Trump showed a drag queen in a hateful ad. She used it to raise $15K for trans people.

Drag queen Pattie Gonia said she is considering her legal options after former President Donald Trump used video footage of her in a recent anti-transgender political ad against Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. The drag performer used the ad to help raise $15,000 for Trans Lifeline and Point of Pride, two organizations that support trans lives and gender-affirming care, respectively.

Thousands of fans notified the drag performer after Trump’s ad aired last week. The ad mentions Harris’ support of providing lifesaving care to transgender inmates (something required by federal law). It also shows images of Harris standing next to Pattie Gonia, next to a trans woman and also a nonbinary individual who both were Biden Administration officials. The ad concludes with the line, “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”

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These 4 trans-related Supreme Court cases affect everyone’s future civil rights

While the cases focus on drag bans and trans protections, they address larger issues of free speech and civil rights.

“Trump continues to use queer people to attack Kamala Harris, to divide our nation, and to wage war against gender-affirming care, which we know saves lives,” Pattie Gonia said in a recent Instagram video mentioning her response to it. “No, the Trump campaign did not have my permission to use my name or likeness. Yes, we are reviewing our legal options, and yes, I’m going to do what queer people always do, turn our pain into something positive.”

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The performer then asked her followers to donate to a fundraiser for two trans organizations, which provide critical care to trans individuals.

“I’m using this moment to raise money for trans and gender-affirming health care,” she said. “So if you’d like to join me in saying a big f**k you to Trump, you know where to go. Vote this fall and make America gay again.”

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A post shared by Pattie Gonia (@pattiegonia)

Mark McKenna, a professor at the UCLA School of Law, told NBC News that Pattie Gonia might not succeed in a lawsuit against the ad because “a political ad gets a lot more leeway and normally we don’t give people claims to stop political speech unless the speech rises to the level of defamation.”

“If this were not a political ad, but a commercial ad, I would have no trouble saying this person has a very strong claim,” McKenna said.

Trump’s transphobic attack isn’t surprising. Both Trump and his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) have lied about Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), allowing his state’s government to “kidnap children” from unsupportive parents to change their gender. The claim is untrue, as Walz has never signed any such law or order, nor are state officials legally authorized to take trans kids away from unsupportive parents.

Trump has also claimed that schools are conducting surgeries on trans youth without parental consent. This is also a lie. No schools are providing such surgeries, doctors typically refuse to provide such surgeries to minors, and doctors never provide gender-affirming surgery to minors without parental consent.

Furthermore, the Republican National Platform pledges to “keep men out of women’s sports” and cut federal funding for any schools “pushing radical gender ideology” or “inappropriate sexual or political content on our children.”

Chapter 9, Section 5 of the platform promises to “end Left-wing gender insanity,” stating, “We will keep men out of women’s sports, ban Taxpayer funding for sex change surgeries, and stop Taxpayer-funded Schools from promoting gender transition, reverse Biden’s radical rewrite of Title IX Education Regulations, and restore protections for women and girls.”

However, the anti-trans messaging may actually backfire on Trump and other Republicans.

A March 2024 poll showed that 53% of voters oppose candidates who campaign against transgender people. While that might sound like a slim majority, such a majority could help determine which candidates win in close races.

An August 2023 Economist/YouGov poll found that majorities of voters mostly care about inflation, taxes, jobs, the economy, government spending, and immigration.

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