The Republican Party Tried To Shame James Talarico For Saying He Loves 'Trans Children'—And It Instantly Backfired

The Republican National Committee (RNC) is facing heavy criticism after it tried to shame Texas Democrat James Talarico for saying he loves "trans children."

Many transgender youth conceal their identities from authority figures, including parents and teachers, due to societal expectations to conform to cisgender norms.

When trans children do come out to their families, they often face rejection, punishment, abuse, conversion therapy, or homelessness, rather than the support and acceptance they deserve.

In an interview unearthed by the RNC, Talarico, when asked to share something that he "loves" that isn't his own family or friends, expressed his support for trans youth who protested at the Texas State Capitol against efforts to roll back gender-affirming care and other protections.

He said:

"I love—and I'm going to say this because it's on my mind—the trans children who showed up yesterday at the state Capitol to advocate for their humanity. They shouldn't have to but it was an inspiration to watch."

You can hear what he said in the video shared by the RNC below.

At the start of his second term, President Donald Trump issued a sweeping executive order declaring that the U.S. government would recognize only two sexes, male and female.

Another order aimed to dismantle “radical and wasteful” diversity, equity, and inclusion programs within federal agencies. Additionally, the administration removed LGBTQ+ resources from government websites, including a page on the State Department's site that had been dedicated to advancing LGBTQ+ rights globally.

Consider this against the backdrop of ramped-up attacks against transgender people nationwide.

Researchers at The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ youth, published a study in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Human Behaviour that found a significant and causal link between anti-transgender state laws and increased suicide risk among transgender and nonbinary young people in the United States.

Between 2018 and 2022, 48 anti-transgender laws were enacted across 19 U.S. states. The study analyzed the relationship between these laws and suicide risk during this five-year period, using national survey data from over 61,000 transgender and nonbinary youth.

The findings revealed that these laws led to a significant increase in past-year suicide attempts among transgender and nonbinary youth, with rates rising by as much as 72%.

The RNC's attack backfired as people gave it a swift lesson in empathy.

The RNC is really bad at this.