Republican offensive risks backfiring with transgender friends, family

[Jessica_Rose]

Republican offensive risks backfiring with transgender friends, family

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/republican-offensive-risks-backfiring-with-transgender-friends-family/ar-AA1pvAzW?ocid=windirect&cvid=2bf5023a29464bef800b2c5644362609&ei=60

Story by Brooke Migdon (27 Aug 2024)

Former President Trump and other Republicans are casting Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as left-wing radicals whose administration would initiate a seismic cultural shift meant to undermine conservative values, especially when it comes to advancing protections for transgender Americans.

It's a strategy meant to excite conservative voters and win over parts of the center, but surveys suggest it risks backfiring, with LGBTQ people and their allies using threats and misinformation spread as a rallying cry to drive voters to the polls for Democrats.

In rallies and social media posts, Trump and his running mate, Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance, have seized on Harris's ties to the progressive policies of the current administration and Walz's long track record as an ardent supporter of gay and transgender rights.

Trump and Vance have also pledged to enact policies if they are elected in November that directly target transgender Americans, including a federal law that recognizes only two genders, effectively ending legal recognition of trans people in the U.S. Additional policy proposals would prohibit transgender student-athletes from competing in accordance with their gender identity, outlaw gender-affirming care for minors and reinstate a ban on transgender people serving openly in the military, which Biden reversed in 2021.