Pete Buttigieg is the latest Democrat to question trans athletes’ participation in sports.
The former presidential candidate and current 2028 presidential hopeful made the comments on NPR’s Morning Edition after host Steve Inskeep asked what his “approach” is to trans issues.
Buttigieg is the latest 2028 Democratic presidential hopeful to question trans people’s right to participate in sports—or even the right to exist at all. And it’s an alarming trend as the party looks to regroup following Donald Trump’s election win last year.
Earlier this year, California governor Gavin Newsom—who is also a top candidate for the 2028 Democratic presidential ticket—made several statements on his podcast against trans inclusion in sports, including in an episode featuring conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
And former Chicago mayor and Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, who has also been mulling a presidential run, took it a step further on a recent appearance on conservative commentator Megyn Kelly’s radio show.
After saying he was opposed to gender-affirming care for trans youth, trans women participating in women’s sports and trans women being housed in women’s prisons, Emanuel denied that “a man can become a woman.”
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