Since former President Donald Trump selected “Hillbilly Elegy” author and Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate, Vance has been forced to contend with a trove of old media clips that women who support the Trump-Vance ticket are concerned will hurt their election chances. 

Years ago, Vance said in a media interview that “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made” should not be in a position to run the country, lumping Vice President Kamala Harris into that category. He also said that Congress should “tax the things that are bad, and not tax the things that are good” by imposing a higher tax rate for individuals without children. 

Vance’s team says his launch at the Republican National Convention last month was a success, and that the Harris campaign dredged up old media clips to demonize her opponent. But women supporting the Republican ticket still think his comments and attempts to correct course are so far falling short, and hope that the junior senator with an “inspiring story” can “take back control” of the narrative.

“JD’s phrasing is extremely off-putting to undecided women voters. He needs to fix his delivery to relay the messaging, or the Trump-Vance brand is doomed,” Jessica Reed Kraus, founder of the House Inhabit Substack, told Fox News Digital. 

HARRIS HOURS AWAY FROM MOST CONSEQUENTIAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF HER CAREER

Rachael Dean Wilson, the managing director of the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) at the German Marshall Fund and former adviser to the late Sen. John McCain added that “attempting to divide women along the lines of mothers vs. non-mothers is poisonous” and only “benefits” American adversaries.

“Taking a step back from the campaign tit-for-tat, attempting to divide women along the lines of mothers vs. non-mothers is poisonous to our communities and political discourse,” she said. 

“I would encourage women of all political stripes to resist the tribalism these attack lines encourage on both sides. While this is an undoubtedly domestic conversation, I always like to remind people that deep domestic division and polarization benefits our adversaries abroad and weakens the United States on the world stage,” she added. 

Vance has made strides to leave the past behind him. Last week he took a trip to the southern border and railed against the Biden administration’s policies that have led to record border crossings, contributing to spikes in violent and drug crime. He appeared on the Full Send podcast, which caters to a male, Gen-Z audience. 

In an interview with “Fox and Friends,” Usha Vance, wife to JD Vance, said that the “cat ladies” comment he made was a “quip in service of making a point that he wanted to make that was substantive.”

TRUMP RUNNING MATE JD VANCE TO TAIL HARRIS ON THE TRAIL THIS WEEK

“And I just wish sometimes that people would talk about those things and that we would spend a lot less time just sort of going through this three-word phrase or that three-word phrase.” 

The “substance” of what JD Vance meant in those remarks, he says, is that public policy in this country has become “anti-family.” 

“Obviously, it was a sarcastic comment. I’ve got nothing against cats. I’ve got nothing against dogs. I’ve got one dog at home and I love ’em,” Vance said of the cat comment in an interview with Megyn Kelly

“But look, this is not— people are focusing so much on the sarcasm and not on the substance of what I actually said, and the substance of what I said, Megyn, I’m sorry, it’s true. It is true that we become anti-family. It is true that the left has become anti-child. It is simply true that it’s become way too hard to raise a family,” he said.

That message has not fallen entirely on deaf ears. Hannah Claire Brimelow, co-host of “Timcast IRL,” says she agrees with Vance, that “we should want leaders who have children because our values depend on being passed down to the next generation, and having children changes your view on your role in a civic society.” 

She added that the Harris campaign strategy of “bringing up a clip from 2021 to attack Vance seems like proof they don’t have much else to criticize him for.”

HARRIS LAPS TRUMP IN CASH DASH THANKS TO FUNDRAISING SURGE 

But it’s been roughly two weeks since the proverbial cat got out of the bag, and Vance is still playing defense. Vanessa Santos, president and CEO of public relations firm Renegade DC, says Vance “needs to take back control of the narrative.” 

“The Harris campaign and the media are working together to make sure this ‘cat lady’ news cycle sees as much attention and does as much damage to Trump-Vance as possible. JD needs to take back control of the narrative. He needs to go on adversarial media, look at these dishonest media people in the eyes, defend himself, and expose them for their unapologetic hypocrisy,” she said. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Since she announced her candidacy, the media has completely whitewashed Kamala Harris’ radical record, especially her abandonment of her border czar position, and continues to blindly accept her moderating positions,” Santos added.

