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"Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you" was an American political advertisement commissioned by Republican nominee Donald Trump's campaign to attack Kamala Harris during the 2024 United States presidential election.[1][2] Trump spent more money on the ad than any other in the campaign, including ones on housing, immigration, and the economy, combined.[3]

The ad featured an excerpt from an interview that Harris gave to National Center for Transgender Equality Action Fund, where she said she supported tax-funded gender-affirming surgery for transgender people in prison.[2] The ad's kicker was "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you."[4]

The ads, which had several different variations, aired more than 30,000 times in every swing state.[2] The Trump campaign put the ads in heavy rotation during football games.[5]

Reception and analysis

Democrats failed to respond to the ad. Former President Bill Clinton expressed concern about the ad and encouraged the Harris campaign to respond to them. However, he was told that by the campaign that the ads "were not necessarily having an impact" and never addressed his concerns publicly. The Harris campaign had originally planned to release an ad responding, but the ad ended up performing poorly in internal tests and was ultimately never run.[6]

Charlamagne tha God commended the ad for its effectiveness during a segment of The Breakfast Club,[5] saying, "Hell no, I don't want my taxpayer dollars going to that."[3] The Trump campaign then clipped his remarks and added them to another round of ads against his consent. Charlamagne issued a cease and desist order, demanding Trump cut him out of his campaign ad.[7]

According to an analysis by Future Forward, "Kamala is for they/them" was ranked as one of the Trump's most effective 30-second attack ads, shifting the race 2.7 percentage points in favor of Trump after viewers watched it.[6] A study by Ground Media found that while the ads did not sway voters into supporting Republicans, they did succeed at slightly eroding public support for trans people in general.[8] David Rochkind, the CEO of Ground Media, gave a press release saying "What this demonstrates is that attacking the trans community isn't just a weak and feckless political strategy — it's a deeply cynical one. ... These ads weaponize trans-identity to sow fear and division, making our country less safe for everyone." A poll by Blueprint surveyed the most important issues to voters and found that trans issues ranked second to last among young men. Another poll by Data for Progress found that a majority of voters from both major parties believe "the government should not be as involved in trans people's lives".[9] Vox Media said that anti-trans ads have "no impact on whether people are likely to vote" and compared them to the "rising tide of fascism in the United States". Kelley Robinson, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, called the ads "desperate" and accused Republicans of focusing on "sowing fear and chaos" instead of talking about other issues like the economy. Jay Brown, chief of staff at the Human Rights Campaign said that the ads have had a negative impact on the mental health of trans people due to it being "in their faces all the time." LGBTQ Nation called the ads "wildly unpopular" among voters and said "there is a solid chance that the fate of transgender rights could mirror that of gay rights, becoming a sport of "political albatross" that instantly kills support for candidates. As politicians become more anti-trans, some members of their base oppose them more — likely due to people perceiving this issue as irrelevant and mean-spirited."[9] An October 2024 Gallup Poll surveying the most important issues to registered voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election found that of the 22 issues voters were asked about, transgender issues ranked last with only 18 percent of voters describing it as "extremely important". Democrats were also more likely than Republicans to say transgender issues were extremely important to them, 25% to 12%.[10]

Impact

These ads led two Democrat politicians, Sherrod Brown and Colin Allred, to capitulate, ceding the issue at least partially to the Republican position.[11][12] After Donald Trump won the 2024 election, two Democrat politicians, Tom Suozzi and Seth Moulton, partially blamed their party's loss on their support for trans issues. Other Democrat politicians and human rights organizations disputed these claims, saying polls showed that trans issues were not important to most voters and that voters were instead mobilized to vote for Trump due to other issues like inflation and the economy.[13][14] Texas Democratic Party Chair, Gilberto Hinojosa also expressed anti-transgender sentiments following the 2024 election. Hinojosa subsequently apologized for his comments and resigned from his position after receiving backlash from other Democrats and LGBTQ advocacy groups. The Harris campaign's LGBTQ engagement director, Sam Alleman, urged voters not to blame trans people for Harris' loss in the election saying "Please do not blame trans issues or trans people for why we lost. ... No exit polling or data is showing this as a significant decision point for voters."[15]

References

  1. ^ Nehamas, Nicholas; Gold, Michael; Tankersley, Jim; Epstein, Reid J.; Glueck, Katie; Levien, Simon J.; O’Brien, Rebecca Davis; Cameron, Chris; Corasaniti, Nick; Medina, Eduardo; Astor, Maggie; Balk, Tim; Goldmacher, Shane; Duehren, Andrew (2024-09-25). "Harris Keeps Focus on Economy With MSNBC Interview: Sept. 25 Campaign News". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  2. ^ a b c Davis, Susan (2024-10-11). "Republican campaigns have been blanketing the airwaves with anti-trans ads". NPR. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  3. ^ a b Barrón-López, Laura; Baldwin, Lorna; Lane, Sam; Barajas, Joshua; Sunkara, Satvi (2024-11-02). "Why anti-transgender political ads are dominating the airwaves this election". PBS News. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  4. ^ "Coming to a TV near you". Donald J. Trump. 2024-10-14. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  5. ^ a b Goldmacher, Shane (2024-10-08). "Trump and Republicans Bet Big on Anti-Trans Ads Across the Country". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  6. ^ a b Goldmacher, Shane; Haberman, Maggie; Swan, Jonathan (2024-11-07). "How Trump Won, and How Harris Lost, the 2024 Presidential Election". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  7. ^ Brown, Preezy (2024-10-21). "Charlamagne Files Cease And Desist Order Against Donald Trump Over Campaign Ad". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
  8. ^ "Anti-trans ads erode support for transgender people in America with no effect on presidential election: study". The Advocate. October 24, 2024. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
  9. ^ a b "Anti-trans ads are unpopular with voters, but are still deepening anti-trans outlooks". LGBTQ Nation. October 31, 2024. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
  10. ^ Brenan, Megan (October 9, 2024). "Economy Most Important Issue to 2024 Presidential Vote". Gallup, Inc. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  11. ^ "Anti-trans attack ads haven't won the GOP anything. Dems should stop acting scared". MSNBC.
  12. ^ "GOP ads on transgender rights are dominating airwaves in the election's closing days". NPR.
  13. ^ "2 Democrats speak out against transgender athletes after Trump win". The Hill. November 7, 2024. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
  14. ^ "Suozzi says Democrats lost votes for supporting 'biological boys' playing on girls' sports teams". City & State. November 7, 2024. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
  15. ^ "Some Democrats blame party's position on transgender rights in part for Harris' loss". NBC News. November 8, 2024. Retrieved 2024-11-10.
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