Mike Bloomberg referred to transgender people as “it” and “some guy wearing a dress” in a clip from a March 2019 forum hosted by the Bermuda Business Development Agency in Manhattan.
In the clip, uncovered by Buzzfeed News, Bloomberg asserted that pushing transgender rights is not a winning formula for Democratic candidates and they should take a more moderate path.
Said Bloomberg: “If your conversation during a presidential election is about some guy wearing a dress and whether he, she, or it can go to the locker room with their daughter, that’s not a winning formula for most people.”
Buzzfeed adds: “Bloomberg made a similar remark about a ‘man wearing a dress’ in 2016, but his comments uncovered Tuesday — remarks he made less than a year ago — came amid the early stages of the 2020 Democratic primary.”
Earlier on Tuesday, the Bloomberg campaign published a new video featuring Isaac Mizrahi, touting the candidates sensitivity to LGBTQ rights.
The Bloomberg campaign released a statement to Buzzfeed defending his record and views about trans people: “Mike understands that the transgender community has been under attack for decades and the advance of rights has not been equal. In April 2002, during his first year as mayor, Mike signed a sweeping transgender civil rights bill into law. His company provides comprehensive healthcare coverage for his transgender employees. As president, he has a comprehensive plan to secure rights for transgender Americans, including passing the Equality Act, ensuring transgender people have access to affirming healthcare and working to end the crisis of violence against transgender women. Mike is running to defeat Donald Trump and reverse the many policies he has implemented that attack the rights of the transgender community.”
