CNN
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Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders reignited the controversy over how allies of Donald Trump talk about stepmothers and childless women when she told supporters of the former president Tuesday night that Kamala Harris doesnโt have anything to keep her humble.
While introducing Trump at a Flint, Michigan, town hall, Sanders said her three children serve as a โpermanent reminder of everything that is at stake in this countryโ ahead of the election.
โMy kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesnโt have anything keeping her humble,โ said Sanders, the first female governor of Arkansas and Trumpโs former White House press secretary. โYou would think after four years of straight failure, she would know a little humility. Unfortunately, she doesnโt.โ
The comments come as the Trump campaign attempts to narrow the gap with Harris among female voters. Sanders is one of several former Trump staffers who have attempted to vouch for the former president among women, despite his long history of sexual misconduct allegations and the fact that he was found liable of sexual abuse and defamation last year. During her time in the White House, Sanders, who at times faced sexist comments about her appearance, defended Trump after he was criticized for attacks on female politicians.
Her remarks Tuesday, in which she argued that children serve as reminders of what matters in an election and alluded to the vice presidentโs lack of biological kids, are reminiscent of comments made by Trumpโs running mate, JD Vance, a longtime critic of those, particularly elected officials, without children.
The Ohio senator has railed against a โchildless eliteโ in Washington, who he has argued doesnโt have a โdirect stakeโ in the future of the country, and has said that the US was being run by โchildless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that theyโve made.โ Vance has also said the Democratic Party has become โanti-family and anti-child.โ
Those comments, made before he joined Trump on the Republican presidential ticket, have been widely criticized by members of both parties. Pop star Taylor Swift alluded to the Vance lines in her endorsement of Harris, signing off as a โChildless Cat Lady.โ Trump has since said, โI hate Taylor Swift.โ
Sam Dubke, a spokesperson for Sanders, said the governor was referring to the Biden-Harris administrationโs economic and border security policies.
โVice President Harris, without winning any votes, and after driving up prices by 20% and allowing nearly ten million illegal border crossings, is claiming she alone can solve Americaโs problems,โ Dubke said in a statement to CNN. โThatโs the lack of humility Governor Sanders was referencing.โ
The Harris and Trump campaigns did not respond to requests for comment.
While Harris does not have biological children, she has two stepchildren โ Cole and Ella Emhoff โ through her 10-year marriage to second gentleman Doug Emhoff.
โWe might not look like other families in the White House, but we are ready to represent all families in America,โ Cole Emhoff said in a video introducing his father at last monthโs Democratic National Convention.
The second gentlemanโs former wife, Kerstin Emhoff, has continually defended Harris and her role in their blended family.
โCole and Ella keep us inspired to make the world a better place. I do it through storytelling. Kamala Harris has spent her entire career working for the people, ALL families,โ she wrote on social media Tuesday in response to Sandersโ remarks. โThat keeps you pretty humble.โ
At the core of the Democratic backlash to the remarks by Vance, and now Sanders, however, has been that womenโs value and contributions to their communities shouldnโt be based on whether they have had children.
And Democrats slam the related GOP rhetoric as a distraction.
โWhen you have no substance, you have to resort to superficiality,โ said Donna Brazile, a Harris ally and veteran Democratic political strategist.
Brazile pointed to Vance missing recent Senate votes to temporarily expand the child tax credit and to protect and expand access to in vitro fertilization, which Senate Republicans blocked.
Members of Sanders own party have also balked at her remarks at the Flint event.
Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist and CNN senior political commentator, said that he understood the value of stepparents, having been raised for several years by his stepmother.
โMy kind of Republican Party welcomes everyone,โ Jennings said on CNNโs โNewsNight with Abby Phillipโ on Tuesday. โWe do encourage families, we encourage life, but we also encourage everybody to do whatโs best for themselves in their own personal situation and respect other peopleโs choices.โ
Brian Lanza, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign who was also raised by a stepmother, told Phillip he was โoffendedโ by the comment and โdisappointedโ in Sanders for saying that.
โIโm sure Iโm going to get criticism from the campaign, but I have to defend somebody whoโs a stepmom. Itโs a tough job,โ Lanza said. โWe should reward that and speak of that in a high tone.โ