ICYMI: Vice President Harris and Governor Walz Slam Trump for Attempting to Distract and Divide Voters by Peddling Transphobia in Election’s Closing Weeks

WASHINGTON - In back to back days, Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz have taken to the media to defend transgender Americans and hit back against MAGA anti-trans attack ads. The ads, airing in battleground states nationwide, are a desperate attempt to sow division and chaos, and distract from reality: the Trump-Vance ticket has no plan to lift the American people up or solve pressing issues.

Key Excerpts from VP Harris' Wednesday Fox News Interview

• When pressed on gender-affirming care, Vice President Harris was clear: "I will follow the law," she said, referring to the legal right of those in federal custody to receive medically necessary care.

• She then slammed the Trump-Vance campaign for prioritizing anti-trans attacks over having a plan for the American people: "I think [Trump] spent $20 million on those ads trying to create a sense of fear in the voters because he actually has no plan in this election that is about focusing on the needs of the American people. Twenty-million dollars on that ad, on an issue that, as it relates to the biggest issues that affect the American people, it's really quite remote."

Key Excerpts From Governor Walz's Interview on We Can Do Hard Things:

• The governor highlighted the importance of the courts, and the need to appoint pro-equality judges: "We need to appoint judges who uphold the right to marriage, uphold the right to be who you are…uphold the right to get the medical care that you need. We should not be naive. Those appointments are really, really important. I think that's what the vice president is committed to."

• He also slammed the Trump campaign for their anti-trans ad barrage: "If you're watching any sporting events right now, you see that Donald Trump's closing arguments are to demonize a group of people for being who they are. We're out there trying to make the case that access to healthcare, a clean environment, manufacturing jobs, and keeping your local hospital open are what people are really concerned about. They're running millions of dollars of ads demonizing folks who are just trying to live their lives."

The MAGA ad binge joins a history of failed anti-trans attack campaigns in one election cycle after another. A similar anti-trans strategy failed in North Carolina, when former Governor Pat McCrory was ousted in 2016. Anti-trans attacks failed in Kentucky, where pro-equality Governor Andy Beshear was handily re-elected. These attacks failed in Virginia, where voters elected their first openly transgender state Senator in Danica Roem and doubled the number of openly LGBTQ+ members of the legislature. And anti-trans attacks fell flat in Ohio, where opponents to abortion rights failed in their attempt to use transphobia to derail a ballot measure codifying reproductive rights into the state's constitution.

Voters have routinely rejected candidates who peddle transphobia and try to control their personal health care decisions, and polling shows widespread American support for equality, Democrats as defenders of young people, and a rejection of anti-transgender rhetoric. Read the facts about the failing politics of anti-trans attacks here.

The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

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