Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas drew criticism after taking a jab at Vice President Kamala Harris during a Trump rally, echoing remarks made by JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate. Sanders suggested that Harris lacks humility because she doesn’t have children to “keep her humble.”
Speaking to a crowd in Flint, Michigan, Sanders said, “You can walk into a room like this where people cheer when you step onto the stage, and you might think for a second that you’re kind of special. Then you go home, and your kids remind you very quickly you’re actually not that big of a deal.” She added, “So my kids keep me humble. Unfortunately, Kamala Harris doesn’t have anything keeping her humble.”
According to ABC News, Harris, the stepmother to two grown children from her husband Doug Emhoff’s first marriage, did not respond directly to Sanders’s remarks. However, Doug Emhoff’s ex-wife, Kerstin Emhoff, quickly took to social media to defend Harris, writing on X (formerly Twitter), “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.” Doug Emhoff also responded to Sanders’s comments during a campaign event in Brooklyn, New York. He criticized the implication that because Harris’s children aren’t her biological offspring, she lacks the humility parenting brings. “It is as if keeping women humble, whether you have children or not, is something we should strive for.
According to The Hill, It is not,” he said, earning applause from the crowd. Emhoff also pointed out, “Kamala sure kept Trump humble at that debate, didn’t she? Because that’s what this is really about.” Further criticism of Sanders’s comments came from within her own party. Bryan Lanza, a senior adviser to Trump’s campaign, described her remarks as “offensive.” Speaking on CNN, Lanza said, “I, too, was blessed to have a stepmother.
I wouldn’t be here without a stepmother, so I found that comment to be actually offensive. I’m disappointed in Sarah for saying that.” He added, “People who step into that role, it’s usually a difficult dynamic.” In an attempt to clarify Sanders’s comments, her spokesperson, Sam Dubke, issued a statement to Politico.
Dubke explained that the governor’s remarks were a reference to Harris’s political positions, stating, “Vice President Harris, without winning any votes, and after driving up prices by 20% and allowing nearly ten million illegal border crossings, is claiming she alone can solve America’s problems. That’s the lack of humility Governor Sanders was referencing.” The comments have ignited debate around the role of step-parenting and humility, particularly in politics, as critics and supporters of Sanders’s remarks continue to weigh in.
