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"Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you" is 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's Mara Keisling, 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]

Interview content

During Harris's 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary run, Harris had expressed the importance of trans rights. Harris discussed her history with trans rights with Harris stating, "I can't remember a time where they have not been important to me. When I was district attorney of San Francisco, I started ... assistance program for members of the trans community." The murder of Gwen Araujo led to Harris organizing a training session to help prosecutors defeat the trans panic or gay panic defense.[6]

The impetus for Harris's support for tax-funded transitions stems from the 2015 settlement between the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Shiloh Quine.[6][7] Harris stated: "I worked behind the scenes to not only make sure that transgender woman got the services she was deserving..." In 1981 Quine was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery for ransom for the kidnap and murder of 33-year-old Shahid Ali Baig, a father of three.[8]

Harris pushed for further change within the California prison system, noting that she "...made sure they changed the policy in the state of California, so every transgender inmate in the prison system would have access to the medical care that they desired and needed..." Harris stated she felt strongly about the issue, saying, "... it's a civil rights issue, it's a justice issue, and it's an issue of humanity."

Reception and analysis

Democrats did not formally respond to the ads containing the slogan during the campaign period. Former President Bill Clinton privately expressed concern about the ad and encouraged the Harris campaign to respond to it saying, "We have to answer it and say we won't do it." 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.[9]

In early October, 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.[10]

According to an analysis by Future Forward, "Kamala is for they/them" was ranked as one of Trump's most effective 30-second attack ads, shifting the race 2.7 percentage points in favor of Trump after viewers watched it.[9]

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also praised the commercial. "The most effective ad that the Trump campaign ran in this campaign was, you know, 'Kamala Harris is for they/them, and Donald Trump is for us.' That's because most people don't see themselves as they/them. Yet, the Democrats have spent more time talking about a trans issue, which, quite frankly, is infinitesimal."[11]

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 (September 25, 2024). "Harris Keeps Focus on Economy With MSNBC Interview: Sept. 25 Campaign News". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Davis, Susan (October 11, 2024). "Republican campaigns have been blanketing the airwaves with anti-trans ads". NPR. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Barrón-López, Laura; Baldwin, Lorna; Lane, Sam; Barajas, Joshua; Sunkara, Satvi (November 2, 2024). "Why anti-transgender political ads are dominating the airwaves this election". PBS News. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  4. ^ "Coming to a TV near you". Donald J. Trump. October 14, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Goldmacher, Shane (October 8, 2024). "Trump and Republicans Bet Big on Anti-Trans Ads Across the Country". The New York Times. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  6. ^ a b NCTE Action Fund (October 18, 2019). Transform the White House: Sen. Kamala Harris. Retrieved November 13, 2024 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Quine v. Beard, No. 14-cv-02726-JST (N.D. Cal. April 28, 2017)
  8. ^ Stahl, Aviva (November 9, 2017). "Transgender Prisoners: What an Inmate's Surgery Means for Trans Rights". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Goldmacher, Shane; Haberman, Maggie; Swan, Jonathan (November 7, 2024). "How Trump Won, and How Harris Lost, the 2024 Presidential Election". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
  10. ^ Brown, Preezy (October 21, 2024). "Charlamagne Files Cease And Desist Order Against Donald Trump Over Campaign Ad". Yahoo News. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  11. ^ Fortinsky, Sarah (November 11, 2024). "Chris Christie: Most effective Trump ad was 'Kamala Harris is for they/them'". The Hill. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
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