Another day, another Republican trying to turn the general public against a vulnerable, marginalized population. This time, we can look at a recent campaign ad from Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who decided to use trans folks as a scapegoat to try and get reelected in Kentucky, as covered by LGBTQ Nation. In the big picture, we’ve seen conservatives accuse trans girls of ruining the chances of cis girls to play sports and earn titles and scholarships. But in reality, many states passing anti-trans sports bills—and even signing them into law—have little to no evidence to suggest trans girls actually are taking opportunities away from cis girls, or that openly trans girls are playing sports in public schools in many districts, period. But conservatives love to make bold, blanket claims and try and use any anti-trans athlete to stir their hysteria.
In Paul’s 30-second ad, for example, he includes Riley Gaines, a former swimmer for the University of Kentucky who, perhaps most importantly, has been vehemently against Lia Thomas participating in the women’s NCAA competitions. (For background context, the NCAA has allowed trans women to participate in women’s college sports for years.) Thomas, a trans woman who represented the University of Pennsylvania, tied with Gaines during the 200-meter freestyle at this year’s competition.
Instead of taking this fifth-place tie with grace, Gaines … Well, you can see for yourself below.
RELATED: 2,000 public school students taken to traumatizing church event instead of promised college fair
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Gaines—who you might remember from her appearance in an ad attacking Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas after Kelly vetoed an anti-trans sports bill in 2021—decides to go full anti-trans in the ad by claiming that “girls across America” are losing out on their dreams of being successful athletes because of “men competing in women’s sports.” The ad then shows a photo of Thomas.
No matter what the circumstances, misgendering someone—in this case, calling a trans woman a man—is wrong. It doesn’t matter if you disagree with them politically or lost to them or that they were or are your competition. It’s wrong, period. Using a photo of Thomas here just adds insult to injury, and frankly, exposes her to even more hate and backlash than she’s already gotten for daring to exist.
Gaines goes on to say “few” people stood up for her, but knight in shining armor Paul apparently did. Or at least is now so he can include Gaines, who has been outspoken against trans folks in sports for a while now, in his reelection materials.
“Rand Paul is not afraid to fight for fairness for women and girls,” Gaines states in the video. Paul chimes in to pledge to “always fight for fairness.”
Gaines also appeared with Rand on—you guessed it—Fox News after the campaign ad launch, according to the Courier Journal. Paul again tried to frame his transphobia as an issue of “fairness,” saying in part that he believes there’s a “silent” and “growing” number of women who have daughters competing in sports and believe it isn’t fair that trans girls are competing against them.
To which I can say, sure. Those people probably do exist. Because transphobes do exist. And because not everyone is educated on trans issues and identity. And because some people watch networks like Fox News, get sucked in, and refuse to budge their beliefs. The existence of people who believe something awful doesn’t mean something awful is suddenly any less awful.
In an interview with local outlet LEX 18 shortly after the race, Gaines again referred to Thomas as a male, even though she is, again, a trans woman, not a man. She told the outlet in part back in April, “Having a transgender swimmer win a national title for a female position, being a biological male, really just opens a whole new door to a whole different realm."
Thomas—and other trans athletes—may have been assigned a different sex at birth, but their identities are valid. Governing sports organizations have different regulations and requirements for competitions, especially when it comes to things like hormone levels—and some of those have actually hurt cisgender women like Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, who have naturally higher testosterone levels and (understandably) refused to lower them with treatments like birth control or hormone therapy just to compete. Talk about “fairness,” right?
Paul, as you might recall from when we covered it here at Daily Kos, has a history of anti-trans rhetoric. For example, while questioning Admiral Rachel Levine when she was President Joe Biden’s nominee for assistant secretary of health (a position she now holds), Paul spewed anti-trans claims about gender-affirming health care for youth, arguing that it should be banned. Paul intentionally mischaracterized gender-affirming health care as “genital mutilation” and pressed Levine on bizarre scenarios about minors “amputating” their breasts and genitals, which simply does not happen.
Just like access to reproductive health care (including abortion), trans folks of all ages should have access to safe, age-appropriate, and affordable trans-inclusive health care. For kids, that might include support in pronoun use. For older folks, it might involve surgeries, yes. But trans-affirming and inclusive health care is as diverse and individualized as any other form of health care, and frankly, it’s none of our business.
