Seth Moulton reacts to being "canceled" over trans athlete remarks

Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton has responded to being "canceled" after he doubled down on his comments about transgender people competing in athletics.

The Massachusetts representative said while being interviewed on Morning Joe today that Democrats needed to "stand up for civil discourse" and move towards "rational policies".

Moulton had previously written an op-ed in The New York Times about the 2024 election in which he said that Vice President Kamala Harris' loss was down to his party "spending way too much time trying not to offend anyone.

"I have two little girls, I don't want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat I'm supposed to be afraid to say that."

After the article was published, the politics department Tufts University, which has previously collaborated with Moulton's office for internships and events, announced it would be distancing itself from the congressman.

Seth Moulton speaks with a reporter outside of the U.S. Capitol Building on November 16, 2021 in Washington, DC. The representative wrote an op-ed in the New York Times on how the Democratic Party should... Getty Images

Reacting to the backlash over his comments on Morning Joe, Moulton said that the "Trump agenda" would be extremely harmful towards trans kids and that his party needed to shift approaches in order to start winning elections again.

Newsweek contacted Seth Moulton's office for further comment.

"We actually have a chance with rational policies that that are in line with the views of most Americans, of winning over some Republican votes to prevent the most harmful aspects of the Trump agenda, which absolutely will attack trans kids and minorities, and others Across America, who deserve our support, who are only going to find support in the Democratic party today.

"That's why I'm so proud to be a Democrat and why my voting record in Congress. If we can't even stand up for civil discourse, then we're just going to keep losing elections and a lot of people in America are going to get hurt."

Moulton said that the Democrat's focus on identity had a trickle-down effect on other policy areas, damaging their reputation on issues like the economy.

"We begin by doing more listening and less preaching listening to American voters because you know, I raised the trans issue. It's just one example of an issue where Democrats are out of touch.

"If you look at our views on the economy, for example, we have a good economic plan that will continue to bring down inflation. Trump's plan is to put in tariffs and tax cuts for the rich that will clearly raise prices for the majority of Americans. And yet, Americans don't trust us on the economy."

Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact [email protected].