SINGAPORE –
In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election, The New York Times reported on a clash of views between two Democratic members of Congress. “Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” said Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts. “I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”
Representative Pramila Jayapal, of Washington, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, took a different view. Describing herself as “the proud mom of a daughter who happens to be trans,” she said: “We need to create space for people’s fears and let them get to know people (…) and we need to counter the idea that my daughter is a threat to anyone else’s children.”
My purpose in citing this exchange is not to ask who is right, but to urge that in the context of Trump’s triumph over Vice President Kamala Harris, we ask two other questions. Did Harris’s stance on the transgender issue contribute to her loss? And among the many important issues on which U.S. policy would have differed under Harris from what is likely under Trump, where does the transgender issue rank?