Last year, during her “Fight for Our Freedoms” national college tour, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at Reading Area Community College in Pennsylvania, addressing the concept of “climate anxiety” linked to climate change. She explained that this anxiety encompasses fears about the future and uncertainty over whether it makes sense for younger people to have children.

"We're not going to stop fighting for that. Because young people said, we're not leaving it to other people to decide how we're dealing with the climate crisis,” Harris said. “You know, I've heard young leaders talk with me about a term they've coined, ‘climate anxiety,’ which is fear of the future and the unknown of whether it makes sense for you to even think about having children, whether it makes sense for you to think about aspiring to buy a home because what will this climate be?"

Harris’ comments have resurfaced in the wake of criticism aimed at Senator JD Vance for remarks he made in 2021. Vance has faced scrutiny for calling Democratic politicians “childless cat ladies.”

Vance’s colorful remark was part of a broader argument about politicians who do not have children, such as Kamala Harris, discussing the importance of the future despite not having a personal stake in it like those with children might have. Vance was specifically referring to female politicians who choose not to have children despite being able to.

“This is about criticizing the Democratic Party for becoming anti-family and anti-children," Vance explained on The Megyn Kelly Show.

"The simple point that 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," he continued. "I'm making an argument that our entire society has become skeptical and even hateful towards the idea of having kids."