Republicans are brushing off a new attack line from Democrats seeking to characterize them as weird for going after cat ladies and people without children , among other things.

The Democrats, they insisted, are the ones being weird and creepy, taking an Im rubber, youre glue approach as Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), Donald Trump s vice presidential running mate, continues to face scrutiny over past comments arguing that people without children have less of a stake in the countrys future.

They called us weird so Ill call them weirder. Thats what I used to do back in high school, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told HuffPost on Tuesday when asked to respond to the Democrats attacks.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. , the former presidents son, called Vice President Kamala Harris a weirdo and accused the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee of supporting lenient policies toward criminals while she served as a district attorney and later as attorney general of California.

You know whats really weird? Soft on crime politicians like Kamala allowing illegal aliens out of prison so they can violently assault Americans, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Democrats believe their new messaging strategy has hit a nerve, with officials up and down the ticket employing it in their statements. Over the weekend, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that Donald Trump was getting older and stranger, while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called Vance weird and erratic.

It kind of captures a zeitgeist that I think is resonating with people, the whole its just weird. Theres a lot of weird there right now, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said of the GOP.

In 2021, Vance criticized Harris and other Democrats as childless cat ladies who are miserable in their lives and have no direct stake in America because they arent parents. The vice president has two stepchildren with second gentleman Doug Emhoff.

The Ohio Republican also sent out fundraising emails in 2021 that called Democrats childless sociopaths, according to CNN .

Vance doubled down on his initial remarks in an interview last week, saying he had nothing against cats but that it was simply true that people without kids are less invested in Americas future.

Trump also defended Vance in a Fox News interview broadcast Monday.

He feels family is good, and I dont think theres anything wrong in saying that, the former president told network host Laura Ingraham.

The Democrats are good at spinning things differently from what they were, he added. All he said is, he does like I mean, for him, he likes family. I think a lot of people like family, and sometimes it doesnt work out.

But some of Vances fellow Senate Republicans suggested that he steer clear of making such comments in the future since they can become fodder for Democratic attacks.

People are trying to destroy JD, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) lamented, before chalking up his remarks about childless Americans to bad judgment.

Youve got to stay away from that, attempts at humor. Im sure JD has got a lot of friends and family that fit into that category.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who doesnt have children, said he doesnt believe people without kids are any less valuable to society. Still, he doesnt hold Vances remarks against him.

He said something thats not aging well over time, but name one politician who hasnt done that, Graham told HuffPost.

And Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) urged everyone to refrain from name-calling and focus on the issues when talking about the November presidential election.

Thats something that might occur in third grade, Rounds said of the weird attacks. The people that I work with up here on both sides of the aisle are good people. Theyre not weird. They may have different points of view, but they want the best for this country.