After the New York Times shared a leaked White House memo that suggested the Trump administration would cut Obama era policies which gave special privileges and protections to those who identified as “transgender,” the media has reacted predictably with outrage. On CNN’s New Day Monday, political analyst John Avlon and hosts John Berman and Alisyn Camerota used the gender issue as well as the issue of illegal immigration to rally viewers to vote against President Trump’s “lies, bigotry and fear” in the upcoming November election.
Host Alisyn Camerota led into the segment by bemoaning the Trump administration plan which “could erase the definition of transgender.” Avlon agreed, gushing that the president wanted to “legally define transgender out of existence,” by requiring people to be identified as male or female. His report characterized the memo as a political culture war issue designed to rally Trump’s base, two weeks before the midterms by “attacking” Obama era policies:
This is just the latest attack on several Obama policies that expanded protections against sex discrimination to cover gender identity, in areas like housing, education and the military. So, why now?
Well, it's play to the base culture war politics two weeks before the midterms. Remember, it was just over three years ago that same-sex marriage became legal in this country. Now the wedge issue has moved to trans rights and conservative sites love to mock the issue of gender identity symbolized by Facebook’s dozens of gender options.
Avlon bashed Republicans as bullies picking on an “easy target,” even ludicrously characterizing transgenders, who deny their biological gender, as holding the “American value” of “self determination:”
It's an easy target. Look at the numbers. Transgender folks make up an estimated 0.4% or 1.4 million people. That's still a lot of our fellow citizens but its many fewer than the millions of gay and lesbian Americans who most people know as friends, family and co-workers. This is simply picking on minority rights to win the popular vote. And last time I checked, self determination was a pretty basic American value, rooted in freedom and equality.
Moving on to the Central American caravan making its way to the U.S., Avlon again slammed Trump and Republicans as bullies picking on the little guy, even dismissing the threat to the border as fearmongering:
Now President Trump has also been playing up the caravan of asylum seekers from central America, pushing it as a threat at rallies, in tweets and with plenty of amplification from conservative media. This is just more play to the base panic rooted in fear and anger, rather than any reality that these asylum seekers are going to rush the border.
Bringing it back to the upcoming election, Avlon made a direct appeal to viewers to vote against Republicans for touting “crazy claims” and inflaming “bigotry, lies and fear.” He even urged voters to vote for a nondiscrimination policy that protected transgender people:
...There are going to be a lot of crazy claims between now and election day. Bigotry, lies and fear based appeals deserve to be called out. So vote. And press the next congress for a comprehensive nondiscrimination act which has had bipartisan support in the past so people's lives can't be used as a political football by future administrations.
Camerota joined in on the hackery to end the segment, gushing, “They can take away the status but they can’t take away the experience! And maybe people will vote on that.”
Avlon wrapped up the segment slamming the “political” move against the “gay civil rights movement in this country.”
