Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has earned praise for her response to a question on trans rights during a town hall hosted by the progressive campus group More Perfect University.
At the organization’s Students vs. Billionaires town hall in Maine on Thursday, a trans student from the University of Southern Maine asked for Ocasio-Cortez’s response to the fact that “a lot of trans people in America feel that we have been abandoned by the Democratic Party, that we are a losing issue, that it’s not worth defending us.”
The woman was referring to the fact that many trans advocates feel some Democrats have missed the mark on trans issues, or in some cases have actively made decisions that hurt the trans community in an attempt to defend themselves against Republican attacks. Since the 2024 election, Democrats have disagreed on the effect of the GOP’s anti-trans ads, with some suggesting the need to throw trans people under the bus in order to win future elections.
Without hesitation, Ocasio-Cortez responded, “They’re wrong.”
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There is a difference between politics that’s aimed at getting elected and politics aimed at improving things. You can absolutely throw trans people under the bus (so to speak) before the elections and then after winning the elections use your power to improve their position.
You don’t have to be blatant about it. You don’t have to say “fuck them”, just answer those questions quickly and shift focus to the things people care about.
Don’t be weird.
Unfortunately, when they do get into office they barely use their power to do anything, let alone help the trans community.