“JD has an inspiring story and a beautiful family. His story resonates with men and women alike, and especially with parents and young Gen Z voters who are worried that the American dream is out of reach for them. Pivot from the ‘cat lady’ media storm and double down on attacking Democrats on their terrible and destructive policies,” she said.

Taylor Van Kirk, a spokeswoman for Vance, responded in a statement to Fox News Digital, “Senator Vance is laser focused on exposing Kamala Harris’s weak, failed, and dangerously liberal record, and that’s exactly what he’ll do across key swing states over the coming days.”

“Kamala Harris’s policies created crushing inflation, a historic crisis at our southern border, and rising crime – her agenda is to make Americans less prosperous and less secure. Democrats are creating false narratives about JD because they know their policies have been a disaster for American families,” she said.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A new timeline released Friday shows how four law enforcement officers were killed over the course of 20 minutes on April 29 while serving a search warrant in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Gunman Terry Hughes Jr., 39, killed Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas M. Weeks Jr., North Carolina Department of Adult Correction (NCDAC) Officers Sam Poloche and William “Alden” Elliott, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) Officer Joshua Eyer. Four other officers were wounded in the line of duty that Monday.

“This is the deadliest attack on law enforcement in Charlotte’s history. It is one of the deadliest, single incident attacks on law enforcement across our country,” Daniel Redford, president of the Charlotte Fraternal Order of Police lodge, told Fox News Digital. “We’ve had to say goodbye to four heroes. If there’s anything we can learn from this incident, as we do with so many other incidents, to prevent this from happening again and save officers’ lives, first responders’ lives, that would be the only takeaway.”

Here’s the latest timeline of the shootout released by Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer B. Merriweather III as part of his investigation into 23 officers who returned fire at Hughes on April 29:

April 29, 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. that Monday, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force arrived at Hughes’ residence on Galway Drive in East Charlotte to serve a warrant for a felon in possession of a firearm. 

CHARLOTTE OFFICER KILLED IN LINE OF DUTY REMEMBERED IN MEMORIAL AS MAN WHO’D GIVE ‘THE SHIRT FROM HIS BACK’

“For the officers that were on this task force that were showing up at this house on that morning, they’ve probably done it 100 times or more,” Redford said of the situation officers thought they were walking into that afternoon. “Similar … charges against the individuals to arrest. They’ve done it 100 to 200 times before, and it ended safely. You always keep in the back of your mind the dangers that you’re going into. But you can’t always think about the danger because then you’re not going to be able to think clearly if that’s all you’re focused on.”

“They’ve done it 100 to 200 times before, and it ended safely.”

— Daniel Redford

Hughes was standing in the threshold of the side door of his home when officers arrived at his home, which is located in a residential neighborhood near a public park.

CHARLOTTE POLICE CHIEF BREAKS DOWN REMEMBERING 4 SLAIN OFFICERS, SAYS SUSPECT HAD ‘EXTENSIVE’ CRIMINAL HISTORY

When he saw officers arrive at his home, Hughes — a career criminal — retreated inside, and task force members used a loudspeaker to announce their presence and demanded Hughes exit the residence, Merriweather wrote in a letter to CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings to explain the results of his investigation. Shortly afterward, Hughes opened fire with a “Radical Arms RF-15 rifle.”

North Carolina public records show Hughes had previously been charged with eluding arrest, looting, marijuana possession and manufacturing, driving with an expired registration, driving while impaired and more out of several different counties. 

Hughes “then moved to fire from an upstairs side window and subsequently alternated between firing from the rear and side windows.”

Weeks was struck as he and Poloche took cover behind a tree in Hughes’ backyard while Hughes fired from his upstairs windows. Elliott and another task force member were then struck “at the fence line on the west side of the home.”

1:33 p.m.

Eyer — the only CMPD officer on the NCDAC task force — was positioned in the front of Hughes’ home and relayed to CMPD dispatch that shots had been fired and officers were down, Merriweather said. Eyer had access to a CMPD radio channel that task force members were not monitoring.

CHARLOTTE SHOOTING: 4 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS KILLED, 4 INJURED AS US MARSHALS TASK FORCE SERVED WARRANT

1:35 p.m.

Just two minutes after Eyer called in the shooting and reported officers down, “the first of hundreds” of CMPD officers began to arrive at the scene to help the fallen officers.

