Counting On “You”.
NZ First’s foray into transgender issues might be ethically dubious, but politically it could be a winner.
ONE POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT stood out from the thousands that blitzed the US presidential campaign of 2024. It inflicted enormous damage on the Democratic Party’s flagbearer, Kamala Harris. The ad’s central tagline deployed just two sentences: “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”
Former President Bill Clinton urged the Harris Campaign to come back strongly against the Republicans’ anti-trans message. He was ignored. Subsequent political analysis confirmed Clinton’s intuitive unease. The ad was shown to have nudged a critical number of undecided voters into the Republican column.
Refusing to acknowledge the power of transphobia is not a winning electoral strategy.
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