Seth Moulton likes to hear himself talk.
How else can one explain the congressman’s casually cruel comments about transgender kids to the New York Times in the wake of last week’s national elections, when Republicans captured the White House and both branches of Congress?
And how else to explain the Salem, Mass., Democrat’s continued insistence that his words were not merely a tossed-off aside to seem edgy and smart before a national audience, but rather a principled stand, a profile in courage?
We’re sorry, but that doesn’t pass the smell test. Unfortunately, it’s not Moulton, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and the general election, who will be the one to feel the consequences of his words.
It’s trans kids.
It was a little more than a week-and-a-half ago that Moulton made his comments to the Times, saying members of his political party focus too much on identity politics and not enough on the economy.
“Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face,” he said. “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.”
That flippant answer brought a swift and united response from leaders in Salem, among many others.
Salem Mayor Dominick Pangalo, state Rep. Manny Cruz and members of the Salem School Committee rejected Moulton’s comments in a letter to parents, saying his words “do not reflect our values.”
“We want to reassure our LGBTQ+ students that we as district leaders will always celebrate your identities, support your dreams and aspirations, and applaud your accomplishments,” they wrote. “Neither fear nor political whim will shake our commitment to you.”
Incredibly, Moulton decided to double down, saying he was being singled out for not passing an “unspoken Democratic purity test.”
No, that’s not it. He’s being singled out because he said something stupid, and in effect tried to cast it as a principled stand after the fact.
Let’s be real. Moulton is not being canceled. He still has a job, one where he’s paid by the taxpayers, and will be for at least the next two years.
And he still has a platform to speak, if his constant public explanations of the last week are any indication.
The real victims here are – as usual – trans kids, who are rightfully frightened about the results of last week’s election, which was won by a Republican candidate who promised to roll back whatever meager human rights protections are already in place for them, and who during the campaign painted their mere existence as a threat to society.
Calls, texts and chat messages to The Trevor Project, a group focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youths, increased by nearly 700% in the week after Moulton made his comments compared with the previous weeks.
“We are receiving these calls out of fear,” said Lance Preston, executive director of the Rainbow Youth Project, whose crisis hotline has received more than 3,810 calls so far this month, surpassing its monthly average of 3,765 in less than a week. “Fear that we will lose our children to suicide and fear of the challenges this new administration will set up for us.”
Seth Moulton had a chance to show leadership and stand up for these kids at a time when they’re struggling to stand up for themselves.
Instead, he chose a hot take.