Vice President Kamala Harris is now a part of the "Daddy Gang." Media mogul Alex Cooper welcomed Harris to the latest episode of Call Her Daddy podcast on Sunday, Oct. 6, and in their wide-ranging interview, the Democratic presidential candidate spoke out about the criticism she's received for not being a biological mom.
"There has been a very big fixation on biological children, stepchildren, women that have children versus women that don't have children...it's like a huge point somehow of this entire election," Cooper noted, pointing out that Arkansas's governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said, “my kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn’t have anything keeping her humble.”
When the podcaster asked how that made Vice President Harris feel, she replied, "I don't think she understands there are a whole lot of women out here who one, are not aspiring to be humble. Two, a whole lot of women out here, who have a lot of love in their life, family in their life and children in their life, and I think it’s very important for women to lift each other up.”
The politician is married to Doug Emhoff and has a close relationship with his two children from a previous marriage, Cole Emhoff, 30 and Ella Emhoff, 25. She told Cooper that while she might not be a biological mother, she has "two beautiful children" who call her "Momala."
"We have a very modern family. My husband's ex-wife is a friend of mine," she shared. Harris also emphasized that in 2024, family "comes in many forms."
"We have our family by blood, and then we have our family by love, and I have both. And I consider it to be a real blessing," the Democratic presidential nominee told Call Her Daddy.
Harris, who explained she was "a child of divorced parents," also told Cooper that when she started dating her now-husband she was "thoughtful and sensitive" about bonding with the kids until she knew that they would be in a long-term relationship.
"I waited to meet the kids. And they are my children, and I love those kids to death," she shared, adding, "increasingly, all of us understand that this is not the 1950s anymore. Families come in all kinds of shapes and forms and they're family nonetheless."
Her remarks come after former president Donald Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance's, remarks about "childless cat ladies" have brought kids to the forefront of this year's political conversation. The queen of cat ladies, Taylor Swift, officially endorsed Harris in a lengthy Instagram post on Sept. 10 (while sharing a photo of herself with her own cat in the process).
Harris called Vance's comments "mean-spirited" on Call Her Daddy, adding, "Most Americans want leaders who understand that the measure of their strength is not based on who you beat down."
Along with being "Momala," Harris also touched on young women choosing not to have children "because it's too expensive," as Cooper noted.
The vice president agreed that it was "a real issue," sharing that "housing is too expensive" and shared ideas including tax cuts for young parents such as a "$6,000 tax cut for the first year of their child's life."
