In the presidential debate hosted by ABC News in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris put former President Donald Trump on the defensive over issues from foreign policy and the ongoing criminal prosecutions against him to his record and moral character.
The 90-minute exchange featured no discussion of LGBTQ issues, apart from an accusation by Trump that his opponent "wants to do transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison."
The remark echoed statements Trump has made recently on the campaign trail, for example in Wisconsin on Monday where he said that children are, however implausibly, returning home from school having underwent sex change operations.
Similarly, during the debate the former president asserted without evidence that Democrats favor abortions up to and following delivery, which would amount to infanticide.
"There is no state in this country where it is legal to kill a baby after it's born," interjected ABC News anchor Linsey Davis, a moderator, who then allowed Harris to respond.
"Well, as I said, you're gonna hear a bunch of lies, and that's not actually a surprising fact," the vice president replied before addressing the question at hand, which concerned abortion.
While Harris did not address the matter of "transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison," viewers on X were quick to mock the comment.
Trump's comment apparently stems from a 2019 questionnaire from the American Civil Liberties Union, when Harris stated that she supported gender-affirming care for incarcerated or detained people, which could include undocumented immigrants.
she was in the prison doing transgender operations on illegal aliens right before she died pic.twitter.com/sjDycEO3Mq
— soul nate (@MNateShyamalan) September 11, 2024
transgender operations on illegal aliens in prison pic.twitter.com/FNhKekSm1S
— Half-Shirt Radical (@EricShethar) September 11, 2024
You're laughing. They're doing transgender operations on illegal aliens who are in prison and you're laughing.
— Cartoons Hate Her! (@CartoonsHateHer) September 11, 2024
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