Biden dropped out of the race on Sunday.
Kamala Harris with her husband Doug Emhoff and their two stepchildren Cole and Ella. Harris married her father in 2014
Although Harris has not had any children, she has helped raise her two stepchildren, Ella and Cole, 30, who are children of her husband Doug Emhoff and his ex-wife Kerstin. Harris married Doug in 2014.
Doug Emhoff’s ex, Kerstin, also came to Harris’ defense with her own scathing response to the criticism.
“These are baseless attacks,” he said in a statement. “For over ten years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has co-parented with Doug and me. She is loving, protective and always there.”
“I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it,” she continued.
Kerstin Emhoff has also posted numerous times in support of Harris’s presidential bid.
Ella Emhoff’s Instagram post defending her stepmother from attacks on the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee
Doug Emoff’s ex-wife, Kertin Emhoff, also criticized the attacks on Kamala Harris, calling them baseless and praising Harris as a co-parent.
Vance’s video also received criticism from others, including actress Jennifer Aniston.
Aniston, 55, took to Instagram Stories on Wednesday with harsh words for Vance.
“I really can’t believe this is coming from a potential Vice President of the United States,” the Friends star wrote. “All I can say is… Mr. Vance, I pray your daughter is lucky enough to have children of her own one day.”
“I hope she doesn’t have to resort to IVF as a second option, because they are trying to take that away from her as well,” she continued.
Aniston, who currently stars on Apple TV+’s The Morning Show, has been candid about her fertility struggles and attempts to have a child over the years.
Another Democrat specifically named in Vance’s attack, Buttigieg, announced in September 2021 that he and his husband had adopted twin boys.
That announcement came more than a month before Vance made his comments.