Two Democrats accused of playing ‘blame game’ after launching attacks on trans athletes

Two Democratic politicians, Tom Suozzi and Seth Moulton, have been criticised for targeting trans athletes, just days after Trump inflicted a crushing defeat on the party in Tuesday’s presidential election.

House representatives Tom Suozzi, from New York, and Seth Moulton, from Massachusetts, claimed that Democrats had made an error in supporting transgender sportsmen and women.

Both told The New York Times that they felt the party had spent too much time supporting trans people and should, instead, ban transgender women from competitive sports.

“Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” Moulton said, in an article titled “Devastated Democrats play the blame game.”

“I have two little girls,” he continued. “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.”

Only 1.14 per cent of the US adult population identify as transgender while about 0.6 per cent of youngsters do so, meaning it is hardly a pressing problem, while there is no firm evidence to support claims that trans athletes have an inherent advantage over their cisgender counterparts.

Seth Moulton ran uncontested in the election this week, but his “male or formerly male” comment quickly attracted criticism.

A spokesperson for Mass Equality, a Massachusetts-based advocacy group, pointed to the timing of the comments with Trans Awareness Week beginning on Wednesday (13 November).

“Recent comments made by congressman Seth Moulton regarding transgender athletes have further compounded our community’s sense of vulnerability,” they said. “The remarks were both harmful and factually inaccurate.”

Executive director Tanya Neslusan added that members of the LGBTQ+ community were “deeply hurt” by the comments, adding: “We hope that by engaging with the congressman, we can work toward a more-inclusive and informed understanding of transgender issues in sports.”

Suozzi, meanwhile, who held on to his seat in the elections, called on fellow Democrats to stop “pandering to the far left.”

He went on to say: “I don’t want to discriminate against anybody but I don’t think biological boys should be playing in girls’ sports. Democrats aren’t saying that and they should be.”

Despite efforts by both representatives to lay the blame for the bruising election defeat at the feet of transgender athletes, research has suggested that most US voters don’t view the issue as a priority.

A poll shared as part of Fox News’ annual voter survey in 2023 revealed that more than half of US voters think politicians are too harsh in their treatment of trans people, while only one per cent were concerned with so-called wokeness.

And a survey shared by The 19th News in September last year showed that 44 per cent of 20,000 adult respondents – particularly Republicans – didn’t want public servants focusing on trans issues. Thirty-three per cent believed lawmakers should actually protect transgender people.

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