Vice President Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter Ella Emhoff is standing up for her stepmother after video surfaced of JD Vance attacking Harris for not having children of her own.
Emhoff, who affectionately calls Harris “Momala,” posted a quote from her mother Kerstin Emhoff on Instagram Stories. She also criticized the woman with the caption, “How can you be ‘childless’ when you have adorable kids like Cole and I?” She added the thinking emoji.
“I love my three parents,” wrote Ella Emhoff, 25.
Her post came in response to a resurfaced 2021 clip of Vance criticizing Harris during an interview with Fox News, which has now gone viral.
Ella Emhoff defended stepmother ‘Momala’ Kamala Harris in an Instagram Stories post after 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 is run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are unhappy with their own lives and the choices they’ve made, and they want to make the rest of the country unhappy too.”
Vance, 39, specifically mentioned Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
‘The entire future of the Democrats “is controlled by people without children,” Vance said. ‘How is it possible that we have handed over our country to people who actually have no direct interest in it?’
The video was recirculated as Vance emerged as Trump’s favorite for vice president and Harris secured enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, while Biden withdrew from the race on Sunday.
Kamala Harris with husband Doug Emhoff and two stepchildren Cole and Ella. Harris married their father in 2014
Although Harris never had children, she helped raise her two stepchildren, Ella and Cole, 30, who are the children of her husband Doug Emhoff and his ex-wife Kerstin. Harris married Doug in 2014.
Doug Emhoff’s ex Kerstin also stood up for Harris and responded with devastating force to the criticism.
“These are baseless attacks,” she said in a statement. “For over a decade, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has co-parented with Doug and me. She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective and always present.”
“I love our blended family and am grateful that she is a part of it,” she continued.
Kerstin Emhoff has also expressed her support for Harris’ candidacy for president on several occasions.
Instagram post from Ella Emhoff defending her stepmother against attacks on the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee
Doug Emoff’s ex-wife, Kertin Emhoff, has also criticized the attacks on Kamala Harris, calling them unfounded and praising Harris as a co-parent
Others, including actress Jennifer Aniston, also reacted negatively to Vance’s video.
Aniston, 55, took to Instagram Stories on Wednesday to deliver a harsh message to Vance.
“I honestly can’t believe this is coming from a potential VP of the United States,” the Friends star wrote. “All I can say is… Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is lucky enough to have children of her own one day.”
“I hope she doesn’t have to have IVF as a second option. Because you’re trying to take that away from her too,” she continued.
Aniston, who currently stars on The Morning Show on Apple TV+, has been candid about her fertility struggles and attempts to conceive for years.
Another Democrat specifically named in the attack on Vance, Buttigieg, announced in September 2021 that he and his husband had adopted twin babies.
That announcement was made more than a month before Vance made his comments.