Transgender lawmaker says Democratic Party doesn't know how to respond to anti-trans attacks
"I do think it was a problem that our party didn't explicitly respond to the anti-trans attacks. We can't ignore these issues. We can't just not respond and leave the narrative entirely to the Republicans," McBride said when pressed by ex-DNC chair Jaime Harrison on his podcast.
Discussing how Democrats should respond to Republicans on trans issues, the lawmaker specifically noted President Donald Trump's ad during the 2024 campaign that depicted former Vice President Kamala Harris as being for "they/them" and the president as being "for you."
McBride, a transgender lawmaker, said the party broadly should be focused on a "diverse working class," and should reject the idea of "absolute purity politics."
"I will say one of the reasons why, the sense that I have gotten from some Democrats as I talked to them, that you often see silence from Democrats in response to these attacks is because, to your point, they don't know how to respond, not because they don't know what they believe or how they feel, but because they feel like there is no way to respond in a way that doesn't result in everyone yelling at them," McBride said during Harrison's podcast, "At Our Table."
McBride said Democrats didn't need perfect terminology or to embrace the "maximalist position" on trans issues, but suggested acknowledging concerns about transgender people participating in sports.
"You can grapple with concerns around, for instance, trans people participating in sports, acknowledge that there are very real questions out there. But who is best able to answer those questions about how to balance respect and fairness in women's sports? It's not 435 members of Congress who know nothing about women's sports and even less about trans people. It's the individual athletic associations that understand their sports the best," McBride said.
The Democratic lawmaker said Republicans were trying to misdirect when they talk about trans people, accusing Trump of wanting to "line the pockets" of corporations and wealthy people.
"And I think we have to be crystal clear about that while also pushing back against these attacks in ways that doesn't dismiss everyone with a question or a concern as a closed-minded bigot," McBride said.
McBride said in June that the party might have overplayed its hand regarding trans issues.
"I think that's an accurate reflection of the overplaying of the hand in some ways — that we as a coalition went to Trans 201, Trans 301, when people were still at a very much Trans 101 stage," McBride told The New York Times' Ezra Klein in an interview.
The Delaware lawmaker said many of the cultural norms surrounding transgender people were likely premature for a lot of Americans.
"We became absolutist — not just on trans rights but across the progressive movement — and we forgot that in a democracy we have to grapple with where the public authentically is and actually engage with it. Part of this is fostered by social media," McBride said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
California voters support EV tax incentives, but are wary of sales mandates says poll
California drivers don't want to lose their electric vehicle tax incentives, but even voters in one of the bluest states are wary about reviving plans to phase out gas cars. Voters are split down the middle on whether California should stick to its guns on its Trump-blocked plans to phase out sales of gas cars by 2035, according to an exclusive POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab poll. Only 46 percent of the more than 1,400 registered voters surveyed said they support the policy, while 47 percent said no. Yes, there was an obvious partisan split: 60 percent of Democrats said they backed the phase-out, compared with 40 percent of independents and 31 percent of Republicans. But the results offer a note of caution for Gov. Gavin Newsom, who directed the California Air Resources Board to start writing new vehicle emissions rules after Republicans revoked the state's sales mandates for cars and heavy-duty trucks in June. 'None of us really like the idea of government intervening to take something away from us,' said Dan Sperling, a former California Air Resources Board member and director of the University of California, Davis' Institute for Transportation Studies. 'That's even the most liberal of us.' Poll respondents are more bought into Newsom's plan to backfill the soon-to-be-defunct $7,500 federal EV tax credit. Nearly two-thirds — 64 percent — said they would support state-funded tax incentives once the federal subsidy ends Sept. 30, as part of the Trump administration's ongoing attacks on clean energy policy. That question again showed a partisan divide, with 80 percent of Democrats saying they back the approach, compared with 60 percent of independent voters and just 43 percent of Republicans. But the overall result bolsters Newsom's push to backfill incentives that the Biden administration used to coax drivers off fossil fuels, as he suggested using cap-and-trade revenues last year and directed state agencies to consider in a June executive order. But Jack Citrin, a veteran political science professor at UC Berkeley and partner on the poll, said a closer look at the poll results shows that Democrats need to keep affordability in mind. He pointed to the fact that 28 percent of respondents said they'd support new EV incentives only if gas prices aren't impacted and another 20 percent said they should be reserved for low-income buyers, reflecting the fact that cost of living was the top concern of voters polled. And 64 percent of respondents said gasoline prices are putting a significant, extreme or moderate burden on their household budgets. 