Pete Buttigieg Responds to Rahm Emanuel Regarding Trans Rights
Transphobia does not belong in the Democratic Party
Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg responded to former Amb. Rahm Emanuel’s comments regarding transgender rights. Put it this way: Rahm’s previous comments are no different than California Governor Gavin Newsom in my book. The former Chicago mayor previously used transphobic language while making an appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher.
Emanuel was at it again as he builds towards a potential 2028 presidential run. Why he decided that such credentials need to be built while appearing on Megyn Kelly’s SiriusXM radio show is beyond me. But his comments are enough to disqualify him as a presidential candidate. The following is what came at the end of the interview.
Megyn Kelly: “Can a man become a woman?”
Rahm Emanuel: “Can a man become a woman? Not—no.”
Kelly: “Why don’t more people in your party just say that?”
Emanuel: “Because we’re—I’m now going to go into a witness protection plan.”
Kelly stuck to the usual Republican talking points and Emanuel is right there going along for the ride. Trans women are women and trans men are men. That Kelly directly questions Emanuel by asking if he believes “boys should be able to play in girls’ sports,” she’s ether intentionally misgendering transgender females or she’s asking if cis boys should be able to play in girls’ sports. She didn’t get specific enough if you ask me, but my reading of the line is that they are both being transphobic AF. Again, Rahm needs to stay out of the presidential race.
When asked about puberty blockers and trans youth starting HRT before turning 18:
Emanuel: I think that parents have to make that decision themselves. I think that child is too young at 18 to make that decision, it has to be made with the family, and that choice. I think that before somebody makes a life decision, they have to think twice about that.
I want Amb. Emanuel to know that I did not ask, want, or choose to be transgender. But I know something was seriously off in middle school and if I’m being honest, I had an inkling that something was off in elementary school. But we didn’t have the education or awareness in the 1990s to know it at the time. Transgender brains are closer to that of their gender identity than the bodies assigned at birth.
The Democratic Party is a big tent but let’s be honest in that the Democratic Party cannot turn its back on a segment of the American population that is currently being dehumanized and denationalized by the current fascist authoritarian administration. Sure, a Rahm Emanuel administration would be better than what we have now, but would be it an administration that’s good for transgender Americans? Absolutely not.
There was a time when I was proud to say I davened on the high holidays at shul with Rahm Emanuel. Those days are gone. Gone the way of the dodo bird.
As for former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, he responded to Emanuel while making an appearance on NPR’s Morning Edition on Monday (comments below by way of The Hill):
“Your approach starts with compassion — compassion for transgender people, compassion for families, especially young people who are going through this, and also empathy for people who are not sure what all of this means for them,” Buttigieg, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 Democratic nomination, told host Steve Inskeep on Monday.
“And I think when you do that, that does call into question some of the past orthodoxies in my party, for example, around sports, where I think most reasonable people would recognize that there are serious fairness issues if you just treat this as not mattering when a trans athlete wants to compete in women’s sports,” Buttigieg said.
“Meaning the parent who has complained about this has a case,” Inskeep interjected.
“Sure,” Buttigieg said. “And that’s why I think these decisions should be in the hands of sports leagues and school boards and not politicians. Least of all, politicians in Washington trying to use this as a political pawn.” […]
“I think that chess is different from weightlifting, and weightlifting is different from volleyball, and, you know, middle school is different from the Olympics,” Buttigieg said Monday. “So, that’s exactly why I think that we shouldn’t be grandstanding on this as politicians. We should be empowering communities and organizations and schools to make the right decisions.”
Buttigieg’s approach to the issue puts him in the same spectrum as that of Gov. Newsom and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ). At the same time, the former secretary says he disagrees with the racist convicted felon’s executive orders impacting transgender athletes. The same order has now led the USOPC to ban trans athletes from international competition.
If someone is going to be using transphobic language or echo Republican talking points, they will not be getting my vote at all. You cannot turn your back on transgender Americans and expect to get support. Not in 2025.