American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic super PAC that conducts research and tracking on Republican candidates, posted a clip of Mr. Vance’s comments on X.
In it, Mr. Vance says that the public’s empathy toward Ms. Biles, who is now 27, was emblematic of what was wrong with the country.
“But instead, what our press has done, I think, has turned this into this weird therapeutic moment,” he said.
His comments began ricocheting online as Ms. Biles was competing in the individual all-around competition in Paris, where she added to her haul of medals. She is only the third woman to win a second all-around title at the Olympics, after winning her first in 2016.
Her decision in 2021 to remove herself from the competition sparked a national conversation over mental health. It earned her both accolades from those who praised her for putting her well-being first and criticism from others who called her a quitter.
“We’ve tried to turn a very tragic moment, Simone Biles quitting the Olympic team, into this act of heroism,” Mr. Vance said earlier in the same Fox segment.
Some of Mr. Vance’s other past comments and criticism of women have similarly drawn scrutiny since former President Donald J. Trump selected him as his running mate on July 15.
During another appearance on Fox News in 2021, he complained that the nation was governed by “childless cat ladies,” including Vice President Kamala Harris. Those comments prompted a bipartisan backlash and touched off a back-and-forth between Mr. Vance and the actress Jennifer Aniston, who has been open about her fertility struggles.
Neil Vigdor covers politics for The Times, focusing on voting rights issues and election disinformation.