CHARLOTTE SHOOTOUT: 4 SLAIN OFFICERS SERVING WARRANT HAD ‘GREAT DISADVANTAGE,’ EXPERT SAYS

“Officer Eyer and numerous other CMPD officers approached the rear of the decedent’s residence through the backyard of an abutting home, searching for a safe route to get to the three downed officers,” Merriweather wrote.

1:46 p.m.

About 10 minutes after calling for backup, Eyer and other officers went to the treeline in Hughes’ backyard where Weeks was struck by gunfire. Eyer and Poloche “were struck by additional shots fired by the decedent as they took cover behind this tree,” Merriweather said. 

“Three additional CMPD officers were also shot as they took cover in various locations behind the house,” the DA wrote.

CHARLOTTE RESIDENTS SHOCKED AFTER 4 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS DIE, 4 OTHERS INJURED IN SHOOTOUT

1:50 p.m.

Approximately 20 minutes after Hughes began firing, he jumped out of a second-story window on the front side of his house while still holding his AR-15.

“At 1:50:28 p.m., officers in front of the residence communicated over CMPD radio that the decedent was down,” Merriweather said. “Although officers in the rear of the residence received this information, officers on the side of the residence did not. Officers positioned in the backyard then began to evacuate TFO Poloche and Officer Eyer.”

The officers on the side of the residence who did not receive communication that the gunman was down “attempted to reach the injured TFO on the fence line to render aid,” according to the DA.

At 1:50:42 p.m., while authorities were attempting to reach the injured officer, another officer saw movement in the upstairs side window where Hughes had been firing and shot a single bullet at the window.

Redford, the local FOP president, said communication becomes an unintentional issue with officers from so many different agencies all responding to a large attack.

“Communication in a situation like this is one of the more important things to do because that’s how you relay dangers.”

— Daniel Redford

“That’s how you relay where you need to go to where you shouldn’t go to,” Redford explained. “The one thing we always find in these mass incidents like this is: officers are responding, and we end up unintentionally blocking roads. You have 100 police cars parked alongside the road, which makes it harder for paramedics, fire departments, stuff like that to get through.”

1:50 to 2 p.m.

“Over the course of the next ten minutes, officers in the rear of the residence discharged cover fire at the rear window of the home as they evacuated [Poloche, Eyer and Weeks],” Merriweather wrote. “Officers on the side of the residence discharged cover fire as they evacuated the injured task force officer. At 1:59 p.m., CMPD officers used an armored utility vehicle to drive to the side fence line and evacuate [Elliott].”

2:39 p.m.

Hughes’ girlfriend calls 911 and tells dispatch she is hiding in a closet in his residence with her 17-year-old daughter.

CHARLOTTE LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS WHO DIED IN SHOOTOUT IDENTIFIED: ‘FOREVER INDEBTED’

2:20 to 8:25 p.m.

Elliott, Poloche, Weeks and Eyer were pronounced dead from the hospitals they were transported to over the course of the next six hours.

Merriweather ultimately cleared the officers who returned fire at Hughes of any wrongdoing after completing his investigation into the shootout, saying “there is no question that the 23 officers who returned fire during this lengthy encounter did so in defense of themselves and of their fellow officers.”

“This incident signifies the single deadliest assault on law enforcement in our community’s history,” the DA said in the conclusion of his letter to Jennings. “If law enforcement officers had not responded to an imminently deadly threat with lethal force, as difficult as it is to imagine, the outcome could have been even more catastrophic. Accordingly, this review finds that the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers, resulting in the death of Terry Hughes Jr., was justified under the law.”

Jennings also responded to the DA’s findings, saying in an Aug. 1 statement that the four deceased officers “displayed the epitome of bravery” while assisting with the deadliest attack on officers in Charlotte’s history on April 29.

“We will not forget their ultimate sacrifice for our community’s safety,” Jennings said. “I am extremely grateful to the dedicated members of our Homicide Unit, Crime Lab and Crime Scene Investigations as well as the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office who have carefully and meticulously reviewed approximately 1,100 videos and examined approximately 10,000 pieces of evidence.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Redford noted that many of the officers who responded to the shootout on April 29 were not on duty that day.

