Published Sep 10, 2024

Residents of Columbus, Ohio, a city in the home state of Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance have attacked his character in their local paper.

Monday's edition of The Columbus Dispatch included letters to the editor responding to an earlier op-ed touting Vance as "the worst vice-presidential candidate ever."

"President JD Vance would be the nightmare," wrote Gene Monteith of Westerville, speculating on how Vance would govern if Donald Trump died, noting his controversial policy positions and views about women. "In his Sept. 4 column Vance is the Worst VP Candidate Ever, Rex Huppke nicely summed up JD Vance's cringeworthy views on women. Just as important, however, are Vance's views on governing, which may be even more authoritarian than former President Donald Trump's."

"None of these facts are trivial when considering that, should Trump win in November, Vance would be next in line to replace a mentally diminished president whose physical health remains suspect."

Another letter writer, Kathryn Haueisen of Reynoldsburg said she was puzzled by Vance's previous statement that the country was run "by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives," and that childless people "shouldn't get nearly the same voice" at the ballot box than those with children.

Vance has since described the "cat ladies" remark as a "sarcastic comment" that was "willfully misinterpreted" by the Democrats. He also said he regrets "that a lot of people took it the wrong way."

Vance, who currently serves as an Ohio Senator, narrowly won his seat in 2022 after receiving an endorsement from Donald Trump.

The Democratic Party has labeled Trump and Vance as weird, a label which Trump vehemently rejected at a Fox News town hall event last week.

"JD is not weird. He's a solid rock," Trump said. I happen to be a very solid rock. We're other things perhaps, but we're not weird."

Newsweek has contacted Trump and Vance's campaign via email for comment.