Rolling Stone’s Jay Michaelson spoke for all of CNN Tonight’s Wednesday panel when asked if it was wrong of a transgender activist to go topless at the White House with “yes, but” as he and his fellow panelists would equivocate on the “inappropriate” “act of joy.” Taking the top spot for outrageousness was The Root’s Jessica Washington who lamented the “oppressed have to be perfect 24/7.”
Host Alisyn Camerota began by asking a relatively simple question “Okay, does anybody here think it’s not inappropriate to take off your shirt at the White House? I mean, do we all agree with the White House's stance on this or no?”
Michaelson immediately started waffling, “So, I'm going to go out on a limb that expect me to go out on – and say ‘yes, but.’ So, this clearly was inappropriate. The White House is correct. However, we need to understand what this act was.”
What it was, was apparently “an extremely powerful moment for trans friends of mine, for the trans community in general. Imagine feeling that you don't belong in your own body. Imagine experiencing gender dysphoria. Imagine finally feeling comfortable enough to show your body in this way to the world, to your video, to your followers on Instagram.”
Michaelson also lamented that this story is even a story at all, “I don't want this to distract from what is really happening, which is tragic war on trans people in this country. A new study just came out that said 41 percent of LGBTQ young people between the ages of 13 and 22 have seriously considered suicide in the last year. That number is even higher for transgender people. And so, while this was a misguided act of celebration, it was one in the context of a community that is under siege right now.”
Camerota then tossed the conversation to 2022 New York GOP Senate candidate Joe Pinion who butchered the conservative position, “I think most Republicans that I know would agree that trans people do have to live in fear. Most people who are Republican, who are conservative believe you should be able to love who you want to love, define yourself on your own terms. That is a thing that most people agree with.”
Legally being able to identify how you want and expecting to be taken seriously or demanding the law acknowledge it as true are two very different things, but Pinion continued, “Certainly, there are people who are bigoted, who have always used the urge to protect the children or to follow the faith, to justify some of the darkest chapters in American history.”
Pinion would add there are legitimate concerns about what is being forced onto children, but Camerota followed by noting “When I watched the video, I thought that it was going to be for provocative reasons or attention-getting. But it did just seem celebratory, actually.”
Pollster Lee Carter agreed, declaring the situation seem “celebratory” and “It did seem like something you expect at a party, meaning more like a house party in the Hamptons than you would expect at the White House. So, there is some inappropriate timing for this.”
She would add, “I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding here because 35 percent of Republicans actually do want to fight for more rights for the people. What they do want to do is also protect children and so that all is getting put together into one big transphobic argument that is unfortunately unable to be parsed and we’re not able to have dialogue in discussion about really what is going on.”
Washington piled on, “I think one thing that concerns me is this idea that people who are oppressed have to be perfect 24/7. Every member of that group has to be perfect or we are going to be completely sidetracked and we can't fight for the things that you are talking about.”
Seriously? How hard is it to keep your clothes on at the White House?
This segment was sponsored by Liberty Mutual.
Here is a transcript for the June 14 show:
CNN Tonight
6/14/2023
11:38 PM ET
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Okay, does anybody here think it’s not inappropriate to take off your shirt at the White House? I mean, do we all agree with the White House's stance on this or no?
JAY MICHAELSON: So, I'm going to go out on a limb that expect me to go out on – and say “yes, but.” So, this clearly was inappropriate. The White House is correct. However, we need to understand what this act was. For trans people, transwomen and transmen, to be proud and comfortable in their bodies, is an act of joy, it is an act of pride and an act of celebration. I'm not defending this particular action. There is a time and a place for everything. The South Lawn of the White House is not a right place.
However, we should understand, first, that this is an extremely powerful moment for trans friends of mine, for the trans community in general. Imagine feeling that you don't belong in your own body. Imagine experiencing gender dysphoria. Imagine finally feeling comfortable enough to show your body in this way to the world, to your video, to your followers on Instagram.
This is an extremely profound and powerful moment. Again, inappropriate but it is not girls gone wild on Miami Beach. This was a moment of pride.
Second, I don't want this to distract from what is really happening, which is tragic war on trans people in this country. A new study just came out that said 41 percent of LGBTQ young people between the ages of 13 and 22 have seriously considered suicide in the last year. That number is even higher for transgender people.
And so, while this was a misguided act of celebration, it was one in the context of a community that is under siege right now.
CAMEROTA: Joe?
JOE PINION: So, I think, factually, that is pretty accurate. I think most Republicans that I know would agree that trans people do have to live in fear. Most people who are Republican, who are conservative believe you should be able to love who you want to love, define yourself on your own terms. That is a thing that most people agree with.
The problem is that when you have displays like this, it leans into the most extreme concerns and fears of people. Certainly, there are people who are bigoted, who have always used the urge to protect the children or to follow the faith, to justify some of the darkest chapters in American history. That in and of itself does not dismiss the reality that there are things happening in the name of some of these extreme acts that people find troubling.
So, I think we should be able to find common ground if we didn’t become captive of the most extreme elements to say look, we should be able to get together, hold hands and say you can live your life and define yourself on your own terms. But yes, there are legitimate concerns about things that are being presented to children. There are legitimate concerns about what has become normalized, this moving of the Overton Window that allows what we just saw at the White House, on the lawn of the People's House to occur.
CAMEROTA: It is interesting. When I watched the video, I thought that it was going to be for provocative reasons or attention-getting. But it did just seem celebratory, actually. And then it wasn't live and it wasn't in front of the president. They were just making a video of themselves and it took her two days to post it, then on her own Instagram. So, it was a little different than what I was expecting when I just heard the headline of this.
LEE CARTER: Yeah. I mean, look, it did seem like celebratory. It did seem like something you expect at a party, meaning more like a house party in the Hamptons than you would expect at the White House. So, there is some inappropriate timing for this.
I think it is a really unfortunate distraction because whether it feels like it or not, and the facts you are talking about, the statistics are really troubling, to know there is that much -- you know, that much pain, that much suffering, that much fear among a certain population.
But I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding here because 35 percent of Republicans actually do want to fight for more rights for the people. What they do want to do is also protect children and so that all is getting put together into one big transphobic argument that is unfortunately unable to be parsed and we’re not able to have dialogue in discussion about really what is going on.
I think that is the sad reality. You see something like this. People react emotionally, viscerally and we can't talk about really substantive issues that matter. Let's talk about the mental health issues, let's talk about the fear, let's talk about everything about how we can treat people better, equally. And most Republicans, they don't want the government involved in these decisions.
CAMEROTA: Jessica?
JESSICA WASHINGTON: I think one thing that concerns me is this idea that people who are oppressed have to be perfect 24/7. Every member of that group has to be perfect or we are going to be completely sidetracked and we can't fight for the things that you are talking about.
The mental health issues that are going on in this community, the fact that there is all out war on the existence of trans kids, trans adults, and the fact that we are so easily able to loop this all into one conversation is really troubling. It’s this kind of respectability politics that every oppressed and marginalized group has had to deal with.
