Trump makes anti-trans attacks central to his campaign’s closing argument

ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump has made his guidance to transgender authorities cardinal to his closing statement earlier Election Day, utilizing demeaning connection and misrepresentations to overgarment an exceedingly constrictive portion of nan U.S. organization arsenic a threat to nationalist identity.

The former president and Republican nominee’s run and aligned governmental action committees person spent tens of millions of dollars connected advertizing that attacks Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris for her erstwhile statements supporting transgender rights.

His rally speeches now characteristic a spoof video mocking trans group and their spot successful nan U.S. military. The montage, interspersed pinch clips of nan Vietnam War movie “Full Metal Jacket,” typically draws large boos astatine his rallies, arsenic do Trump’s false claims astir female athletes and his mocking impression of what he says is simply a trans female lifting weights.

“We will get ... transgender insanity nan hellhole retired of our schools, and we will support men retired of women’s sports,” Trump said astatine his caller Madison Square Garden rally, drafting an approving roar from nan crowd of 20,000-plus.

While often overshadowed by Trump’s accent connected migrants, his broadsides against LGBTQ group person seemed to turn much predominant and ominous successful nan campaign’s last days, intended some to operation his halfway supporters and coax votes from much mean voters who whitethorn not mesh pinch Trump connected different matters. It’s portion of an wide run successful which Trump has pushed his ain marque of hyper-masculinity, astir precocious referring respective times to CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, who is gay, by a woman’s name, “Allison Cooper.”

Harris has mostly ignored Trump’s attacks but has pushed backmost connected his characterization of her stances, noting that national argumentation giving U.S. subject unit entree to gender-affirming aesculapian attraction and transgender room was successful spot during Trump’s presidency.

“I will travel nan law,” Harris said successful a Fox News question and reply connected Oct. 17. “And it’s a rule that Donald Trump really followed. You’re astir apt acquainted pinch now. It’s a nationalist study that nether Donald Trump’s administration, these surgeries were disposable connected a aesculapian necessity basis, to group successful nan national situation system.”

On “The Breakfast Club” podcast earlier this week, she added that Trump was “living successful a solid house” pinch his attacks. She compared nan number of group involved: She said 2 U.S. work members person sought transgender surgery, while millions of group could beryllium stripped of their wellness security if Trump and Republicans win successful their efforts to repeal nan Affordable Care Act.

Polling suggests a divided electorate connected transgender rights. About half of Americans, 51%, opportunity changing one’s gender is morally wrong, according to a Gallup canvass from May. About 7 successful 10 Americans opportunity transgender athletes should only beryllium allowed to compete connected sports teams that lucifer their commencement gender, according to a 2023 Gallup poll. Yet astir 6 successful 10 Americans reason laws that prohibition treatments and aesculapian procedures that thief transgender individuals align pinch their gender identity, according to a Gallup canvass from May. About one-third favour specified bans.

Civil authorities advocates, meanwhile, definitive concerns complete what a 2nd Trump management would mean for LGBTQ rights, and opportunity his run messaging already threatens nan information of transgender people, sloppy of who prevails.

Trump has vowed to target transgender group if elected. He has said he would inquire Congress to walk a measure stating location are “only 2 genders” and to prohibition hormonal aliases surgical involution for transgender minors successful each 50 states.

Sarah Kate Ellis, president of nan LGBTQ defense group GLAAD, said Trump’s attack attacks “vulnerable people” who dress up astir 1% of nan organization “and already are marginalized” by overmuch of society.

“Why are we debating trans people’s aesculapian care? Because there’s a deficiency of understanding, and there’s a deficiency of humanizing astir who trans group are,” Ellis said. “It’s not easy to beryllium transgendered, to aftermath up each time successful a assemblage that mightiness not fresh who you are, and alternatively of having empathy, they’re met pinch hostility. That’s nan civilization Trump is creating.”

Writer and activistic Charlotte Clymer added connected nan societal media level X: “It really ... sucks to watch immoderate sports arena arsenic a trans personification correct now because of nan Trump commercials, and I conscionable request everyone to cognize that: yes, we do spot nan ads, and it’s demoralizing to cognize this full subset of group sees america arsenic subhuman.”

Indeed, Trump’s run has since Sept. 1 spent astir $35 cardinal airing 3 ads based connected statements Harris made successful 2019 arsenic a campaigner for Democrats’ 2020 statesmanlike nomination. Clips show Harris affirming her support for national policies that let national prisoners entree to aesculapian attraction including gender-affirming hormone treatments and, potentially, transgender surgery.

“It sounds insane because it is insane,” nan announcer states successful an advertisement that, arsenic of Thursday, had aired almost 28,000 times crossed statesmanlike battlegrounds and nationalist television. “Kamala’s schedule is ‘they-them,’ not you,’” nan advertisement concludes, referring to non-gender-specific pronouns.

Harris, successful her 2019 statesmanlike campaign, wrote successful an ACLU questionnaire, “I support policies ensuring that national prisoners and detainees are capable to get medically basal attraction for gender transition, including surgical care, while incarcerated aliases detained.”

She besides worked arsenic California lawyer wide to assistance entree to specified attraction for authorities prisoners. But Harris is correct successful noting that akin national policies were successful spot nether Trump’s presidency, some for migrant detainees and national prisoners.

At Trump’s rallies, he often addresses LGBTQ issues pinch generalizations and affectional appeals. He routinely blasts U.S. subject leaders for being “woke,” blaming Harris and President Joe Biden.

The spoof video that is played connected screens astatine Trump’s rallies alternates betwixt scenes of aggravated subject training, sometimes pinch drill sergeants yelling astatine troops, and scenes depicting what are expected to beryllium LGBTQ members of nan military, each displaying exaggerated feminine affects. The second scenes, nan video states, bespeak nan U.S. subject nether Biden and Harris.

By nan clip Trump takes nan stage, aggregate speakers person primed nan assemblage connected nan issue.

“We’re successful nan mediate of a nationalist personality crisis. Faith successful God, patriotism, difficult work, family -- these things person vanished only to beryllium replaced by ‘wokeism’ and transgenderism” and different philosophies, said erstwhile Republican statesmanlike campaigner Vivek Ramaswamy astatine Madison Square Garden. “These are symptoms of a deeper void of intent and meaning successful our country, and correct now we request to measurement up and capable that void pinch our ain vision.”

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Associated Press writer Linley Sanders successful Washington contributed to this report.