Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has 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.
Mr Vance's 2021 comments criticising US Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats as "a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives" resurfaced after Mr 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.
Ms Harris is the likely Democratic Party presidential nominee for the election on 5 November following President Joe Biden's decision to quit the race.
In an interview on Fox News, Mr Trump said 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," Mr Trump said.
Ms Harris has two stepchildren with her husband, lawyer Doug Emhoff.
Mr Emhoff's ex-wife has called such attacks "baseless" and described Ms Harris as a "loving, nurturing, fiercely protective" co-parent.
Mr Trump said Mr 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," Mr Trump said.
In the Fox interview, Mr Trump also did little to clear up questions over whether he will participate in a debate with Ms Harris on 10 September.
The event had been previously scheduled against Mr Biden.
"I'll probably end up debating," Mr Trump said. "But I can also make a case for not doing it."
