According to a post-election survey conducted by the Democratic polling firm Blueprint, one of the most common criticisms of Vice President Kamala Harris among swing voters who supported Trump was her emphasis on cultural issues, such as transgender rights, rather than addressing middle-class concerns.
The Blueprint poll also revealed that an attack ad targeting Harris, which aired over 15,000 times, succeeded in making transgender surgeries for prisoners a more prominent issue for voters than topics like inflation or immigration. This strategy proved effective in shifting voter focus.
Trump’s advertising campaign marked a turning point in the Republican approach, as it highlighted transgender rights to portray Democrats as weak on traditional family values. Interestingly, this tactic gained traction despite the fact that transgender people make up a small segment of the population, with even fewer competing in women’s sports or receiving surgeries funded by taxpayers.
Transgender rights become a pivotal topic in the battle for swing voters, thanks to Trump’s strategy
Despite this, one-third of the Trump campaign’s advertising budget in October was directed at attacking “gender-changing surgeries” for incarcerated, transgender immigrants. The ad, which concluded with the message, “Kamala is for they-them; President Trump is for you,” aired frequently during football games.
The success of this advertising campaign, which stirred anxiety over transgender issues, overshadowed the reality that there were no policy differences between the parties on this topic. When Harris was questioned about her support for transgender surgeries for prisoners, she pointed out that Trump had overseen similar policies at the federal level, but the truth was disregarded as Republicans continued to use the issue to attack Democrats.
Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, explained that this issue resonated deeply with Republican voters, who viewed it as a threat to family values and parental rights. Schilling sees it as a winning issue for Republicans.
Trump’s Cabinet choices also reflect his alignment with this strategy. For example, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Trump’s pick for attorney general, previously attracted attention for his criticism of military spending on “drag queen story hours,” even though the military did not fund the event.
Trump is reportedly considering candidates like Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, and Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters for Secretary of Education. Justice has campaigned against LGBTQ+ content in school books, while Walters advocates for Bible mandates in schools, challenging the separation of church and state.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominated for Secretary of Health and Human Services, has promoted unproven theories about “endocrine disruptors” being used to create sexual and gender diversity. These claims further support Trump’s efforts to target transgender issues as part of his political strategy.
A new figure in the Democratic ranks, Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Congress’s first openly transgender representative, could become a target for Trump. Though McBride won by focusing on issues like paid family leave and inflation, her gender identity will likely make her a focal point for Republican attacks.
Democrats are divided over how to address the GOP’s use of transgender issues. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and mother of a transgender child, expressed her frustration at the party’s treatment of vulnerable communities, such as trans individuals, the poor, and union members, often abandoning them in favor of trying to appear less extreme than Trump.
Justice Clarence Thomas’s opinion in the decision overturning federal abortion protections now casts a shadow over the transgender rights debate. His suggestion to reconsider key precedents like Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell raises the prospect that civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ individuals could be rolled back by the Supreme Court.
The political fight has serious consequences for transgender Americans. The Associated Press reported that transgender youth have been seeking help from crisis hotlines in large numbers since Trump’s election, with fears that his administration may soon work to strip transgender students of Title IX protections.
Molly Ivins once noted that fear often leads people to sacrifice their freedoms and constitutional rights in the name of safety. Under Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress, the nation finds itself engaged in a deeply divisive political battle centered on fear of transgender people.
