WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on July 29 backed his running mate, Senator J.D. 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 criticising 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 in July.

The comments prompted a backlash and warnings from some political strategists that these 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 that 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.

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