Elon Musk has waded into the Virginia governor’s race to attack Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger, accusing her of “trying to weasel out” of a question about transgender students accessing bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identity. Musk shared a post on X highlighting Spanberger’s response to WJLA reporter Nick Minock, who asked whether she supports “biological males who say they’re women using women’s locker rooms and bathrooms and competing in women’s sports.”
Spanberger stumbled in her response, noting that any attempt by a future Virginia governor or the Trump administration to impose a bathroom ban could run afoul of a 2020 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision allowing transgender students in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to use bathrooms matching their gender identity.
The former congresswoman also pointed to the tension between the binding court decision — which the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to overturn — and the Trump-led Department of Education, which has pressed schools, including five districts in Northern Virginia, to restrict restroom and locker room access based on a student’s biological sex.
“The circumstances [as] this legal case plays out is really one of — we’ve had four cases settled or judged here in Virginia, in the 4th district, the former Gavin Grimm case related to bathroom usage. And in fact, the argument is, the assessment is [that] there needs to be much clearer guidance in terms of what is an executive order’s binding assessment of Title IX, versus what has been a decision of a court,” Spanberger said.
She then pivoted, saying, “But ultimately, the real impact here is, once again, it is the Trump administration taking dollars away from Virginia, threatening education dollars to our public schools is an attack on Virginia’s kids. It’s an attack on our economy. It’s an attack on Virginians.
“As a candidate for governor, the…important priority for me is to ensure that we have the best public schools in the entire country. And the reality is, when we have a president who is coming after Virginia, our education system, whether it’s K through 12, whether it is our public universities, that is harmful to Virginia, our ability to educate our kids, and ultimately our economy.”
“Spanberger obviously does shamefully support boys in girl’s sports and is trying to weasel out of the question by blaming the President,” Musk wrote on X.
The billionaire has a history of intervening in campaigns, often weighing in on X, which he owns and where he routinely attacks “the left.” He has sometimes financially invested in Republican candidates — most notably Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election and Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel, who lost earlier this year. Democrats have sought to exploit Musk’s low approval ratings by portraying Republicans as financed by wealthy elites with ulterior motives.
A Spanberger spokesperson rebuffed Musk’s claims in a statement to Fox News, noting that the former congresswoman is a mother of three daughters in Virginia public schools and a former federal law enforcement officer who investigated child predators.
“Nothing is more important to her than the safety of all of Virginia’s kids,” the spokesperson said. “Ultimately, Abigail believes that these are decisions between parents and local schools — and she believes that politicians need to stop politicizing Virginia’s public schools.”
Meanwhile, WJLA reporter Nick Minock has repeatedly pressed Spanberger on whether she personally supports allowing transgender students to use gender-affirming bathrooms and locker rooms. She has largely avoided answering.
In covering his exchanges with Spanberger, Minock noted that she had previously criticized Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin for introducing “model policies” to block transgender students from bathrooms and locker rooms that don’t match their biological sex — a move that sparked student protests and walkouts.
At the time, Spanberger accused Youngkin of “target[ing] vulnerable children” to “score political points.” Several Democratic-leaning school districts refused to adopt the policies, just as conservative districts had previously rejected trans-friendly policies advanced under former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam.
Minock’s employer, WJLA, is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, which has been criticized for pushing politically biased stories and right-leaning talking points.
Spanberger did respond to a similar question from Alexia Stanbridge of Lynchburg’s ABC affiliate WSET, also owned by Sinclair. Stanbridge asked her to respond to a commercial from Republican rival Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears accusing her of voting to “allow men in girls’ sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms.”
Responding, Spanberger said Virginia until recently had a process “where, on an individual, one-by-one basis, schools, principals, parents, coaches were making decisions based on fairness, competitiveness and safety, where a child might be able or might not be able to play in a particular sport.” She indicated she would prefer returning to that system, with decisions based on the unique circumstances of individual students.
Stanbridge followed up, asking if she would support a bill categorically allowing all transgender women into female bathrooms and sports. Spanberger answered that she would back a bill “that would put clear provisions in place that provide a lot of local ability for input, based on the age of children, based on the type of sport, based on competitiveness.” She reiterated that the previous process for determining eligibility seemed to be working and that localities should return to it.
The former Kentucky clerk -- and anti-LGBTQ culture warrior -- who went to jail rather than issue licenses to same-sex couples is now targeting the landmark 2015 ruling.
A decade after catapulting to right-wing stardom, Kim Davis -- the former Rowan County, Kentucky county clerk who chose jail over issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples -- has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its landmark 2015 decision that legalized marriage equality nationwide.
Represented by the anti-LGBTQ Liberty Counsel, Davis has formally asked the nation’s highest court to strip away the right of same-sex couples to marry.
A Mike Huckabee acolyte and four-time married fundamentalist zealot, Davis rose to fame in 2015 when she refused to issue marriage licenses to any couple -- gay or straight -- after the Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges decision struck down all state-level bans on same-sex marriage, including Kentucky’s. Ordered to comply, she instead spent six days in jail for contempt of court.
A federal judge has ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to immediately release Rickardo Anthony Kelly, a gay Jamaican asylum seeker who says he fears being killed if deported. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres, of the Southern District of New York, ruled that ICE violated Kelly’s due process rights by detaining him on August 4 while he awaited a routine asylum appointment in New York City.
In an eight-page ruling issued on August 15, Torres cited legal precedent in affirming that the Fifth Amendment entitles noncitizens to due process of law, “whether their presence here is lawful, unlawful, temporary, or permanent.” She added that noncitizens are also entitled to challenge the legality of their detention through habeas corpus.
Cracker Barrel has removed the "Pride" section of its website, which once highlighted the chain's sponsorship of the Nashville Pride Parade. Visitors are now redirected to a "Culture and Belonging" page.
The company insists the change was part of routine site updates, not a reaction to backlash from right-wing conservatives.
"In connection with the Company's brand work, we have recently made updates to the Cracker Barrel website, including adding new content and removing out-of-date content," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
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.