Massachusetts Democrat Seth Moulton’s campaign manager and the director of Moulton’s “Serve America” PAC resigned as fellow Democrats unleashed a blistering round of attacks on him over comments reported in a New York Times story in which he suggested boys and girls were not the same.
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Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, who was one of two dozen Democrats who sought the party’s presidential nomination in 2020, suggested the party should shift its approach to transgender issues.
“Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” Mr. Moulton said. “I have two little girls, I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I’m supposed to be afraid to say that.”
The hometown crowd was not pleased.
The comments drew the ire of fellow Democrats in Massachusetts and denunciations from the state’s LGBTQ+ community. On Friday, Moulton’s top campaign aide stepped down, though declined to say why.
In Moulton’s hometown of Salem, Mayor Dominick Pangallo and the School Committee issued a joint email to the city’s residents, saying Moulton’s comments “do not reflect our values.”
“We want to reassure our LGBTQ+ students that we as district leaders will always celebrate your identities, support your dreams and aspirations, and applaud your accomplishments,” the email said.
Matt Chilliak, Moulton’s campaign manager and director of his “Serve America” political committee, confirmed to the Globe that he resigned but did not address if it was related to the comments and directed further questions to Moulton’s office.
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The LGTBQ advocacy group Mass Equality said Moulton’s remarks were “both harmful and factually inaccurate.”
“Our community is deeply hurt by these remarks, which reinforce harmful stereotypes and undermine the dignity of transgender athletes,” Mass Equality executive director Tanya Neslusan said.
State Representative John Moran, an openly gay Democrat from the South End, posted on X Friday, calling Moulton “weak.” And, on Friday afternoon, about a dozen people came to Moulton’s district office in Salem to protest his remarks, though the office was closed for the Veterans Day holiday, which is on Monday.
Aria Stewart, who identifies as a transgender woman, organized the last-minute protest “to send Moulton a message that he is alienating people” and accused Moulton of using “a well-known dog whistle” in his remarks about transgender males playing women’s sports.
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While I applaud Moulton’s courage to speak commonsense, I’m also buying popcorn and rooting for injuries on both sides.
