What Wasn’t Said At The Debates: Why There Was a Lack of LGBTQ+ Coverage In an Era of Mass LGBTQ+ Politicization
And why it might not be all bad that the debates left these topics untouched
“Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”
That’s an actual tagline being used by the Trump campaign as a part of a new series of ads that began their rollout in mid-September.
Throughout the presidential race, the weaponization of trans identities has become a key strategy in riling up Trump’s base. By pandering to these perspectives, Trump has further cemented himself as dangerously transphobic — adding to his already long record of anti-LGBTQ+ malfeasance and harmful rhetoric.
Yet, when it came time for him and Vice President Kamala Harris to appear in front of a national audience, the two shifted away from LGBTQ+ topics, apart from one outburst from Trump, in which he repeated a claim from his rallies about Harris’ purported support of gender-affirming care for prisoners. The same goes for the vice presidential debate — almost zip. Walz briefly brought up book bannings, which typically target LGBTQ+ stories, but didn’t go any further than that.
Instead, economy, immigration and abortion topics dominated each night of debate. But why the shift in rhetoric from Trump and lack of acknowledgment from Harris?
Michigan State University professor John Kuk, who specializes in research regarding the politics of inequality and voting rights, said that the shift had to do with appealing to undecided voters as the race enters its final days.
“I think the main reason [for a lack of LGBTQ+ commentary] is we are now into general election mode compared to primary election mode,” Kuk said. “Transgender issues are something that rattles up the Republican base. So it is a very important topic to discuss during the Republican primary and is something that Republican voters care a lot about, but it is not a topic that undecided voters or swing voters are much interested in.”
Senior resource manager of Stand With Trans Logan Harding said he had mixed feelings on the lack of LGBTQ+ coverage at the debates.
“As somebody who works in a non-profit, doing this work for trans people, we want trans issues to get their fair share of attention and air time, because that's how we make change happen,” Harding told Pride Source. “As an individual speaking, I was actually a little grateful that trans issues didn't come up in the debate. To me, I feel like we all kind of knew it would have given a platform to more of that rhetoric that would be used to hurt and alienate people.”
He added, “Ultimately, trans lives and humanity are not up for debate, and I appreciated that they were not treated as a tool for building drama and division in the televised presidential and vice presidential debates.”
Harding said that burnout from trying to advocate for trans issues can be especially prevalent when political rhetoric is particularly heated. The debate provided a break from the onslaught.
“I know for me and for a lot of the people I've met who've been advocates for a while, it is exhausting because we're out here on a daily basis just trying to be like, ‘We're normal people, just trying to live normal lives,’” Harding said. “Then the people on the TV are saying they're trying to ruin your children or whatever — like, why are you setting me back like that?”
And while the approach to LGBTQ+ issues and the need for less weaponization is important, Kuk said that doesn’t mean LGBTQ+ issues should just be forgotten about altogether. He added that issues important to minority groups can be salient in swing states, when they mobilize. In fact, according to analysis from The Washington Post, Biden wouldn’t have won in 2020 without the support of LGBTQ+ voters in swing states.
In the future, Kuk said there are two main ways LGBTQ+ issues can be brought to the main stage. One is through money — simply put, campaigns pay attention to where their money is coming from. The second is more complicated.
“The interesting thing to look at is how these issues are tied,” he said. “So, for example, issues that matter to LGBTQ+ voters can be tied to a bigger issue.”
“The Trump campaign was trying to tie transgender issues with the immigration issue,” Kuk explained about the presidential debate, referring to Trump's comment directed at Harris that, "Now she wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens who are in prison.”
Outside of that, Kik acknowledged the ads released by the Trump campaign "trying to tie how extreme Kamala Harris is on transgender issues back to the issue of immigration.”
“It's a hard balance, because the way Trump delivered it sounded like an insane claim because it was basically some random right-wing conspiracy theory that not many people understood,” Kuk said. “So it's a hard balance, but if there is a successful way of connecting a key issue with issues that matter to LGBTQ+ voters, then I can see how they will be discussed more widely during election season.”
After all, as Kuk emphasized, the importance of making minority voters feel seen and heard is critical. “Lower efficacy and feeling of disenfranchisement, then followed by lower turnout, is a typical process when minority voters feel excluded or not heard by politicians,” he said.
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