Kamala Harris's Powerful Response to Criticism of Her Childfree Status

The former Vice President of the United States — who is a proud mom to her two stepchildren — candidly responded to a remark made by Arkansas's governor about her choice to remain child-free.

In September 2024, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders sparked controversy at a town hall meeting with President Donald Trump in Flint, Michigan, when she suggested that former VP Kamala Harris had nothing keeping her humble because she was childless.

As she introduced Trump at the rally, Sanders made the remark that her three children serve as a "permanent reminder of everything that is at stake in this country" ahead of the 2024 elections, which Trump subsequently won and Harris lost.

"My kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn't have anything keeping her humble," Sanders said. "You would think after four years of straight failure, she would know a little humility. Unfortunately, she doesn't."

Harris shared her thoughts on Sanders's comments during her appearance on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast that October. "I feel sorry for her, and I'm going to tell you why," Harris told host Alex Cooper.

"Because I don't think she understands that there are a whole lot of women out here who, one, are not aspiring to be humble. Two, a whole lot of women out here, who have a lot of love in their life, family in their life and children in their life, and I think it's very important for women to lift each other up," she continued.

Harris then addressed other Republicans who have criticized her for not having biological children of her own. "I feel very strongly, we each have our family by blood and then we have our family by love. And I have both. And I consider it to be a real blessing," she said.

Harris is a mom to her two stepchildren, Cole and Ella Emhoff, whom she shares with her husband Doug Emhoff. Cole and Ella famously refer to Harris as "Momala," which she has said is one of her "favorite titles."

"I love those kids to death. Family comes in many forms, and I think that increasingly, all of us understand that this is not the 1950s anymore," she added. The 61-year-old had shared a deeper insight into her role as Momala in an essay for Elle earlier that year, in July.

As a child of divorced parents herself, Harris understood how difficult it might be for Ella and Cole to accept that their father was dating someone new. "I was determined not to insert myself in their lives until Doug and I had established we were in this for the long haul," she shared.

"Children need consistency; I didn't want to insert myself into their lives as a temporary fixture because I didn't want to disappoint them. There's nothing worse than disappointing a child," she continued. So, she and Emhoff took things slow.

They waited for the right time, and that decision proved to be the right one. "Cole and Ella could not have been more welcoming. They are brilliant, talented, funny kids who have grown to be remarkable adults. I was already hooked on Doug, but I believe it was Cole and Ella who reeled me in," Harris said.

The veteran politician also formed a close friendship with their mother. A few years after she married Emhoff, Cole, Ella, and Harris decided they didn't like the term, "stepmom." That's how they came up with the unique title Momala, instead.