On Friday's At This Hour with Berman and Bolduan, CNN co-hosts John Berman and Kate Bolduan repeatedly pressed Ted Cruz campaign national chairman Chad Sweet about whether Senator Cruz believes transgender men are actually "men pretending to be women" as the two began the segment focusing on a Cruz campaign ad attacking Donald Trump over the North Carolina bathroom bill.
After introducing Sweet, Berman began:
You know, you guys, you came out with an ad within hours, you know, Donald Trump yesterday morning said that he thought that transgender people should use whatever bathroom they're comfortable with. He said that yesterday morning on the Today show. Within a few hours, you had a campaign ad out. Let's watch.
Then played an ad showing the inside of a public restroom with words displayed on screen: "Should a grown man pretending to be a woman be allowed to use the women's restroom? The same restroom used by your daughter? Your wife?"
Then came a brief clip of Trump from the Thursday, April 21, Today show on NBC: "People go, they use the bathroom they feel is appropriate."
Then the screen displayed: "It's not appropriate. It's not safe. It's PC nonsense that's destroying America. Donald Trump won't take on the PC police. He's one of them."
Although some who identify as transgender have not even had any medical procedure to make physical changes, and thus are not biologically different from other men, the CNN host demanded to know if the Cruz campaign believes transgenders are "men pretending to be women." Berman:
So, as you saw, the words up on the screen there said. you said essentially that transgender people are men pretending to be women. Pretending to be women. Is the official position of the Cruz campaign that that's what transgender people are? Men pretending to be women?
After Sweet did not give an answer on the definition of "transgender," instead explaining that Cruz is a "strict constitutional conservative," Berman jumped in to press him:
That's not what the ad says, Chad, I'm sorry. The ad that we just played there, that's not what the ad says. It says "men pretending to be women," and I'm just asking if that is the position of Ted Cruz and the campaign, that that's what transgender people are?
After Sweet's response, Bolduan made another follow up:
So you don't -- I actually don't recall Donald Trump saying "pretending." That was the words that you guys put on the screen. Again, is that the position of the campaign, though, Chad, that transgender folks are men pretending to be women?
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Friday, April 22, At This Hour with Berman and Bolduan on CNN, followed by the relevant portion of the Thursday, April 21, Today show on NBC:
#From CNN's At This Hour with Berman and Bolduan:
JOHN BERMAN: You know, you guys, you came out with an ad within hours, you know, Donald Trump yesterday morning said that he thought that transgender people should use whatever bathroom they're comfortable with. He said that yesterday morning on the Today show. Within a few hours, you had a campaign ad out. Let's watch.
Should a grown man pretending to be a woman be allowed to use the women's restroom? The same restroom used by your daughter? Your wife?
DONALD TRUMP, (from NBC's Today show): People go, they use the bathroom they feel is appropriate.
It's not appropriate. It's not safe. It's PC nonsense that's destroying America. Donald Trump won't take on the PC police. He's one of them.
BERMAN: So, as you saw, the words up on the screen there said. you said essentially that transgender people are men pretending to be women. Pretending to be women. Is the official position of the Cruz campaign that that's what transgender people are? Men pretending to be women?
CHAD SWEET, CRUZ FOR PRESIDENT CAMPAIGN: Look, our fundamental position is that this is not an issue for the federal government. Senator Cruz is a strict constitutional conservative. North Carolina.
BERMAN: That's not what the ad says, Chad, I'm sorry. The ad that we just played there, that's not what the ad says. It says "men pretending to be women," and I'm just asking if that is the position of Ted Cruz and the campaign, that that's what transgender people are?
SWEET: As you saw in the ad, those were the words of Donald Trump. The point that we're making is a fundamental constitutional point, which is that North Carolina, as a state, has the right to decide bathroom laws, and our position, as the Senator has made very clear, is that it's not unreasonable for that state to take the position that grown men should not be allowed in little girls' bathrooms.So it's also not surprising that a man like Donald Trump, who's been a liberal his entire life up until recently he converted once he decided to run for the presidency on the Republican side of the aisle, He's been a liberal on supporting partial birth abortion, funding Planned Parenthood. He's said over and over again, "Once I'm President, you'll be surprised how I can be politically correct." Well, it looks like he's started a little bit early.
KATE BOLDUAN: So you don't -- I actually don't recall Donald Trump saying "pretending." That was the words that you guys put on the screen. Again, is that the position of the campaign, though, Chad, that transgender folks are men pretending to be women?
SWEET: Look, I'm going to keep saying what we've said before, which is that this issue is an issue to be decided at the state level. Senator Cruz is a strict constitutional conservative. The words that you saw on the air were Donald's words.
BOLDUAN: So then do you agree now with Donald Trump because Donald Trump said last night that you guys were on the same page then?
#From NBC's Today show:
DONALD TRUMP: North Carolina did something was very strong, and they're paying a big price, and there's a lot of problems. And I heard, one of the best answers I heard was from a commentator yesterday saying leave it the way it is right now. There have been very few problems. Leave it the way it is.
North Carolina, what they're going through with all of the business that's leaving and all of the strife, and that's on both sides. You leave it the way it is. There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom they feel is appropriate. There has been so little trouble, and the problem with what happened in North Carolina is the strife. And the economic, I mean, the economic punishment that they're taking. So I would say that's probably the best-
MATT LAUER: Do you have any transgender people working in your organization?
TRUMP: I don't know. I really don't know. I probably do. I really don't know.
LAUER: So if Caitlyn Jenner were to walk into Trump Tower and want to use the bathroom, you would be fine with her using any bathroom she chooses.
TRUMP: That is correct.
