Donald Trump’s ads attacking Kamala Harris for her support of gender-affirming care for transgender prisoners are ringing a bit hollow following a New York Times exposé that showed his own Justice Department held a very similar position.
Trump is not being widely called out for his hypocrisy, however. Most Democrats, save Harris, sidestep any mention of transgender issues — appearing concerned that their support of transgender rights will hurt them among moderate and swing voters. Republicans, meanwhile, simply ignore all historical facts.
In his ads, Trump has lambasted Harris for supporting gender-affirming care for transgender inmates, including undocumented immigrants who are in custody, in an attempt to paint her as too liberal in the eyes of moderate and independent voters.
The ads are part of a larger campaign tactic deployed by Republicans in various races across the country, in which they seek to motivate their socially conservative base by exploiting Democrats’ support of the LGBTQ community.
Fox News host Brett Baier confronted Harris about her stance in a recent interview with the Democratic nominee, with his questions mimicking Republican talking points. He sought to corner Harris on policy issues, catch her off guard, or trick her into making an unforced error similar to Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment from 2016.
Baier asked Harris if she was “still in support of using taxpayer dollars to help prison inmates or detained illegal aliens transition to another gender.”
“I will follow the law, and it’s a law that Donald Trump actually followed,” Harris replied. “Under Donald Trump’s administration, these surgeries were available to — on a medical necessity basis — to people in the federal prison system, and I think frankly that ad from the Trump campaign is a little bit of throwing stones when you’re living in a glass house.”
Baier replied that Trump aides have argued the former president “never advocated” for the prison policy, and that no gender-affirming surgeries actually happened during his presidency.
Harris shot back that Trump has to take responsibility for policies promulgated by his administration and said that, as president, she would follow the law — which currently allows transgender inmates to receive medically necessary health treatments for gender dysphoria.
Harris blasted the Trump campaign for spending nearly $20 million on anti-transgender ads, accusing the former president of “trying to create a sense of fear in the voters because he actually has no plan in this election that is about focusing on the needs of the American people.”
She noted that instances of transgender inmates receiving surgical care are very rare, and that most voters aren’t prioritizing transgender issues when they cast votes for president.
According to an analysis of Trump’s attacks against Harris by FactCheck.org, a spokesperson for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons confirmed that only two prisoners in custody have received surgical interventions.
According to the Times, it was the Obama administration that first adopted guidelines aimed at ensuring transgender inmates could access programs and services, including health care, that meet their individual needs. The Trump administration kept much of that framework in place throughout the former president’s term.
In a February 2018 budget memo to Congress, Bureau of Prisons officials said they were obligated by federal law to pay for a prisoner’s surgery if it was deemed medically necessary.
The Times reports that the most significant change made to the treatment guidelines by the Trump administration was the addition of the word “necessary,” which created a higher, but not altogether insurmountable, barrier to federally-funded surgeries.
The Bureau also ended up spending between $60,000 and $95,000 a year on hormone therapy during Trump’s term, according to internal department estimates obtained by the Times.
When approached by the Times for comment about the Trump administration’s policy, senior campaign advisor Brian Hughes parroted the anti-Harris ad’s central contention.
“Kamala Harris has forcefully advocated for transgender inmates to be able to get transition surgeries. President Trump never has,” Hughes insisted.
Republicans have attached five anti-LGBTQ riders to the National Security and Department of State Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2027.
The bill, which funds the U.S. State Department and national security programs, is considered "must-pass" legislation. Lawmakers often attach riders -- unrelated provisions with little connection to the underlying bill -- to such measures in order to push through proposals that might not survive greater scrutiny.
According to an Instagram post from the Congressional Equality Caucus, Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee attached the anti-LGBTQ provisions to the funding bill.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill requiring federally funded public schools to "out" transgender students to their parents if school officials learn the students identify as a gender different from their assigned sex at birth.
H.R. 2616, the "Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act" -- dubbed the "Don't Say Trans" bill by critics -- passed 217-198, with eight Democrats joining Republicans and one independent in support of the measure.
Sponsored by U.S. Reps. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Burgess Owens (R-Utah), the bill requires public schools to obtain parental permission before using names or pronouns that do not align with a student's assigned sex at birth or recognizing a student's gender identity.
Spain has overtaken Malta as the European country with the strongest LGBTQ rights protections, ending the island nation's decade-long run at the top of ILGA Europe's annual rankings.
Each year, ILGA Europe publishes its "Rainbow Map" and LGBTQ rights index, ranking 49 European countries based on their laws and policies affecting LGBTQ people. Countries receive scores from zero to 100 percent and are assigned colors along the rainbow spectrum on ILGA's interactive map.
The rankings are supported by ILGA's "Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of LGBTI People in Europe and Central Asia," which examines how a country's laws and policies affect the daily lives of LGBTQ people. The findings are verified by more than 250 activists, legal professionals, and policy specialists across the region.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.