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According to the co-chair of the Republican National Committee transgender people are to blame for everything, even Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
In a Tuesday episode of her online show The Right View with Lara Trump, Laura Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee and daughter-in-law of former President Donald Trump, falsely linked President Joe Biden’s acknowledgment of transgender rights to a series of unrelated global and domestic challenges.
Trump criticized the Biden administration for acknowledging Transgender Day of Visibility on the same day as Easter Sunday, suggesting it could have been rescheduled, and provocatively suggested that April Fool’s Day would have been a more suitable alternative.
“Trans visibility day, whatever the hell that means, March 31st is the day that someone designated, I believe, in 2009 for this day. It happened to coincide with Easter this year, and no one over there had the idea that, I don’t know, maybe the holiest day on the Christian calendar, perhaps we could just move Trans Visibility Day? April Fool’s Day would be a good day for that, in my opinion,” Trump said.
Trump then attributed a cascade of global crises to Biden’s support for transgender people, including high gas prices, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and the Israel-Hamas conflict. She suggested that these were indirect results of the president’s executive order in January 2021, which addressed environmental concerns. “Look at his first executive order as president of the United States shutting down the Keystone XL Pipeline... It allowed Vladimir Putin to get a stranglehold on that entire sector on oil in Europe and gave him the ability to invade Ukraine and the funding to invade Ukraine,” she argued. “It enriched Iran, which allowed Iran to, of course, aid Hamas in the horrific attack on Israel.
All of these things boiled down to Joe Biden catering to a very, very small minority of people and to keep Trans Visibility Day on the day of Easter. Really stupid. And they’re getting really hit for it, and it’s very appropriate that they are getting hit for that. I think it was really dumb.”
Her comments drew sharp rebukes from advocacy groups and leaders within the LGBTQ+ community, who condemned the misinformation and harmful rhetoric. Geoff Wetrosky, Human Rights Campaign vice president of national campaigns, lambasted the remarks in a statement to The Advocate.
“It is shameful, but not surprising, that Lara Trump is using her position of power within the Republican Party to spread outlandish disinformation and hatred for the sole purpose of rallying up the far fringes of the MAGA base,” Wetrosky said. “It is dangerous and only perpetuates more stigma, discrimination, and violence that LGBTQ+ people increasingly face because of this kind of rhetoric.”
Similarly, Sarah Kate Ellis, president & CEO of GLAAD, pointed out the disconnection between the Republican leadership’s messaging and the values of the American people, including those who support Donald Trump.
“Anti-transgender campaign rhetoric is a loser with voters across the board, including Trump supporters,” Ellis said, pointing to a January GLAAD poll that shed light on the political landscape surrounding transgender rights and anti-trans campaigning. The survey revealed a strong opposition among voters, including those from various demographics such as LGBTQ, registered, Donald Trump supporters, and swing voters, against candidates focusing on anti-trans policies.
“RNC leadership is once again woefully out of step with the values and priorities of all Americans, a supermajority of whom support equality for LGBTQ people,” Ellis added. “What’s clear in this ongoing absurdity is that extremists have zero ideas or vision about actual problems Americans care about, including protecting private health care decisions, the freedom to read, and the freedom to be ourselves. The continued, pathetic smear attacks on trans people are shameful, not effective, and bring harm. Americans on both sides of the aisle desire and deserve better from our leaders.”
Adding to the chorus of disapproval, Aida Ross, a spokesperson for the Democratic National Committee, issued a strong rebuke: “It’s disgusting that Lara Trump would make such hateful comments about the transgender community, pandering to the same right-wing extremists who are pushing dangerous legislation to attack the rights of transgender Americans across the country. Donald Trump is clearly building the RNC in his image: hateful, dangerous, and full of bullies.”
Republicans have been trying to stoke outrage for days with breathless coverage surrounding the coincidental happening of TDOV and Easter. Misleading claims proliferated, accusing the Biden administration of attempting to overshadow the Christian celebration of Easter by recognizing TDOV on the same day, despite the date for TDOV being fixed annually on March 31 since its inception in 2009, irrespective of other events. This situation was further exacerbated by baseless allegations that the administration had banned religious-themed Easter eggs from the White House Easter egg roll, a claim that the American Egg Board debunked. The Board clarified that the nondiscrimination policy concerning the art contest’s themes had been consistently applied for decades across various administrations.
