Trump says Vance's 'childless cat ladies' comments reflect love of family

(Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Monday backed his running mate, Senator JD Vance, over past comments about "childless cat ladies" that have gone viral and become a political headache for their White House campaign.

Vance's 2021 comments criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats as "a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives" resurfaced after Trump selected the Ohio senator as his running mate earlier this month.

The comments prompted a backlash and warnings from some political strategists that they could cost the Trump campaign valuable votes in a close election that could be decided in a handful of states by a few thousand voters. Harris is the likely Democratic Party presidential nominee for the Nov. 5 election following President Joe Biden's decision to quit the race.

Trump said in an interview on Fox News he did not place a higher value on people with families.

"You know, you don't meet the right person, or you don't meet any person. But you're just as good, in many cases, a lot better than a person that's in a family situation," Trump said.

Harris has two stepchildren with her husband, lawyer Doug Emhoff. Emhoff's ex-wife has called such attacks "baseless" and described Harris as a "loving, nurturing, fiercely protective" co-parent.

Trump said Vance, who had a tough upbringing in Ohio and was largely raised by his grandmother, was simply trying to show how much he values family life.

"He grew up in a very interesting family situation, and he feels family is good. And I don't think there's anything wrong in saying that," Trump said.

In the Fox interview, Trump also did little to clear up questions over whether he will participate in a Sept. 10 debate with Harris. The event had been previously scheduled against Biden.

"I'll probably end up debating," Trump said. "But I can also make a case for not doing it."

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer and Eric Beech; Editing by Ross Colvin and Stephen Coates)