Republican Sen. Rick Scott on Tuesday defended his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, after the Ohio senator came under fire for making derogatory remarks about “childless, catty women” in positions of power.
“I think they’re always going to attack people,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju, but claimed he had not seen Vance’s remarks.
“I haven’t looked at the details,” Scott said of Vance’s now-infamous comments in 2021 in which he mocked a “childless” leader running the country.
Asked whether his comments had hindered the Republican candidate, Scott insisted the issue was irrelevant. “I think the election is going to be about the border, it’s going to be about inflation,” he said.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who did not support former President Donald Trump, told CNN, “J.D. is going to do a great job. He’s just great.”
Meanwhile, Indiana Sen. Todd Young, who is not supporting Trump’s candidacy, dismissed concerns about Vance’s stance against aid to Ukraine. “I think J.D. Vance and I agree on 90% of the issues, which is a lot more than Kamala Harris and I agree on,” Young said.
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst also praised Vance, saying, “He’s smart, he’s energetic, he’s bringing a very diverse group of people into the party now, so I think we’ll have to look at how he conducts himself on the campaign trail and how he addresses issues that are important to the American people.”
“I haven’t seen anything like that,” Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville said when asked about Vance’s “childless cat-loving women” comment. “I’m not commenting on that.”
Vance attempted to walk back on his remarks last week, saying they were “clearly meant as a sarcastic remark” on Megyn Kelly’s podcast. A CNN KFile analysis found multiple instances over the years of Vance making similarly derogatory remarks when talking about childfree people, many of them directed at Democratic officials.
This post has been updated with additional responses.