In a candid and impassioned discussion with The Advocate, U.S. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi underscored the grave challenges facing LGBTQ+ Americans, particularly transgender individuals, under the current political landscape. But her main message was clear: The Democratic Party needs to stand 100 percent behind the queer community, and it needs to win in the upcoming midterms.
Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.
With a mix of historical perspective and a call to urgent mobilization, Pelosi emphasized the cruelty embedded in the policies targeting trans rights and health care access, drawing direct comparisons to past Republican attempts to dismantle social safety nets.
Pelosi spoke from a place of personal understanding, sharing the fears of a member of her family. “Well, you know, I have a grandniece who is trans, and she's scared to death. It's just the saddest thing,” Pelosi lamented. “Over my career, I’ve witnessed the progress the LGBTQ+ community has made in terms of social acceptance, so it’s just alarming and sad that trans rights remain a focal point of the administration’s attack. The trans issue is what they have glommed onto. They want to strip trans individuals and their families of essential services.”
These attacks, Pelosi asserted, are not just ideological battles but assaults on fundamental rights and personal dignity. She recalled the past successes of Democrats in defeating Republican attempts to privatize Social Security under former President George W. Bush and repeal the Affordable Care Act under Donald Trump, using those moments as blueprints for current mobilization efforts.
“When they went after Social Security, that was our campaign, and we won the House in 2006. The next time, they went after health care, and we won 40 seats,” Pelosi recounted. “You have to remember how historic that win in 2006 was since the last time the Democrats had the House was in 1992, but we proved that we had the right message, and we will prove it again in the upcoming midterm elections.”
Drawing from those victories, Pelosi argued that the key to countering the right-wing assault on trans rights lies in mobilization and personal storytelling. “We have to hold people accountable for their votes,” she insisted. “Ahead of us, we have the upcoming budget vote that includes proposed cuts to Medicaid and other social programs. If we can hold them accountable for something like that, for example, we can win.”
For Pelosi, the most compelling tool in this fight is the power of personal narratives. She told the story of a mother she met who was once a staunch Trump supporter but was forced to move to another state to ensure her trans child received adequate health care.
“How could that be?” Pelosi asked, incredulously. “How can people think this way? It seems so brutal. And I think to win, because remember, it’s all about winning, trans rights should be framed as a health care issue, emphasizing that care is really the issue of most importance. Can families provide their young people with the health care they need to address their personal concerns about transitioning?”
The fight for trans rights, according to Pelosi, is inseparable from the broader struggle to protect essential social programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. “Here’s the promising part,” she explained. “Ninety percent of Democrats support these programs. Eighty percent of independents support them. Even 70 percent of Republicans do. This is not just a Democratic issue.”
She urged trans people and their families to make their voices heard, stressing that “nothing is more eloquent to a member of Congress than the voice of his or her own constituents.”
Pelosi also touched on the Republican strategy of weaponizing trans issues, particularly in sports, to stoke division. “They are making a problem where one doesn’t exist,” she said, referencing the right-wing media’s fixation on trans athletes despite their small numbers. “It’s a distraction, a way to scare people.”
She recounted a recent encounter where someone told her that Democrats would lose suburban women over trans sports. Pelosi pushed back, arguing that Democrats should not get caught in bad-faith debates but instead focus on the fundamental issues of health care and dignity.
Pelosi is urging unity, mobilization, and electoral strategy. “We just have to win. I know I keep saying that, but that’s the bottom line,” she declared. “And then we can come back to who we are as a country. And we can do that without sidelining trans issues for political expediency. Democrats must stand unequivocally with the trans community. The message has to be: We are with you. You are not alone.”
Pelosi pointed to the effectiveness of parents advocating for their trans children, describing their testimonies as “so beautiful and so eloquent.” She encouraged more families to speak out, particularly to Republican representatives. “They need to know that there’s a vote against them if they go down this path.”
As the election cycle looms, Pelosi remains laser-focused on a plan.
“[Democratic House] Leader [Hakeem] Jefferies has a strategy. In midterms before, we made a decision to win, and we’re making a decision to win now,” she said. “We will have message discipline, and targeted campaigns will be key to reclaiming power and halting the current administration’s attacks. Winning is the way we protect our values and our families. We just have to win.”
For Pelosi, the stakes could not be higher. The fight for trans rights is not just about one community. It is a reflection of the country’s moral standing.
“Who are we as a country that we would be so cruel to our children?” she asked. “It’s a question voters must answer at the ballot box.”