'That reflects a concern with the cost of all of this,' Citrin said. 'Yes, we're for environmental protection. Yes, we're for all of this, just as long as it doesn't cost a lot.' The poll comes as state agencies released a joint report Tuesday with recommendations for countering Trump's assault, calling on lawmakers to bolster tax incentives, improve charging infrastructure and regulate facilities that attract polluting trucks, but offering few specific timelines or dollar figures. CARB Chair Liane Randolph framed the report — which Newsom asked for in his June order — as a first step in the state's defense against a hostile federal government. 'Clean air efforts are under siege, putting the health of every American at risk,' she said during a press briefing. 'California is continuing to fight back and will not give up on cleaner air and better public health.' Sperling called the report a surprisingly 'modest document,' and said it lacks the specificity he hoped to see. 'The word I would use is disconcerting,' Sperling said when asked about where California stands in its fight against Trump. The POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab poll was fielded by TrueDot, the artificial intelligence-accelerated research platform, in collaboration with the Citrin Center and Possibility Lab at UC Berkeley and POLITICO. The public opinion study, made possible in part with support from the California Constitution Center, was conducted in the field between July 28 and Aug. 12. The sample of 1,445 registered voters was selected at random by Verasight, with interviews conducted in English and Spanish, and includes an oversample of Hispanic voters. The modeled error estimate for the full sample is plus or minus 2.6 percent. The policy influencer study was conducted from July 30 to Aug. 11, among 512 subscribers to POLITICO Pro, and the modeled error estimate is plus or minus 3.7 percent. Like this content? Consider signing up for POLITICO's California Climate newsletter.
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Political Beat Candidate Guide: Charlotte City Council—District 4
Democratic incumbent Renee Johnson is facing a challenge from Wil Russell. The winner will serve on the next Charlotte City Council. There is no opposition in November. District 4 is composed of the northeast section of Charlotte, including University City. The district stretches from The Plaza to the city limits. For more information on this race, watch this story by the Political Beat: The Political Beat asked questions of each candidate in the races. Below are their unedited responses. Renee Johnson What is your occupation? Charlotte City Councilmember (District 4) and Founder/Chief Development Officer, Triumph Services (nonprofit behavioral health & peer support). I'm also a Certified Brain Injury Specialist. Why are you running? To keep centering people over profit and protecting truly equitable housing, preventing displacement, improving infrastructure and transit, and making government more transparent and accountable. Since 2019, I've delivered results and ensured community voices drive City decisions. What is the most important issue and how do you plan to address it? Housing stability and anti-displacement. I advanced the $100M Housing Trust Fund (including homeownership tools), fought for source-of-income protections, supported the Anti-Displacement effort, and built the District 4 Community Coalition to keep residents at the table. I'll expand preservation, strengthen tenant protections, and pair housing with infrastructure and transit investments. How are you voting on the sales tax increase referendum for transit and why? I recognize the urgent need to fund safer streets, sidewalks, and reliable transit. I'm undecided and will base my decision on clear, enforceable commitments: equitable investments in historically under-served areas, accountability and transparency, specific project lists and timelines, and measurable outcomes for safety, congestion relief, and access to jobs. I championed Charlotte's first-ever infrastructure meeting, which laid the foundation for the Strategic Mobility Plan—so I understand the importance of investing wisely and equitably in our future. Do you support Charlotte City Council's settlement with CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings? Why or why not? I support resolving leadership matters in a way that protects taxpayers, maintains stability, and upholds accountability. Any settlement should be transparent about costs and terms, set clear expectations for leadership transitions, comply with NC statute, and strengthen public trust. My priority is accountability and fiscal responsibility. How should Charlotte City Council address working conditions and pay issues raised by the SEIU at Charlotte Douglas International Airport? The Charlotte City Council can strengthen our procurement policies to set clear standards for the vendors whom we contract, since we cannot directly control the wages of private employers. The effort to advance this conversation was blocked because there was opposition by 1 or more councilmembers; consequently, our rules require a majority vote in order to place an item on the agenda when there's opposition. That should concern all residents, because it limits debate and essentially amounts to censorship of issues that deserve a public hearing. I will continue pushing for fair standards and a more transparent, democratic process on the council. What sets you apart from your opponents? Experience, independence, and results. I fight for the anti-displacement of residents impacted by Charlotte's explosive growth, while my opponent is a developer who benefits personally from that same