Nikki Haley flaunts her anti-trans views in new campaign advert… and why it matters

Nikki Haley is the latest presidential candidate to make her anti-trans views a key part of her bid to win the Republican nomination.

Earlier this week, Haley posted a new campaign video to her official social media accounts that concentrated on banning trans women from women’s sports.

“This is one of the most important women’s rights issues of our time and the so-called feminists have been silent—this is not ok. It’s time to ban biological men from women’s sports,” she said in an accompanying caption.

The video is a montage of clips of Haley speaking out on the issue. She says allowing trans girls into women’s locker rooms is “abusive”. She suggests—without explanation—that it will stop “strong girls” growing up to become “strong leaders.”

Haley’s video comes just a week or so after fellow candidate Vivek Ramaswamy posted a video to his social media, in which he talked with two de-transitioners. Ramaswamy highlighted his opposition to puberty blockers and other methods of gender-affirming care for minors.

Haley’s pandering to the anti-trans lobby is not surprising. However, she perhaps might have chosen her words more carefully. Her comments upset many in the gender-critical camp, presumably the people she was hoping to win over.

Oops.

Feminists have been leading the charge on this subject for decades. You’re only aware of the issue is because of the work they’ve been doing.

The question is why are YOU so late to the party?

— Red (@ncaipics) September 7, 2023

Why this matters

Nikki Haley has consistently been polling around the 3% mark among Republican voters, behind former Vice President Mike Pence, Ramaswamy, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Former President Donald Trump remains far and away the frontrunner and is currently 40-45 points ahead of DeSantis.

It’s therefore tempting to dismiss Haley’s campaign as a dead duck.

However, a new poll shows she’s still in with a chance. With Trump’s mounting legal problems raising questions over whether he might make the ballot in 2024, all of the other candidates continue to jockey for position.

A new CNN poll yesterday looked at which Republican candidate polled best in comparison to President Joe Biden.

The poll found that Biden’s approval rating dropped to 39%, which should worry Democrats a year before the election.

The poll also found Haley to be the only Republican candidate to achieve a significantly more popular rating among voters. Forty-nine percent said they’d vote for Haley in an election compared to 45% for Biden. All the other major GOP candidates were pretty much level with Biden (or just 1-2 percentage points ahead of him).

That’s perhaps positive news for Haley … but not for anyone who cares about trans rights.

Related:

Vivek Ramaswamy Pushes His Anti-Trans Credentials in New Campaign Video

Ramaswamy talked to de-transitioners in his latest bid to become the GOP Presidential nominee.

Don't forget to share: