It’s not exactly news when a conservative white man takes below-the-belt shots at a liberal woman of color. In fact, it seems like a regular occurrence on Fox News. But recently resurfaced comments made by J.D. Vance, a Republican candidate, in 2021, referring to the Democratic Party as being run by “people who don’t have children” still manage to feel beyond the pale. Although Vance doesn’t mention Vice President Kamala Harris, the increasingly likely Democratic presidential nominee, by name, it’s no secret that he’s targeting her. Harris, a strong and capable leader, has been married to attorney Doug Emhoff since 2014 and is stepmother to his two adult children, Ella and Cole, who refer to her as “Momala.”
Harris has spoken openly about the strength of her relationship with Emhoff’s ex-wife, producer Kerstin Emhoff, and the close-held routines of her household. In 2019, she shared, “Our time as a family is Sunday dinner. We come together, all of us around the table, and over time we’ve fallen into our roles. Cole sets the table and picks the music, Ella makes beautiful desserts, Doug acts as my sous-chef, and I cook.” It should go without saying that how a person creates or finds family has nothing to do with their value as a person, nor their fitness as a public servant. But more to the point, would a male presidential candidate ever be subjected to the same scrutiny for not adhering to the “one man, one woman, 2.5 children” family structure that American culture has idealized since the Cold War? (James Buchanan was a bachelor, after all.)
There’s a clear double standard at play here. While Vance may not be able to recognize it, Harris embodies a strong and loving family. As a half-Black, half-Indian woman nearing the age of 60, Harris’s White House family portrait was never going to look like the majority of those that came before it—and in many ways, that’s a good thing. It’s particularly difficult to stomach Vance’s misogynistic critiques while the party he hopes to help lead is targeting families of all kinds—LGBTQ+ families, families seeking access to healthcare, and families trying to ensure their children’s safety.
It doesn’t matter how prettily Vance and his fellow Republicans pose for pictures with their doting wives and children; their bid to brand themselves as the party that’s truly on the side of American families is hypocrisy in its purest form. It should be rejected as swiftly and completely as Vance’s suggestion that a woman’s value is based on her domestic role.
