The Trump campaign reportedly spent nearly 20% of its ad budget—more than $37 million—on TV spots invoking issues involving trans people. That concerted outlay, plus the GOP’s campaign against trans people—from bills about sports to bathroom access to healthcare—has all the hallmarks of targeting a small population on which to blame, or litigate, contentious issues in society. Such efforts against diverse and marginalized communities have effectively mobilized Democrats for decades. And yet, this time, some in the party—first paralyzed in the face of Republican attacks, and now reeling from its defeat at the polls—have decided by default to throw the trans community under the bus. This is hardly the only option. Instead, Democrats can, and should, acknowledge that America is living through a time of enormous change—culturally and politically, medically and technologically, socially and sexually—without compromising their support for human rights and tip-toeing toward aiding Trump in his creation of an internal enemy.
In the wake of the election, I called several Russian friends and acquaintances, all involved in various ways in opposing Putin’s return to full power in 2012. I wanted to know what we could learn from them. I didn’t expect to find the conversations so hopeful. Across the board, these people evinced a faith in US institutions stronger than I’ve heard in years from those residing in this country. They understand the power of an independent judiciary, of a legislature elected by American citizens, of the idea of checks and balances—so absent in their own nation, despite its leaders’ hollow insistence that they follow “the rule of law.”
This week, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Skrmetti, a challenge to Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for trans minors. “This case has implications far beyond the courtroom,” wrote Chase Strangio of the ACLU, who became the first openly trans lawyer to argue before the Supreme Court when he made his case.
The lawsuit was brought by three Tennessee adolescents, along with their parents, as well as civil rights groups, including the ACLU. It is being backed by the Biden administration, which is key.
After oral arguments on Wednesday, however, it appears the court will likely uphold state bans on gender-affirming care. Republicans have made their intentions clear in targeting trans rights—not least by bending to Representative Nancy Mace, who wasted no time in introducing a bathroom measure in Congress upon the arrival of newly elected Sarah McBride, the first openly trans member of the body. Democrats brushed that stunt off as a distraction, following the lead of McBride herself.
But there is much more at play here. In the wake of Trump’s shocking win in 2016, most resistance energy flowed to the Democratic Party. This time, the space for dissent feels much more fluid. Democrats are now deciding who they want to be. And allowing the issue of trans rights to tear them apart, as Republicans hope it will, would be a grave mistake.
When Putin launched his anti-LGBTQ+ crusade, his opponents didn’t try to figure out if he had a point. They stood up to him, in the ways they could. Many took the brave step of coming out into a society that did not fully understand them. Allies, like the legendary journalist Yevgenia Albats, began covering the issue prominently and sympathetically. “This notion that you have to defend your most vulnerable—that’s extremely important, you have to do it,” she told me when we spoke last month.
Republicans are feeling empowered by Trump’s victory. The fact that many Democrats are flirting with some of his basest ideas undermines the very warnings they have spent years telegraphing to the country about his authoritarian nature. Authoritarianism cannot thrive without the creation of internal enemies, be they trans people or migrants. Trump’s minions will go after all of them; Democrats should not help the cause.
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