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Kamala is for they/them

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Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

"Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you" was a political advertisement commissioned by U.S. Republican party nominee Donald Trump's campaign to attack Kamala Harris during the 2024 United States presidential election.[1][2] Trump spent more money on the ad than any other in the campaign combined, including ones on housing, immigration, and the economy.[3]

The ad features an excerpt from an interview that Harris gave to National Center for Transgender Equality Action Fund's Mara Keisling, where Harris supported tax-funded gender-affirming surgery for transgender prisoners.[2] The ad's kicker was "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you."[4]

The ads, which have several different variations, aired more than 30,000 times in every swing state.[2] The Trump campaign put the ads in heavy rotation during televised NFL and college football games.[5][6] According to an analysis by Future Forward, "Kamala is for they/them" was one of Trump's most effective 30-second attack ads, shifting the race 2.7 percentage points in favor of Trump after viewers watched it.[7] Conversely, according to a study done by Ground Media and released by GLAAD, the ad which contained the slogan did not have an impact on who viewers intended to vote for.[8][9]

Background

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During Harris's 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary run, Harris had expressed the importance of trans rights. Harris discussed her history with trans rights with Harris stating, "I can't remember a time where they have not been important to me. When I was district attorney of San Francisco, I started ... assistance program for members of the trans community." The murder of Gwen Araujo led to Harris organizing a training session to help prosecutors defeat the trans panic or gay panic defense.[10]

The impetus for Harris's support for tax-funded transitions stems from the 2015 settlement between the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Shiloh Quine.[10][11] Harris stated: "I worked behind the scenes to not only make sure that transgender woman got the services she was deserving..." Quine had been behind bars since 1981, convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery for ransom for the kidnap and murder of 33-year-old Shahid Ali Baig.[12]

Harris pushed for further change within the California prison system, noting that she "...made sure they changed the policy in the state of California, so every transgender inmate in the prison system would have access to the medical care that they desired and needed..." Harris stated she felt strongly about the issue, saying, "... it's a civil rights issue, it's a justice issue, and it's an issue of humanity."[10]

Trump had previously voiced his opposition to transgender women competing in women's sports and gender-affirming services for minors.[13] His conservative allies stated that the issues can sway undecided voters, saying "Democrats had grown increasingly uneasy defending their support of pro-transgender policies around athletics and children."[13]

According to a CBS News report, the Trump campaign paid $19 million to air the ad nearly 55,000 times between October 1 and 16, 2024.[14]

Reception and analysis

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Democrats did not formally respond to the ads containing the slogan during the campaign period. Former President Bill Clinton privately expressed concern about the ad and encouraged the Harris campaign to respond to it saying, "We have to answer it and say we won't do it." The Harris campaign had originally planned to release an ad responding, but the ad ended up performing poorly in internal tests and was ultimately never run.[7]

In early October, Charlamagne tha God commended the ad for its effectiveness during a segment of The Breakfast Club,[5] saying, "Hell no, I don't want my taxpayer dollars going to that."[3] The Trump campaign then clipped his remarks and added them to another round of ads against his consent. Charlamagne issued a cease and desist order, demanding Trump cut him out of his campaign ad.[15]

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also praised the commercial. "The most effective ad that the Trump campaign ran in this campaign was, you know, 'Kamala Harris is for they/them, and Donald Trump is for us.' That's because most people don't see themselves as they/them. Yet, the Democrats have spent more time talking about a trans issue, which, quite frankly, is infinitesimal."[16]

In the aftermath of the election, Keisling told Semafor that the ads had negative ramifications for transgender people, especially for trans children and their families.[17]

According to polling by the Trump campaign, the commercial resonated with suburban women. This demographic had been a key factor in Joe Biden's 2020 victory over Trump.[18]

Minnesota Governor and Harris's running mate, Tim Walz, responded: "They're running millions of dollars of ads demonizing folks who are just trying to live their lives."[19]

Sarah McBride, who is the first openly transgender member of Congress and was elected to the House of Representatives in 2024, said of the ads: "It wasn't the surgery point, it wasn't the undocumented-immigrant point, it wasn't the trans point, it was the concept in that line that Kamala Harris, according to the ad, was for a small group of people, and Donald Trump was there for 'you'."[20]

References

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  1. ^ Nehamas, Nicholas; Gold, Michael; Tankersley, Jim; Epstein, Reid J.; Glueck, Katie; Levien, Simon J.; O'Brien, Rebecca Davis; Cameron, Chris; Corasaniti, Nick; Medina, Eduardo; Astor, Maggie; Balk, Tim; Goldmacher, Shane; Duehren, Andrew (September 25, 2024). "Harris Keeps Focus on Economy With MSNBC Interview: Sept. 25 Campaign News". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Davis, Susan (October 11, 2024). "Republican campaigns have been blanketing the airwaves with anti-trans ads". NPR. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Barrón-López, Laura; Baldwin, Lorna; Lane, Sam; Barajas, Joshua; Sunkara, Satvi (November 2, 2024). "Why anti-transgender political ads are dominating the airwaves this election". PBS News. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  4. ^ "Coming to a TV near you". Donald J. Trump. October 14, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Goldmacher, Shane (October 8, 2024). "Trump and Republicans Bet Big on Anti-Trans Ads Across the Country". The New York Times. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  6. ^ Davis, Susan. "GOP ads on transgender rights are dominating airwaves in the election's closing days". NPR. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Goldmacher, Shane; Haberman, Maggie; Swan, Jonathan (November 7, 2024). "How Trump Won, and How Harris Lost, the 2024 Presidential Election". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  8. ^ Kinsey Crowley (October 26, 2024). "Recent blitz of anti-trans ads attacks Harris. Advocates question their effectiveness, call them harmful". USA Today. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  9. ^ "Ground Media study finds Trump's anti-trans ad fails politically, but dangerously erodes public support for trans people". Ground Media. October 26, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c NCTE Action Fund (October 18, 2019). Transform the White House: Sen. Kamala Harris. Retrieved November 13, 2024 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ Quine v. Beard, No. 14-cv-02726-JST (N.D. Cal. April 28, 2017)
  12. ^ Stahl, Aviva (November 9, 2017). "Transgender Prisoners: What an Inmate's Surgery Means for Trans Rights". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  13. ^ a b Wright, Steve Contorno, David (October 18, 2024). "Pro-Trump forces flood airwaves with ads attacking Harris over past transgender stances | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved November 15, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Yilek, Caitlin Yilek (October 16, 2024). "Trump campaign has spent millions on anti-trans ads". CBS News. CBS. Retrieved December 2, 2024.
  15. ^ Brown, Preezy (October 21, 2024). "Charlamagne Files Cease And Desist Order Against Donald Trump Over Campaign Ad". Yahoo News. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  16. ^ Fortinsky, Sarah (November 11, 2024). "Chris Christie: Most effective Trump ad was 'Kamala Harris is for they/them'". The Hill. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  17. ^ Weigel, David (November 12, 2024). "After a stinging loss, Democrats debate where to draw the line on transgender rights". Semafor. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  18. ^ Tomlinson, Hugh (November 15, 2024). "The two sentences that doomed Kamala Harris's campaign". The Times. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  19. ^ "ICYMI: Vice President Harris and Governor Walz Slam Trump for Attempting to Distract and Divide Voters by Peddling Transphobia in Election's Closing Weeks". Human Rights Campaign. October 18, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  20. ^ "Sarah McBride Wasn't Looking for a Fight on Trans Rights". The New Yorker. December 1, 2024. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
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