Donald Trump’s pick for vice president JD Vance has defended his controversial remarks after Hollywood star Jennifer Aniston criticised him for apparently likening Kamala Harris to a "childless cat lady".
Mr Vance made the comments in a 2021 interview with Fox News which led the actress to repost the remarks on Instagram this week.
The conservative senator has been a key part of Mr Trump’s election campaign as his running mate.
In the interview, the Republican said: "[The Democrats are] a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too.
"Look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.
"How does it make any sense we've turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?"
Ms Harris, the first Black woman and first Asian American to serve as vice president, has this week swiftly consolidated Democratic support after Joe Biden tapped her to succeed him on Sunday.
A handful of public opinion polls show she has made up some of the ground Mr Biden lost after a disastrous debate performance.
Mr Vance made the comments to far right broadcaster Tucker Carlson, which drew criticism at the time as Ms Harris is a step mother to the two children of her husband Doug Emhoff.
Ms Aniston, who herself has struggled to have children through IVF, posted the Instagram story earlier in the week.
"I truly can’t believe that this is coming from a potential VP of the United States," she wrote.
"All I can say is… Mr Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day.
"I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option because you are trying to take that away from her too.”
Ohio senator Mr Vance, who has three children with his wife Usha Chilukuri, has sought to block Democrat action to make IVF available nationwide.
He also holds ultra conservative views on abortion, same-sex marriage and gun control.
The 39-year-old doubled down on his views in an interview on Friday.
He told Megyn Kelly on YouTube: "The simple point I made is that having children - becoming a father, becoming a mother - I really do think it changes your perspective in a pretty profound way.
"This is something, of course, we've recognised for hundreds of years in this country - that human civilisation has always recognised."
