Trump hasn't done anything for GOP to campaign on. Here come the anti-trans ads.

USA Today

a day ago

With Republicans so focused on transphobia, it's a mistake for Democrats to stay quiet or turn their backs on trans people entirely, as California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Pete Buttigieg have done.
Once again, Republicans are attacking trans people to make up for the fact that they haven't actually accomplished anything during the first few months of President Donald Trump's second term.
After former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced that he would be running for U.S. Senate, the conservative Senate Leadership Fund released an ad attacking his previous support of trans people, including his vetoes on legislation that served to keep transgender women and girls out of women's sports.
'Roy Cooper sides with they/them,' the ad reads.
Besides the fact that there is absolutely nothing wrong with supporting trans people, the ad is clearly a ploy to distract from the very real damage Republicans are doing to this country.
They have no wins to campaign off. They have cut Medicaid, increased the cost of living and failed to quell foreign tensions. Life has not improved under Republican leadership, and the party knows this. It's why the GOP would rather attack vulnerable people like those in the trans community instead of running on positive things the party has done.
Trump presidency is a joke, so Republicans resort to scare tactics
Cooper isn't the only Democratic candidate being attacked for treating trans people as human beings.
In an ad for Republican Rep. Buddy Carter's senatorial campaign in Georgia, a man with stubble in a wig and a dress complains about Carter's anti-trans policies before driving off in a car with a bumper sticker for Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia.
Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger has been targeted by Republican opponent Winsome Earle-Sears for supporting trans women in sports.
If it sounds familiar, that's because it is. In 2024, millions of dollars were spent on ads going after Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris' record on trans rights, announcing that she was for 'they/them' as well. The advertisement is just as corny now as it was then. But it worked because Republicans seemed to be deathly afraid of pronouns.
Opinion: What if I told you there's a Democrat who can still get the Republican vote?
These ads, however, have come with very real repercussions. Trans people have been erased from the federal government; they have had their legacy removed from the Stonewall National Monument and their right to accurate markers on their passports taken away. They have been attacked for playing sports according to their gender and have had their health care threatened.
In fact, I'd argue that one of the only things Trump has accomplished during his presidency is the vilification of trans people, which is leading to declining support for the community among the U.S. population. Again, it's not as if he's made groceries or health care more affordable. Casting trans people as the enemy remains the only thing Republicans can point to for any proof of success, despite being in charge of the entire federal government.
While the Trump administration has successfully targeted trans people, they're failing at everything else. Nearly 10 million Americans are about to lose health insurance over the next decade thanks to the appropriations bill. More hospitals in rural areas are expected to close. Tariffs are expected to cost families $2,400 this year, according to the Yale Budget Lab. Unemployment is on the rise.
Basically, nothing is going as planned, and MAGA politicians realize that targeting trans people is an easy way to rile up their base.
Opinion: I'm raising a transgender son. My child is not a threat.
Democrats like Newsom, Buttigieg have wrong approach on trans issues
There are always going to be trans people in the South, from metropolitan areas to rural communities. The same goes for the rest of the country. These ads only serve to make the lives of these trans people more difficult. Perhaps that's the point: Republicans would rather see an entire marginalized group suffer than simply leave them alone.
Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store.
It's a mistake for Democrats to stay quiet on trans issues, or turn their backs on trans people, as presidential hopefuls California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Pete Buttigieg have done. Even though the battle for trans rights is not widely understood, the morally right thing to do would be to support trans people in their efforts to live as their authentic selves.
At the very least, Democrats should point out that Republicans are using this as a distraction from the fact that they are actively hurting their constituents by cutting Medicaid and shutting down government services.
Trans people are not the ones taking your benefits away or shutting down rural hospitals. They aren't responsible for the tariffs that are raising the cost of goods. That's all Republican lawmakers.
Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno
You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page, on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter.