Comedy Central's The Daily Show took its outrage at Republicans to another level on Thursday as it welcomed Laverne Cox to the show to rant at the GOP and “its transphobia,” which included the accusation that the party’s $65 million ad campaign is contributing to transgender people committing suicide.
After a clip of a Georgia man claiming he had “no hard data” on how many males are trying to compete in female sports, Cox claimed, “Hmm. No hard data? Oh, that's okay, hon, I understand. I'm sure that not having anything hard is something you're used to.”
There are real headlines from the real world documenting this issue. Networks like MSNBC even promote it as a positive thing. Speaking of MSNBC, Cox then set up a montage, “And as the election gets closer, the Republican Party is going all in on its transphobia.”
In the first clip, Ayman Mohyeldin reported, “Since the beginning of August, Republicans have spent more than $65 million on ads focusing on transgender issues in over a dozen states.”
The Daily Show then played snippets of five GOP ads, the last of which was a Trump ad where the narrator claims “Kamala’s for they/them. President Trump is for you.”
That full context of that ad focused on Harris’s history of supporting taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners and illegal immigrants, but Cox still claimed to be flattered by it, “Oh! Look who finally learned how to use pronouns. But seriously, $65 million on anti-trans ads? Do you know how disappointing it is to finally have someone spend $65 million on me, and it's for this crap? I didn't want hateful attack ads! I wanted a house in the hills with six walk-in closets.”
Cox then escalated, “But with anti-trans messaging playing such a large role in our politics, it's no wonder we're seeing so much anti-trans violence and suicide. And that is something we do have hard data on. I didn't pull that fact from the same place Republicans get their information: www.straightoutoftheirass.com.”
Continuing with that theme, Cox added, “This is straight out of the bigotry handbook. Using dehumanizing language on marginalized groups provides a permission structure to attack them. Because when people are rendered no longer human, you can take away their rights, commit violence against them with impunity.”
Over the past few months there has been a lot of discussion about inflammatory rhetoric, but for the left-wing media, claiming pro-lifers are going to kill women or Republicans are responsible for transgender suicides is just another talking point. The answers to when life begins or what constitutes womanhood doesn’t matter to them.
Here is a transcript for the October 17 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show
10/17/2024
11:14 PM ET
LAVERNE COX: Hmm. No hard data? Oh, that's okay, hon, I understand. I'm sure that not having anything hard is something you're used to. Now, these lawmakers claim the purpose of these bills is to protect kids. But the reality is, anti-trans laws actually lead to more school bullying of trans and queer kids and that is so disappointing to see. Especially from governors like Ron DeSantis. The way that man rocks a pair of high heels, you'd think he'd be an ally.
And as the election gets closer, the Republican Party is going all in on its transphobia.
AYMAN MOHYELDIN: Since the beginning of August, Republicans have spent more than $65 million on ads focusing on transgender issues in over a dozen states.
NARRATOR 1: Baldwin supported efforts to allow sex change surgeries for minor children.
NARRATOR 2: Sex change operations attempting to make young boys into girls.
NARRATOR 3: Tester even wanted to let men use girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms.
NARRATOR 4: Boys in girls' bathrooms! Boys in girls' locker rooms! Boys in girls' sports!
NARRATOR 5: Kamala’s for they/them. President Trump is for you.
COX: Oh! Look who finally learned how to use pronouns. But seriously, $65 million on anti-trans ads? Do you know how disappointing it is to finally have someone spend $65 million on me, and it's for this crap? I didn't want hateful attack ads! I wanted a house in the hills with six walk-in closets.
But with anti-trans messaging playing such a large role in our politics, it's no wonder we're seeing so much anti-trans violence and suicide. And that is something we do have hard data on. I didn't pull that fact from the same place Republicans get their information: www.straightoutoftheirass.com
Now, this is not to shame ass play. We would never do that. Never. But this is straight out of the bigotry handbook. Using dehumanizing language on marginalized groups provides a permission structure to attack them. Because when people are rendered no longer human, you can take away their rights, commit violence against them with impunity. But trans people are people. People with actual thoughts and feelings, and maybe a slight online shopping addiction that they're trying to get a handle on, but then Prime Day comes along, and what if I need a gazebo even though I live in an apartment? Hypothetically speaking. We're just trying to live our lives. We just simply want to be who we are and not experience stigma, violence, and discrimination for it.
