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The Trump campaign has painted the vice president as an extremist on trans issues.
In a Tuesday interview with NBC News’s Hallie Jackson, Vice President Kamala Harris stood firm in supporting LGBTQ+ rights but faced pressure to clarify her position regarding access to gender-affirming care. Harris reiterated her belief in equality and respect for all people while countering a deluge of anti-transgender attack ads from former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.
LIVE: Election Day 2024 coverage of LGBTQ+ issues
Harris, when asked by Jackson about whether transgender Americans should have access to gender-affirming care, responded, “That is a decision that doctors will make in terms of what is medically necessary.” Every major medical association, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association, has stated that gender-affirming care is medically indicated and necessary care. Harris criticized Trump’s campaign for focusing heavily on attacking transgender rights in attack ads, calling it a diversion from substantial issues. “Trump is running tens of millions of dollars in ads to talk about two cases to distract from the fact that his policy and plan is also to take away the Affordable Care Act,” Harris said.
Trump’s campaign ads push misinformation about gender-affirming care and portray Harris as extreme on the issue. These ads, which have aired widely in battleground states, focus on transgender athletes, gender-neutral bathrooms, and health care access for incarcerated trans individuals – something the Trump administration provided under law to people in government custody.
When Jackson pressed Harris on the contrast between her message in May — when she told trans Americans, “We see you, and we love you” — and her current remarks, Harris reiterated, “I believe that all people should be treated with dignity and respect, period, and should not be vilified for who they are.”
Harris’s stance on transgender rights is also being tested in the legal arena as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a landmark case, U.S. v. Skrmetti, on December 4, which will mark the court’s first case on gender-affirming care. The case challenges Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1, a law that bans hormone therapy and puberty blockers for trans minors, even though the state allows the same medications for cisgender youth in other medical contexts. The law was signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee in 2023 and is part of a broader wave of anti-trans legislation sweeping Republican-led states.
Leading up to the election, Republicans have spent more than $65 million on ads attacking transgender rights as part of a broader effort to galvanize conservative voters by framing Democrats as out of touch with traditional values.
However, polling data suggests this strategy may not be as effective as Trump’s campaign hopes. A March GLAAD voter poll found that a majority of voters — 53 percent — oppose candidates who focus on restricting health care and participation in sports for transgender youth. Additionally, 81 percent of voters believe parents, not politicians, should make health care decisions for transgender youth.
Watch Hallie Jackson’s full Kamala Harris interview below.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
