Joe Biden has branded efforts to stop transgender children’s medical treatments “close to sinful” in an interview. The President was discussing plans by the Florida Legislature, backed by Ron DeSantis, to ban transgender medical interventions in Florida for anyone under 18.
Joe Biden made the comments on The Daily Show, giving a a rare broadcast interview to the long time, sometimes satirical, news show on Comedy Central.
“What’s going on in Florida is, as my mother would say, close to sinful. It’s just terrible what they’re doing,” said Biden.
“It’s not like a kid wakes up one morning and says, ‘You know, I decided I wanted to become a man or want to become a woman’ or ‘I want to change’. I mean, what are they thinking about here? They’re human beings. They love. They have feelings. They have inclinations. It just, to me, is, I don’t know…It’s cruel.”
He told former Obama administration official and guest host of the show Kal Penn that passing federal legislation through Congress would help combat such state laws.
Biden added: “It’s cruel, and the way we do it is we make sure we pass legislation like we passed on same-sex marriage. You mess with that, you’re breaking the law and you’re going to be held accountable.”
Last year, while hosting a number of trans activists at the White House, he called attempts by Republican states to block children’s access to transgender treatments “immoral”.
Biden signed an executive order to increase protections for transgender children and take steps to ban conversion therapy.
Last week, Jill Biden was criticised by some Republicans for giving a transgender woman an award on International Women’s Day.
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The comments come as several measures have been introduced in state legislatures to restrict LGBT rights. The bills range from limiting transgender athletes ability to compete on sports teams to using bathrooms which align with their gender identity.
The Florida legislature passed a bill, backed by Governor Ron DeSantis, which would see teachers banned from using transgender pronouns, i.e. those different to the gender assigned at birth.
DeSantis has emerged as the biggest threat to Donald Trump’s 2024 Presidential run after he turned Florida from swing state to a Republican powerhouse.
The Governor has put himself at the centre of the culture war in the US, branded Florida as the place “woke goes to die”. Although he has not yet thrown his hat in the ring for president, he has made visits to early primary states and polls show he is the potential Republican candidate most likely to defeat Donald Trump.
