Republican presidential candidate and pharmaceutical executive Vivek Ramaswamy told Wednesday’s debate audience that transgenderism in kids is a mental health issue.
He added that it is cruel for adults to push radical gender ideology on the nation’s children.
On stage at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, Ramaswamy was asked about the issue by co-host Dana Perino. She questioned whether he would sign a bill protecting parents’ rights to know about their child’s gender confusion in school.
The candidate pulled no punches. “I have to be very clear about this,” he declared. “Transgenderism, especially in kids, is a mental health disorder. We have to acknowledge the truth of that for what it is.”
This statement is consistent with Ramaswamy’s expressed belief that affirming gender confusion in kids is wrong. He recently told podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey that instead, adults must “figure out what is going wrong in that kid’s life.”
True compassion, he said, is knowing that the child is suffering through a mental health struggle.
Ramaswamy told the national audience Wednesday that the same so-called “experts” who say not affirming transgenderism increases suicide risks are the ones who don’t want parents to know about this heightened suicide risk.
Ramaswamy cited examples of two young women he met in their 20s who underwent double mastectomies and a hysterectomy. He said he encountered Chloe and Katie early in his presidential campaign and both regretted being mutilated at such a young age.
One will never have children because of these radical surgeries.
If elected, Ramaswamy said he would ban genital mutilation or chemical castration for anyone under 18 years old. He also pledged to pursue a policy protecting parental rights over minor children.
Progressives make one point very clear. They seek total control, including over minor children who experience gender confusion due to mental illness or unfortunate circumstances.
Ramaswamy is right. Small children are nowhere near mature enough to make such drastic and irreversible decisions. And parents who foist this ideology onto their kids are guilty of ignoring warning signs of mental illness.
Some recent polls show that the entrepreneur continues to gain ground and is currently running second in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. These numbers show him trailing only former President Donald Trump, though the margin is astronomical.
