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Ron DeSantis flails in presidential debate, accuses Disney of 'trans-ing' kids
DeSantis lashes out at fellow Republican Nikki Haley in a pathetic attempt to sway voters.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is tilting at windmills in the most deplorable way possible by attacking Disney for supposedly "trans-ing" kids.
During Wednesday night's Republican presidential debate, DeSantis attacked his opponent, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, for siding with Disney and failing to protect children.
When asked by CNN's Dana Bash—who moderated the debate alongside Jake Tapper—how he squared his attempted take down of Disney after the corporation dared to disagree with his homophobic "Don't Say Gay" bill, with his belief in small government, DeSantis took the opportunity claim he's fighting for Florida's children.
"The proper role of government, if it means anything, is to protect our kids, and I've stood for the innocence of our kids," he said, as reported by LGBTQ Nation. "It is wrong to sexualize the curriculum…. It's wrong to tell a kindergartener, like Disney wanted to do, that you can change your gender or tell a third-grader that you're born in the wrong body."
He continued, "The media didn't like it, the left didn't like it, and Disney didn't like it, and they're the 800-pound gorilla in the state of Florida. Most people, most corporate Republicans would have caved. I stood and I fought for the kids."
DeSantis painting himself as a defender of children is outrageous, considering he is actively harming LGBTQ+ kids with his policies.
He then lashed out at Haley, accusing his fellow presidential hopeful of inviting Disney to South Carolina" even though they were involved in trans-ing kids."
You should probably give up when you have to start making up hateful words to make your point. We'd personally love to see DeSantis throw in the towel and go back to whatever transphobic hole he crawled out of. Sadly, we've never been that lucky.
The leader of the Sunshine State wasn't done; he also said he wouldn't "bow down to woke corporations," unlike Haley, who he claimed would "cave to the woke mob every single time."
This isn't the first time one of her fellow Republicans has claimed she supports the rights of trans kids despite how frequently she spews anti-LGBTQ+ hate. Earlier this week, MAGA die-hard Marjorie Taylor Greene accused Haley of supporting kids' access to gender-affirming care.
This is laughable, considering how vehemently anti-trans Haley is. She advocates against trans girls in sports, disagrees with gender-neutral bathrooms, and thinks children under the age of 18 shouldn't have access to gender-affirming surgery—something that is extremely rare—or even puberty blockers.
"I have always fought to protect kids," she said. "I've always said that boys need to go into boys' bathrooms, girls need to go into girls' bathrooms, that we shouldn't have any gender transitions before the age of 18 — just like we don't have tattoos before the age of 18. We shouldn't have gender transformation or puberty blockers."
Oh yeah, that really sounds like someone isn't a transphobe. The Republicans seem to be having a bizarre d*ck measuring contest to see who can out-hate the other.
We'd sit back, eat popcorn, and laugh while watching the GOP destroy their own if trans kids weren't in their crosshairs.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
Ariel Messman-Rucker is an Oakland-born journalist who now calls the Pacific Northwest her home. When she’s not writing about politics and queer pop culture, she can be found reading, hiking, or talking about horror movies with the Zombie Grrlz Horror Podcast Network.
