On Wednesday, November 8, in Miami, five candidates in the 2024 Republican presidential primary met on stage for their third debate moderated by Lester Holt (NBC’s Nightly News), Kristen Welker (Meet the Press), and conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt (The Hugh Hewitt Show).
Participating candidates included (pictured above, from left) Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Tim Scott.
In advance of the debate, GLAAD and Equality Florida Action, Inc., the statewide civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community, sent a letter to moderators encouraging the inclusion of pressing LGBTQ issues in the debate. The letter outlined specific issues and questions for candidates, though none of the questions were included in the debate.
The only reference to LGBTQ people or issues came in the closing remarks when Tim Scott said, “If God made you a man, you play sports against men,” an attempt to misgender transgender girls and adult women athletes.
The previous two GOP primary debates were also marked by misgendering of transgender youth, both prompted and unprompted. In the first debate moderator Martha McCallum (Fox News) misgendered transgender girls in a question calling them “biological boys.”
In the second debate, Vivek Ramaswamy falsely claimed, unprompted, “…transgenderism, especially in kids, is a mental health disorder. … And I’m sorry, it is not compassionate to affirm a kid’s confusion.” The term “transgenderism” is used by anti-transgender activists to dehumanize transgender people and reduce who they are to “a condition” or a “dangerous ideology” and medical consensus states that being transgender is not a mental health condition. Ramaswamy promised to “ban genital mutilation or chemical castration,” an inflammatory and inaccurate description of health care for transgender people that is supported by every major medical association, statements here.
In that same debate former Vice President Mike Pence, who has since dropped out of the primary, said, “…we’re going to pass a federal ban on transgender chemical or surgical surgery anywhere in the country.” In neither instance were the candidates asked to provide evidence for their inflammatory claims about transgender health care in the United States, which follows Standards of Care by the U.S. and World Professional Associations of Transgender Health.
The questions offered up to moderators of the third debate were these:
Marriage Equality
In his concurrence to the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last summer overturning Roe v. Wade, Justice Clarence Thomas called for rulings on marriage equality, contraception, and the decriminalization of same-sex relationships to be reconsidered. The Respect for Marriage Act passed with bipartisan support in Congress in December 2023.
Suggested question for Tim Scott:
You said you consider homosexuality a morally wrong choice. Will you be able to set aside your personal beliefs to protect the legal rights of LGBTQ people in this country?
Suggested question for all candidates:
Do you support marriage equality in the United States for same-sex couples?
FACT: Marriage equality has climbed to a record high support of 71% of all Americans, including 49% of Republicans.
Anti-transgender bans and restrictions
There were more than 500 bills proposed nationwide targeting LGBTQ Americans this year, including those targeting transgender people and youth access to health care that is supported by every major medical association. (30+ statements here).
Suggested question for all candidates:
Gun violence is the number one cause of death for young Americans, yet there’s incredible focus on banning health care for transgender youth that the experts say saves and improves their lives; and on banning books by and about LGBTQ people and books about race and racism. Do lawmakers have the right priority here?
Suggested question for Vivek Ramaswamy:
Your campaign website states that as president you would sign into law a ban on health care for transgender minors if it reached your desk in the White House. Every major medical association in the U.S. supports such care for trans youth. Have you talked with parents of transgender youth about their lives and private health care decisions? Why is it a politician’s place to decide what is best for these families?
Suggested question for Nikki Haley:
You’ve suggested that teenage girls’ mental health has suffered because transgender girls are playing school sports and are in locker rooms. There have been more bills proposed about transgender people in sports than the number of transgender people in school sports. Where are you getting this from?
FACT: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released studies about a rise in suicidal ideation in teenage girls and LGBTQ students, but no connection was made between the presence of transgender youth and thoughts of teenage girls.
FACT: Transgender students are three times more likely to miss school than other students, are more likely to report feeling unsafe at school and being bullied, and face a risk of sexual assault being in locker rooms and restrooms that don’t match their gender identity. Research of crime data does not support claims that transgender people pose a risk in private spaces.
School censorship and safety
According to a 2023 study, nearly 1 in 3 LGBTQ young people said their mental health was poor most of the time or always due to anti-LGBTQ policies and legislation, and nearly 2 in 3 LGBTQ young people said that hearing about potential state or local laws banning people from discussing LGBTQ people at school made their mental health a lot worse.
Suggested questions for Ron DeSantis:
As governor of Florida, you signed and then expanded the so-called “don’t say gay” law to include not just the earliest grades but all the way to 12th grade. What would you say to a gay 16-year-old, or a student with two moms, about why they can’t talk about themselves or their families in school?
Your record in Florida includes multiple bills targeting transgender people — the bathroom they use, whether they can play school sports, having names and pronouns respected in school, and limiting AP Black history because it included “queer theory,” even though there have been queer Black Americans in history. If elected president, should we expect this emphasis in Florida to extend to LGBTQ Americans nationwide?
Freedom of Expression
Many of the 500+ bills proposed nationwide targeting LGBTQ Americans and many of the proposed bans of books and school curriculum about LGBTQ people are attempts to limit personal and creative expression.
Suggested question for all candidates:
The past two years have seen a sharp uptick in attempts to ban books and inclusive lesson plans from schools, most going after books about or by LGBTQ people and people of color. Do you support removing these books from schools and libraries?
Harmful rhetoric and violence
Studies have shown an increase in anti-LGBTQ discrimination alongside the rise in rhetoric and legislation targeting LGBTQ people. The effects are not only felt by LGBTQ people. Last August, a California woman named Lauri Carleton was shot and killed after her alleged killer confronted her about having a Pride flag in front of her clothing store. Lauri was an ally, not LGBTQ herself. She was straight and married, and a mother of nine.
Suggested question for all candidates:
How do you plan to protect LGBTQ people and supportive communities, rather than politicize them?
GLAAD’s reference guide on all the declared presidential candidates and their stances on LGBTQ issues is available here: Election 2024: Presidential Primary Candidates on the Record.
Throughout the rest of the campaign, GLAAD is encouraging voters and journalists to ask the candidates questions about their LGBTQ records. Americans have the right to know how these candidates plan to address LGBTQ people’s rights and needs to be safe, belong and to succeed in all areas of American life.
Some 7% of Americans are lesbian, gay, or bisexual, according to Gallup, including 20% of GenZ, the youngest population cohort studied and most out generation in history. Polling and turnout analysis from the 2020 election indicate that LGBTQ voters played a deciding role in the victory of Joe Biden for President and in key battleground states flipping many Donald Trump had won in 2016.
Some 4.6% of adult Floridians are LGBTQ and 24% are raising children. Florida has laws denying LGBTQ people equality in family law, public accommodations, health care, and education, and the state’s discriminatory and dangerous “don’t say gay/trans” law has been a template for bills in other states.
The results of the 2024 general election will have profound implications for LGBTQ people in Florida and across the country. The NBC News debate in Miami was an important opportunity to discuss what’s at stake and the LGBTQ records of the candidates. Media covering the debate should note the candidates’ LGBTQ records.
About GLAAD: GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love.
About Equality Florida Action, Inc.: Equality Florida Action, Inc. is Florida’s statewide civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community.