J.D. Vance Agrees the Whole Purpose of Postmenopausal Women Is Helping Raise Grandkids

Strike two! J.D. Vance's past comments about women have come to haunt him again. The Republican VP pick and author of Hillbilly Elegy sparked controversy with his stance on the role of postmenopausal women in society. During a 2020 podcast interview, Vance seemingly agreed with a statement made by host, Eric Weinstein, that “the whole purpose of the postmenopausal female” is to help raise grandchildren. While Vance’s team clarified the remark at the time, they’ve added to a growing body of controversial statements he’s made regarding women, motherhood, and family roles.

As per Vanity Fair, in the podcast, Vance shared his experience of living with his mother-in-law after the birth of his child. He spoke fondly of how her presence improved his son’s development and called it one of the most rewarding experiences. However, things took an unexpected turn when the host interjected with a comment about the ‘purpose’ of postmenopausal women. "That's the whole purpose of the postmenopausal female in theory," Weinstein stated. Vance’s simple agreement — a “yes”— left many stunned. Vance called the experience "in some ways, the most transgressive thing I've ever done against, sort of, the hyper-neoliberal approach to work and family."

As per People magazine, Vance’s spokesperson, Taylor Van Kirk, was quick to refute and remarked, “The media is dishonestly putting words in J.D.’s mouth— of course, he does not agree with what the host said. J.D. reacted to the first part of the host’s sentence, assuming he was going to say— ‘That’s the whole purpose of spending time with grandparents.’ It’s a disgrace that the media is lying about J.D. instead of holding Kamala Harris accountable for her policies that caused sky-high prices for groceries and everyday necessities, a disaster at the southern border, and a historic drug overdose epidemic. J.D. was complementing the selflessness of his mother-in-law for being willing to help care for her grandchildren. Millions of grandparents across our country do the same every day.”

This is not the first time Vance has found himself in hot waters over his narrow views about women. In a 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson, Vance said, "A bunch of childless cat ladies, who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made...want to make the rest of the country miserable, too…It's just a basic fact— you look at Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, AOC— the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. And how does it make any sense that we've turned our country over to people who don't really have a direct stake in it?"

Vance’s background and upbringing have certainly molded his traditional views on family life. Raised by his grandparents, Vance often emphasizes the significance of strong family ties and multigenerational support. He wrote in his book, “My grandparents had an incredibly chaotic marriage in a lot of ways. But they never got divorced. They were together to the end, till death do us part— that was a really important thing to my grandmother and my grandfather.”