You can check out some local coverage on Paul and Gaines below.
YouTube Video
So much is on the line this election, and we need to make sure every eligible voter is able to cast their ballots. Sign up to volunteer for Election Protection to fight voter suppression and rampant disinformation. From field work to remote work you can do at home, there is something for every volunteer with Election Protection.
In Paul’s 30-second ad, for example, he includes Riley Gaines, a former swimmer for the University of Kentucky who, perhaps most importantly, has been vehemently against Lia Thomas participating in the women’s NCAA competitions. (For background context, the NCAA has allowed trans women to participate in women’s college sports for years.) Thomas, a trans woman who represented the University of Pennsylvania, tied with Gaines during the 200-meter freestyle at this year’s competition.
Instead of taking this fifth-place tie with grace, Gaines … Well, you can see for yourself below.
RELATED: 2,000 public school students taken to traumatizing church event instead of promised college fair
Campaign Action
Gaines—who you might remember from her appearance in an ad attacking Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas after Kelly vetoed an anti-trans sports bill in 2021—decides to go full anti-trans in the ad by claiming that “girls across America” are losing out on their dreams of being successful athletes because of “men competing in women’s sports.” The ad then shows a photo of Thomas.
No matter what the circumstances, misgendering someone—in this case, calling a trans woman a man—is wrong. It doesn’t matter if you disagree with them politically or lost to them or that they were or are your competition. It’s wrong, period. Using a photo of Thomas here just adds insult to injury, and frankly, exposes her to even more hate and backlash than she’s already gotten for daring to exist.
Gaines goes on to say “few” people stood up for her, but knight in shining armor Paul apparently did. Or at least is now so he can include Gaines, who has been outspoken against trans folks in sports for a while now, in his reelection materials.
“Rand Paul is not afraid to fight for fairness for women and girls,” Gaines states in the video. Paul chimes in to pledge to “always fight for fairness.”
Gaines also appeared with Rand on—you guessed it—Fox News after the campaign ad launch, according to the Courier Journal. Paul again tried to frame his transphobia as an issue of “fairness,” saying in part that he believes there’s a “silent” and “growing” number of women who have daughters competing in sports and believe it isn’t fair that trans girls are competing against them.
To which I can say, sure. Those people probably do exist. Because transphobes do exist. And because not everyone is educated on trans issues and identity. And because some people watch networks like Fox News, get sucked in, and refuse to budge their beliefs. The existence of people who believe something awful doesn’t mean something awful is suddenly any less awful.
In an interview with local outlet LEX 18 shortly after the race, Gaines again referred to Thomas as a male, even though she is, again, a trans woman, not a man. She told the outlet in part back in April, “Having a transgender swimmer win a national title for a female position, being a biological male, really just opens a whole new door to a whole different realm."
Thomas—and other trans athletes—may have been assigned a different sex at birth, but their identities are valid. Governing sports organizations have different regulations and requirements for competitions, especially when it comes to things like hormone levels—and some of those have actually hurt cisgender women like Caster Semenya, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, who have naturally higher testosterone levels and (understandably) refused to lower them with treatments like birth control or hormone therapy just to compete. Talk about “fairness,” right?
Paul, as you might recall from when we covered it here at Daily Kos, has a history of anti-trans rhetoric. For example, while questioning Admiral Rachel Levine when she was President Joe Biden’s nominee for assistant secretary of health (a position she now holds), Paul spewed anti-trans claims about gender-affirming health care for youth, arguing that it should be banned. Paul intentionally mischaracterized gender-affirming health care as “genital mutilation” and pressed Levine on bizarre scenarios about minors “amputating” their breasts and genitals, which simply does not happen.
Just like access to reproductive health care (including abortion), trans folks of all ages should have access to safe, age-appropriate, and affordable trans-inclusive health care. For kids, that might include support in pronoun use. For older folks, it might involve surgeries, yes. But trans-affirming and inclusive health care is as diverse and individualized as any other form of health care, and frankly, it’s none of our business.
You can check out some local coverage on Paul and Gaines below.
YouTube Video
So much is on the line this election, and we need to make sure every eligible voter is able to cast their ballots. Sign up to volunteer for Election Protection to fight voter suppression and rampant disinformation. From field work to remote work you can do at home, there is something for every volunteer with Election Protection.