WASHINGTON: A prominent
Trump
acolyte reopened a raging debate on motherhood in the US by appearing to mock Kamala Harris for not having any biological children, which she said is what keeps her humble.
"So, my kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn't have anything keeping her humble,"
Arkansas
governor (and former White House spokesperson)
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
gibed at a townhall meeting with Trump on Tuesday, triggering another backlash from a liberal constituency already furious about Trump's running mate
JD Vance
's putdown about "childless cat ladies."
Harris, who was 50 when she married Doug Emhoff, is the
step-mother
to Cole and Ella, his children from his first marriage, and they fondly call her "momala." She also helped raise her sister Maya Harris' daughter Meena.
Emhoff's first wife Kerstin was among the first to come out in support of Harris, tweeting, "Cole and Ella keep us inspired to make the world a better place. I do it through storytelling. Kamala Harris has spent her entire career working for the people, ALL families. That keeps you pretty humble."
Even
Republicans
were revolted by Sanders' ad hominem attack, attributing the remark to the toxic environment in the MAGA-sphere which promotes ugly and vile attacks on political opponents, and where, one former Trump staffer said, "you have to say wild things and knock people down and be a bully."
Bryan Lanza, another Trump adviser, also called the comment offensive, saying he had been brought up by a step-mother, and describing it as a very difficult job.
The latest
MAGA
attack came hours after Republicans in the US Senate, despite their professed desire to support families having children, voted for the second time to block a bill that would have ensured access to in vitro fertilization nationwide.