There's obviously a lot of soul searching going on within the Democratic Party right now, and that's a good thing. But I worry that in this process of soul-searching, some Democrats may come to the wrong fundamental conclusion. And there are many issues that fit into that bucket.
But one thing that really stuck with me was transgender rights. Republicans have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on anti-trans ads this election cycle, including one featuring Vice President Harris speaking about government funding for gender reaffirming care for prisoners and detainees. . If that sounds like a particularly vague issue, that's because it applies to a small number of people, and by the way, it's a policy that was put in place during the first Trump administration.
Another line repeated over and over again in these ads and in right-wing media is the idea that America is on the verge of having men play women's sports. Now, these ads have created the perception that the issue of transgender kids playing sports is dominating schools across the country, which is completely false. Some people got caught up in that debate.
So right after the election, Congressman Seth Moulton told the New York Times that Democrats are more concerned about not offending anyone than being brutally honest about the challenges facing many Americans. He said he was spending too much time on it. I have two little girls and I don't want them to get run over by men or former male athletes on the field. But as a Democrat, I should be afraid to say that.
And last weekend, Congressman Moulton appeared on the network to discuss these comments.
(start of video clip)
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA): I just had an honest conversation as a father about one of the many issues that I think are out of touch with the majority of voters. And I stand my ground. I may not have understood every word exactly, but the point is that the backlash I've received proves my point that as a party we can't even have these discussions.
(end video clip)
PSAKI: Well, it's good to reflect, but if it's actually an issue in thousands of schools across the country, it's worth discussing. However, there are incredibly few instances of transgender girls playing in youth sports. And looking at these examples, there is no evidence that these children are a threat to safety or equity. When I say examples are few, I mean that when you count examples of transgender girls participating in youth sports in a single state, the number often rounds to zero.
Take Utah, for example. When a ban on transgender athletes was passed there in 2022, there was a total of one transgender girl playing in youth sports. When South Dakota passed its ban, only one transgender girl had competed in high school sports since 2013. In fact, as these bans were making their way through Republican state legislatures in 2021, legislators in more than 20 states said that since 2013, no transgender girl who had competed in high school sports could speak out. Ta. Your state or region where having transgender athletes competing is an issue.
Nevertheless, the noise about this issue continues. And according to Donald Trump, that's intentional.
(start of video clip)
Donald Trump, President-Elect of the United States: It's amazing how strongly people feel about it. You see I'm talking about tax cuts, that's how people talk about transgender people. Everyone goes crazy. Who would have thought? Five years ago, you didn't know what the hell that was.
(end video clip)
PSAKI: Look, Donald Trump and the Republican Party have managed to amplify their malicious attacks to the point where people have misplaced and misinformed concerns.
So now is a good time for Democrats to reflect on what went wrong and how they can do better going forward. Of course, it absolutely is.
But in the process, it is important not to succumb to manufactured panic and to be consistent with the actual facts before making sweeping claims. Echoing and accepting panic from the other side is not leading, without meeting people where they are, and simply falling prey to right-wing propaganda without checking the facts first.
