Condemn Hegseth's Anti-Trans Slur at Iowa State Fair

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stood at a public military fundraiser at the Iowa State Fair and called transgender people "trannies." Not in a private conversation, not in a leaked recording — on a microphone, at a Salute to the Troops event, representing the United States Department of Defense. You need to publicly condemn this. This isn't a policy disagreement. Using a slur against any group of Americans from an official platform is beneath the office and beneath this country. Transgender people make up less than 1 percent of the U.S. adult population and are already banned from military service under a Trump executive order upheld by the Supreme Court. They are not a threat. Hegseth is using his position to dehumanize a vulnerable minority for applause, and silence from elected officials reads as endorsement. Say something.