Democrats will lose every election until they change their position on gender issues, liberal television host Bill Maher said.
Maher, appearing on "Pod Save America" where he debated the future of the party with co-host Jon Lovett, a former speechwriter for former President Barack Obama, said Democrats must win over voters by pivoting on gender issues for minors.
"The Democratic position is leave it up to parents, doctors. It's not the government's decision. That's the Democratic position. What's wrong with that position?" Lovett countered.
Maher replied: "The Democratic position in this state has been that your kid can — the school has the right to hide it from the parents. That is something that is not going to go well with the average voter. And again, I'm not even a parent and I get it."
Maher said he agrees with voters who take issue with transgender surgeries for minors, saying minors could be entrapped.
"When you're a kid, even a teenager, and you're that confused about everything and you have no idea, and you're upset for many other reasons," Maher said. "Entrapment is when you suggest something to people that they weren't ordinarily going to do. I used the example of after 9/11, the FBI got caught basically entrapping some people."
"You're explaining how being trans is like being recruited into al-Qaida," Lovett interjected. "There are also really important surgeries that people get for their heart. And they go wrong and somebody dies and nobody says, We must stop the cardiologists. No one says we must stop the surgeons."
"That's your analogy?" Maher said.
Lovett asked Maher if he supports banning gender-changing care for minors.
"You want to lose every election?" Maher said. "Just keep coming down on the side of parents coming in second, and a 'who gets to decide what goes on with the kid' contest."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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