Democratic Rep. Moulton stresses need for 'debate' amid backlash over stance on women's sports
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss protests outside his office stemming from his stance on protecting women's sports and Democrats' growing resistance to Trump's second term.
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., is not letting backlash in his own party stop him from continuing his verbal crusade against trans athletes in women's and girls' sports.
Moulton spoke out about his party for its stance on the issue once again on Sunday in an interview on "The Takeout" on CBS News.
Moulton insisted that he's spoken with individuals in the LGBT community who have agreed on having restrictions to prevent biological males from competing against and sharing locker rooms with females.
"You wouldn't believe how many LGBTQ people, activists themselves, individuals have reached out completely supportive of what I said, saying, ‘Yes, we need to have these conversations and I even agree on the transgender issue,’" Moulton said. "There are lots of people, including members of the LGBTQ community, who feel that in certain sports, not necessarily all sports, but in certain sports like swimming, for example, there probably should be restrictions on transgender women. These are people who are born biologically male."
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Rep. Seth Moulton announces he is ending his campaign for president during the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting in San Francisco on Aug. 23, 2019. (Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images)
Moulton even said he spoke to transgender people who have agreed with him on the issue.
"I've heard from a number of trans people, and again I'm not speaking for all of them, I'm sharing what I've heard from some who have come to me and said, ‘Yeah, this is pretty reasonable,’" Moulton said.
Moulton added that the trans people he has spoken with have said that they agree on passing legislation to restrict trans inclusion in women's sports in order to reach a compromise that will provide other civil rights protections for transgenders.
Moulton also criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for failing to respond to criticisms about the party's stance on transgender rights and her own record of supporting taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners. He says the party has weakened itself by failing to discuss the issue and the consequences of its support for pro-trans legislation in recent years.
"We have a challenge as a part of even in engaging in debate about certain issues," Moulton said. "We are not allowed to talk about that in the Democratic Party, it's forbidden. This is not up for debate, you can't even raise the issue. This is the same attitude that a lot of Democrats had when problems propped up at the southern border, and we said, ‘Nope, nothing going on there, nothing to see there.' It's the same issue we had when inflation started under President Biden and the White House said, ‘Oh it’s transitory, don't worry, it will go away.'
"We've worked so hard to be tolerant of all these distinct minority groups, that as a whole we've become intolerant if you disagree with the perspectives of any of those distinct groups."
REP MOULTON SAYS FELLOW DEMS PRIVATELY AGREE WITH HIS CRITICISM OF PARTY
Rep. Seth Moulton speaks during a House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials hearing. (Getty Images)
Moulton is one of many Democrats who have spoken out against trans athletes in women's sports as it proved to be a major vulnerability for his part in the recent election cycle.
He was subjected to fierce backlash by Democratic allies for his comments last month in a New York Times article after President-elect Trump's election victory. Moulton spoke out against his own party for making too much of an effort to champion trans inclusion in women's sports, and blamed it as a reason for losing the election.
"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," Moulton said.
Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., also spoke out against trans inclusion in women's sports in the same article.
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Despite the backlash, Moulton has since defended and doubled-down on his comments. The backlash has included calls to resign, a pro-transgender rally that took place outside his Salem office on Nov. 18, and many Massachusetts Democrats expressing the intent to have him replaced in the 2026 midterms.
Moulton scolded his party for shutting out opposing opinions and failing to address voters' fears in an opinion article published in the Washington Post at the end of November.
"Since Election Day, I’ve learned two things about the Democratic Party: The word police will continue to patrol no matter how badly we lose, and a growing number of us are finally ready to move beyond them to start winning again," Moulton wrote in his Post op-ed headlined, "I'm done with Democratic purity tests."
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