JD Vance faces criticism for staggering suggestion to cut child care costs

JD Vance’s recent suggestions to reduce childcare costs have left many people on social media baffled.

On Wednesday, the Republican vice presidential nominee discussed the 2024 election in an interview at a church in Mesa, Arizona, with right-wing podcast host Charlie Kirk.

During the conversation, Kirk read aloud a question from an audience member: “What can we do to reduce the cost of child care?”

Vance noted it was an “important question” before suggesting that working parents could ease the burden of rising child care costs by relying on their family members.

“One of the things we can do is make it easier for families to choose which model they want,” the Ohio senator said. “One of the ways you can take some of the pressure off people is … maybe grandma or grandpa wants to help out a little bit more. Or maybe there’s an aunt or uncle who wants to help out a little bit more.”

“If that happens, you relieve some of the pressure on all the resources we spend on child care,” he said.

Vance then appeared to acknowledge that many families, for a variety of reasons, do not have access to free child care from relatives.

He therefore proposed making the process of becoming a childcare worker more accessible.

“What we need to do is actually enable people to be trained in the skills they need for the 21st century,” he said. “We have a lot of people who love children, who would love to take care of children.”

The Republican senator alleged that such people are deterred from the profession because they “don’t have access to the training they need” or because they are forced to obtain a “ridiculous certification” that “has nothing to do with caring for children.”

“Don’t force every childcare specialist to get a six-year university degree,” he added.

Many parents across the country publicly expressed disappointment over how little attention was paid to the topic of rising child care costs during the first 2024 presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on June 27.

Childcare costs are rising almost twice as fast as overall inflation, according to a report by tax consultancy KPMG published in May.

Trump completely dodged the question during the debate, and Biden referenced his support for expanding tax credits for families with child care needs.

Vice President Kamala Harris, now the Democratic presidential nominee after Biden dropped his re-election bid, has talked about ways to address high child care costs during her campaign.

Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, addressed the issue as president with child support, though he has not made clear his current proposals on the topic.

People on X, formerly Twitter, strongly criticized Vance’s recent interview, pointing out that grandparents are not the solution to making childcare more affordable.

“He is really clueless and out of touch with reality. People asking family members to care for their children is not a policy solution,” wrote one X user.

“They want grandma to work until she’s 72. How is she going to babysit then?” wrote another.

“JDV answer: free labor. Let someone else do it for you for free,” added another X user.

Others pointed out that education and certification requirements for daycare workers vary by state, but childcare workers are typically not required to have six years of education beyond high school, or even a college degree at all.

See more responses to Vance’s comments about child care costs below:

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