As Donald Trump ramps up his 2024 presidential campaign, his team has increasingly focused on transgender rights as a central issue in his political messaging. The former president, who has been a vocal critic of what he calls “gender ideology,” has directed significant resources towards airing anti-transgender ads, particularly targeting Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party’s stance on transgender issues.
The Focus of the Ads
In recent weeks, the Trump campaign has spent over $15.5 million on television ads that spotlight Harris’s 2019 comments in support of gender-affirming healthcare, including surgeries for transgender inmates. These ads, which aired during popular events such as football games, draw attention to Harris’s stance, emphasizing her support for gender-affirming surgeries for prisoners and undocumented migrants in detention facilities.
In one such ad, a narrator claims that “Kamala Harris supports taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners,” a statement designed to evoke strong emotional reactions from viewers. According to the Trump campaign, the use of Harris’s own words in the ad creates an effective message that resonates with voters. “It doesn’t require any hyperbole,” said Chris LaCivita, one of Trump’s campaign managers, when discussing the strategy.
Broader Republican Strategy
The Trump campaign’s focus on transgender issues is part of a broader Republican strategy to emphasize culture war topics in the 2024 election cycle. GOP candidates, including Trump, have framed transgender rights, especially issues related to transgender athletes and access to healthcare, as key concerns that differentiate their platform from that of the Democratic Party.
One of the recurring themes in Republican messaging is the participation of transgender women in women’s sports. This issue has proven to be particularly effective with suburban voters, particularly mothers who express concern over fairness in competitive sports. “One of the things you see in the focus groups is the moms get really visibly angry on this issue,” said Jim McLaughlin, a Republican pollster who works with the Trump campaign. “It’s a fairness issue. They don’t want their daughters to lose a scholarship, and they don’t want them to get hurt.”
Republican ads often portray the inclusion of transgender athletes as a direct threat to women’s sports, tapping into fears about safety and fairness. These ads aim to resonate with college-educated suburban women, a voter demographic that Republicans have struggled to win over in recent election cycles.
Trump’s Broader Anti-Trans Agenda
Trump’s anti-transgender rhetoric goes beyond sports and healthcare. In a video posted online, the former president labeled the promotion of transgender rights as “left-wing gender insanity” and equated gender-affirming care with child abuse. “The left-wing gender insanity being pushed on our children is an act of child abuse,” Trump said, adding that he would “stop the chemical, physical, and emotional mutilation” of minors.
Trump has also pledged to enact a series of restrictive policies targeting transgender individuals if re-elected. Among his proposals is the creation of a “private right of action” that would allow individuals to sue doctors who provide gender-affirming care to minors. Additionally, Trump has vowed to investigate pharmaceutical companies and hospitals for what he claims is a deliberate cover-up of the side effects associated with gender-affirming treatments.
He further proposed legislation that would legally define “male” and “female” based on biological sex assigned at birth, which would effectively eliminate legal recognition of transgender and nonbinary individuals. “No serious country should be telling its children that they were born with the wrong gender,” Trump said in a recent speech. He dismissed the concept of gender identity as a recent invention of the “radical left” and emphasized a return to traditional gender roles and the nuclear family.
Response from LGBTQ+ Advocacy Groups
LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have condemned Trump’s anti-transgender campaign, accusing him of using the transgender community as a political tool to rally his base. Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, described the Republican Party’s attacks on transgender individuals as part of a broader effort to distract from more pressing national issues like the economy and public safety. “It shows that Republicans are desperate right now,” Robinson said. “Instead of articulating how they’re going to make the economy better or our schools safer, they’re focused on sowing fear and chaos.”
Despite these criticisms, Republican strategists believe that their focus on transgender issues is resonating with a key segment of voters, particularly those who are concerned about changes in cultural norms. The ads have been particularly effective in Senate races across battleground states such as Montana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, where Republicans are targeting moderate voters who may feel alienated by progressive policies on gender identity.
The Impact on the 2024 Election
As the 2024 presidential race intensifies, transgender rights are likely to remain a hot-button issue. Trump’s campaign is betting that its focus on transgender athletes, healthcare for minors, and related cultural issues will help galvanize conservative voters and win back suburban constituencies. However, the long-term impact of this strategy remains uncertain, particularly as public opinion on LGBTQ+ rights continues to evolve.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock/Evan El-Amin.
This post first appeared on Pulse of Pride.