“I think that shows you the dedication to law enforcement is that many of the officers who responded that day were on their days off, either at home somewhere with their family, caught wind of what was going on and put their uniforms on, got in their cars and drove into work, knowing they didn’t have to, but that they came in because that’s how important this was,” Redford said. “That’s how dedicated the men and women in this profession are to each other and to keeping our community safe.”

Patients who are taking GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and others could face complications during surgery, recent research has shown.

In one study led by UTHealth Houston, more than half of patients taking GLP-1s had “significant gastric contents” before going into surgery, even if they had followed pre-op fasting protocols, according to a press release on the university’s website.

This could lead to a potentially life-threatening condition called pulmonary aspiration, when food or liquid is inhaled into the lungs.

OZEMPIC AND WEGOVY COULD DOUBLE AS KIDNEY DISEASE TREATMENT, STUDY SUGGESTS

GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide) receptor agonists are commonly prescribed to patients with type 2 diabetes (to stabilize blood glucose levels) or obesity (to assist with weight loss).

“These medications slow down digestion, which means food stays in the stomach longer,” said Dr. Alfred Bonati, the founder of the Bonati Spine Institute in Florida.

Pulmonary aspiration can cause severe lung damage, infections or even death, Bonati warned.

“General anesthesia can also cause nausea, and the slowed digestion from weight-loss meds can exacerbate this, leading to a higher risk of vomiting during surgery,” he said.

“These medications slow down digestion, which means food stays in the stomach longer.”

Dr. Brett Osborn, a board-certified neurosurgeon and section chief at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Florida, always advises his patients who are taking GLP-1 agonists to stop the medication at least one week before a surgical procedure, he said. 

In addition to aspiration, Osborn warned of the increased risk of postoperative ileus, a dysfunction of the intestines after surgery.

“This could predispose patients to significant problems, including bowel ischemia (a rare circulatory condition that occurs when blood flow to the intestines is reduced),” he told Fox News Digital.

Healing is a secondary concern among patients taking GLP-1s, according to Osborn. 

OZEMPIC BABIES: WOMEN CLAIM WEIGHT-LOSS DRUGS ARE MAKING THEM MORE FERTILE AND EXPERTS AGREE

“Those following a hypocaloric diet, as is the case with patients on GLP-1 agonists, may potentially inhibit healing and recovery from surgery, which requires a caloric surplus, particularly from protein-laden foods,” he said. 

Proper nutrition is crucial for tissue recovery, Osborn said.

“By inducing a relative state of malnutrition, these medications can be problematic in perioperative patients.”

Dr. Jean-Carlos Jimenez, medical director at Attune Med Spa in Connecticut, agreed that these medications can lead to complications during surgery.

ASK A DOCTOR: ‘WHAT SHOULD I DO, OR NOT DO, PRIOR TO SURGERY?’

“GLP-1 agonists can cause nausea, vomiting and something known as delayed gastric emptying, or gastroparesis — which means the stomach takes longer than usual to empty its contents into the small intestines,” he told Fox News Digital via email.

“Residual gastric content can increase the risk of pulmonary aspiration during anesthesia and potentially worsen post-operative recovery.”

Surgery is also known to alter blood sugar levels due to stress from the procedure, Jimenez added.

Due to these risks, doctors agree that patients should review all the medications they’re taking with their surgeon and anesthesiologist. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP     

For surgical procedures that require patients to fast or remain on a clear liquid diet, they may need to do this for a longer period of time, said Jimenez.

“The timing of when to stop will depend on the type of GLP-1 agonists a patient uses, but can range from holding the daily dose on the day of surgery to holding the scheduled weekly dose one week before a planned procedure,” he told Fox News Digital.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

GLP-1s typically can be restarted at the next scheduled dose, but should be carefully monitored by the doctor, he advised.

The timing can depend on the type of surgery and the patient’s overall condition, according to Bonati.

“It’s crucial to follow the instructions provided by the health care providers, as they will tailor the advice to your individual health needs and the specifics of your surgery,” he added.

In June 2023, the American Society of Anesthesiologists published an announcement warning of the risks and recommending that patients consider pausing their doses in the days or weeks leading up to an elective surgical procedure.

The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology has issued a similar recommendation.

Fox News Digital contacted Novo Nordisk, maker of Ozempic and Wegovy, requesting comment.