Reality Check: Vice President Harris & Former President Trump Take Debate Stage as Polar Opposites on Equality

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Tonight, Vice President Kamala Harris and twice-impeached, convicted felon Donald Trump will meet on the debate stage for the first time. The clash will feature two candidates on opposite sides of the fight for full equality. Since being elected in 2020, Vice President Harris has helped lead the most pro-equality administration in history. Meanwhile, the first Trump Administration was the most anti-LGBTQ+ ever.

"This country deserves leaders who value all Americans, who will fight for our freedom to live authentically, and who are committed to building a brighter future for our country," said Kelley Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign. "Only one candidate taking the stage tonight is that kind of leader: Vice President Kamala Harris. Throughout her entire career, she has been a champion for equality, defending and advancing the freedom to live, love, and be. Donald Trump has made clear that he is hellbent on burning democracy to the ground and installing a Project 2025 agenda that would terrorize our families and trample our freedoms. The American people know the kind of future they want - one where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. It's the Harris-Walz ticket that will deliver on that vision.

Harris vs. Trump: A Clear Contrast on Equality

Kamala Harris has been a champion for LGBTQ+ people her entire career.

• She established a hate crimes unit to investigate and prosecute anti-LGBTQ+ violence and helped end the so-called gay and transgender panic defense in California

• In 2010, VP Harris won her bid for California Attorney General, campaigning on a refusal to defend the infamous Proposition 8, a ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage in the state. She made good on that campaign promise, declining to defend the ban during her tenure as AG and officiating some of the first same-sex marriages in the nation.

• As U.S. Senator, Vice President Harris cosponsored the Equality Act, defended access to healthcare under the Affordable Care Act and frequently spoke out against violence against trans women of color.

• And as Vice President, Harris has helped lead the most pro-equality administration in history.

  • In 2022, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law, a landmark piece of legislation that guaranteed federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages.

  • They have issued new administrative rules protecting LGBTQ+ youth from discrimination and harassment in schools, ensuring LGBTQ+ youth are protected in the foster care system and protecting LGBTQ+ patients from discrimination in health care.

  • They have also filled the administration with members of the LGBTQ+ community, appointing a record 200+ LGBTQ+ people across each level of government and nominating a record number of LGBTQ+ judges.

Donald Trump, meanwhile, has long taken aim at our freedoms. He led the most anti-LGBTQ+ administration in American history - and has promised to go even further if we give him the chance.

• As President, he banned transgender people from making the brave sacrifice of serving in our nation's military, and

• Argued that businesses should be allowed to hang "we don't serve your kind here" signs up proclaiming their refusal to serve LGBTQ+ customers.

• Trump has threatened to strip families of transgender youth of their right to seek medically necessary care for their children.

• And in his Project 2025 plan, authored by his MAGA allies, they've made clear that they're coming after marriage equality, a national abortion ban, and will take aim at contraception.

Voters Reject Anti-LGBTQ+, Anti-Freedom Attacks

In the 2023 election cycle, anti-LGBTQ+ candidates and rhetoric failed across the country.

• In Kentucky, pro-equality Governor Andy Beshear was re-elected despite his opponent spending millions of dollars in anti-trans ads against him. Governor Beshear has boldly vetoed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and stood with transgender youth in Kentucky.

• In Virginia, after the Human Rights Campaign invested heavily in warning Virginians of the threat posed to equality by MAGA candidates for the state legislature, voters delivered pro-equality majorities in both the House of Delegates and the State Senate.

• In Ohio, voters passed a ballot measure to enshrine abortion protections into the state's constitution, rejecting the MAGA quest to demonize transgender youth and strip away fundamental freedoms.

A Super Majority of Americans Support Equality

New data from Navigator Research shows strong majority support for LGBTQ+ equality, and deep concern over MAGA attacks on fundamental freedoms.

• Nearly two-in-three Americans support federal nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people, including 58% of independents and 42% of Republicans.

• 61% say they will not support candidates who want to ban health care for transgender people, including 59% of independents and 41% of Republicans.

• 70% say they are concerned that politicians are attacking gay and transgender youth to divide us, maintain their political power and control, and score political points, a clear indication that the American people see through the MAGA anti-LGBTQ+ agenda.

• A majority of Americans agree that parents, mental health professionals, and doctors are best equipped to decide the kind of care a child needs, not politicians.

The vast majority of Americans - 7 in 10 - think that politicians are not informed enough about abortion and gender-affirming care to create fair policies

According to September 2023 polling by The 19th and SurveyMonkey, Americans would prefer that politicians either protect transgender people or not focus on transgender issues at all. Only 17% of Americans, and only 29% of Republicans, say politicians should focus on restricting gender-affirming care.

Americans Believe the Amount of Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation Is Excessive, Agreeing It Is "Political Theater"

Likely voters across all political parties look at GOP efforts to flood state legislatures with anti-LGBTQ+ legislation as political theater. Polling indicates that 64% of all likely voters, including 72% of Democrats, 65% of Independents, and 55% of Republicans think that there is "too much legislation" aimed at "limiting the rights of transgender and gay people in America" (Data For Progress survey of 1,220 likely voters, 3/24-26, 2023). This quote from Cuban-American former Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen sums it up: "Intolerance is not a good look on anyone. I remain optimistic that voters will see through this charade and will encourage their elected officials to solve the real problems of America instead of masquerading as Moral Police Officers."

Majorities Disapprove of Banning LGBTQ+ Content in Schools - and Seem Prepared to Punish Candidates Who Do So

When asked if middle school libraries should include materials related to "gender identity" (57% "should") and "sexual orientation" (56%), the majority of Americans believe this content should be available. In fact, by a margin of 32 percentage points, Americans are more worried that "materials that could be valuable to students will be removed from school libraries" (62%), than worry that "materials that could be harmful to students will remain in school libraries" (30%). Yet again, Democrats and Independents are in a different place than their GOP counterparts suggesting headaches for Republicans in the 2024 elections. (Grinnell College National Poll, 3/14-19, 2023)

Indeed, it looks like this issue could be a disqualifier for elected officials who support curriculum censorship and book bans, based on recent polling (Ipsos, 4/24-25, 2023 among 1,005 adults nationwide, the vast majority of whom are registered to vote). More than six in 10 Americans say they would be less likely to back a candidate who "supports policies that ban books in schools and in school libraries on subject matter that deals with sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity" (38% more likely, 62% less likely).

Democrats: Trusted Defenders of Equality, Youth Wellbeing

The 2024 Navigator Research poll showed that President Biden and the Democratic Party are more trusted than Republicans to safeguard LGBTQ+ equality and protect America's youth.

• 60% of those polled say they trust Democrats to protect the LGBTQ+ community, compared to just 19% who say they trust the GOP.

• 54% say they trust Democrats to protect the rights and freedoms of the community, compared to just 22% who say they trust the GOP.

• 46% say they trust Democrats to care for children's wellbeing, compared to just 37% who say they trust the GOP.

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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