Candice Bergen Calls Out J.D. Vance During Emmys Appearance

Candice Bergen's getting political at the Emmys ... firing off a joke at J.D. Vance's expense to rapturous applause from the audience.

The TV legend stepped up to the mic during the Emmys in L.A. Sunday night ... talking about her time on Murphy Brown, which ran from 1988 to 1998 with a short-lived revival in 2018.

CB recalls a moment when then-Vice President Dan Quayle -- who served from 1989 to 1993 under President George H.W. Bush -- publicly called out the show for having Murphy decide to raise her daughter as a single mom.

Bergen sarcastically says we've come so far -- saying we'd never have a Republican VP candidate attack women for having kids ... finishing off the moment with a "meow."

The joke left several stars -- like Jon Stewart and Mindy Kaling -- laughing ... with many stars giving Candice quite the applause.

Of course, Bergen's referring to J.D. Vance ... who has made numerous statements about not having kids -- calling women without kids "sociopaths" and adding "childless cat ladies" don't have a direct stake in the future of the country.

Vance has caught a lot of flak for his comments in recent days ... including from Taylor Swift in her Kamala Harris endorsement -- who called herself a "Childless Cat Lady" proudly.