development. I created the District 4 Coalition, secured ASL interpretation for 132,000 hard-of-hearing residents, and championed the city's first public infrastructure meeting. As a nonprofit leader with real estate experience, I understand both economic growth and the human impact of displacement. Will Russell What is your occupation? Senior Construction Manager Why are you running? I am running for office to provide leadership and professionalism to Charlotte City Council. My goal is to serve the city and its residents by solving problems and enacting solutions. What is the most important issue and how do you plan to address it? I address the affordable housing crisis every day – it is at the core of what I do as a construction professional. As an affordable housing developer, I experience firsthand the barriers our current zoning policies create. These restrictive regulations prevent us from building the volume of affordable housing our communities urgently need. We must add greater flexibility to our zoning policies to allow for more diverse, higher density and cost-effective housing solutions. Housing options like duplexes, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) and pocket neighborhoods will allow us to create communities when developing land. These are the types of units we, as a city, should be incentivizing developers to build. How are you voting on the sales tax increase referendum for transit and why? As Charlotte continues to grow, it will need a transportation system that grows with it. Our bus system is not sufficient or dependable enough to meet the needs of its citizens. To produce an equitable and reliable bus system, it must provide connections between the employment centers and residential areas. It must also have travel times that, at a minimum, match the travel times of a private vehicle. To do that all existing bus routes must be reconfigured to provide cross-town connections and facilitate multiple connections throughout the routes. Additionally, the hours of operation must be the same for all routes. The transit tax will provide an income stream that will allow Charlotte to invest in building a transportation system thatwillmeet the needs of a growing city. However, income alone will not fix transportation in Charlotte. We must also create land use policies that complement and encourage appropriate development along transportation corridors. Do you support Charlotte City Council's settlement with CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings? Why or why not? Based on the publicly available evidence, it appears that the CMPD's police chief employment status was threatened by an elected official. This could have potentially exposed the City to legal issues. Problems between elected officials and city departments should be resolved in ways that do not expose the city to potential legal actions. As a member of the city council, I would work to ensure that issues like these are resolved through proper channels and proper communication. How should Charlotte City Council address working conditions and pay issues raised by the SEIU at Charlotte Douglas International Airport? Charlotte City Council will need to work with multiple groups to help address working conditions and pay issues at Charlotte Douglas Airport. Charlotte would need to work closely with the North Carolina General Assembly to determine what authority the State will allow the City to exercise when dealing with pay and contract issues. Charlotte City Council would also need to work with airline carriers and airport businesses to help craft a solution to address the pay and working condition issues. What sets you apart from your opponents? I am the most qualified candidate for the following reasons: -vast knowledge of zoning policy, affordable housing, and construction -proven ability to collaborate with neighbors and developers to directly benefit District 4 -Will provide visionary leadership and continued advocacy for District 4 on council -minimal learning curve/ability to start addressing Charlotte's issues on day 1. (WATCH BELOW: Action 9: Man switched phone companies because of promotion, but says carrier didn't follow through) Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The 2025 Political Beat Primary Candidate Guide
Charlotte residents will head to the polls to decide who should advance to the November general election for Charlotte City Council. In-person early voting starts August 21. The primary is on September 9th. Channel 9 sent key questions to all candidates. Their responses are posted unedited. ALSO READ: Where you can vote early in Charlotte for the primary election Whoever wins the primaries in Districts 1, 4, and 5 will serve on the next Charlotte City Council. There is no opposition for these seats in November. Democrats and unaffiliated voters can vote in all districts. Republicans can only vote in the District 6 primary. This is the only contested Republican race in September. Unaffiliated voters can choose the Republican ballot in District 6. See the candidates' responses in each race below: The Political Beat Candidate Guide: City of Charlotte Mayor The Political Beat Candidate Guide: Charlotte City Council At-Large The Political Beat Candidate Guide: Charlotte City Council- District 1 The Political Beat Candidate Guide: Charlotte City Council—District 3 The Political Beat Candidate Guide: Charlotte City Council—District 4 The Political Beat Candidate Guide: Charlotte City Council—District 5 The Political Beat Candidate Guide: Charlotte City Council—District 6 Use the map below to easily find your city council district and a link to our guide for the district. (WATCH BELOW: Charlotte City Council approves conversion of motel to studio apartments)
