Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley blames teens suicide on trans girls using locker rooms
Nikki Haley took part in a CNN Town Hall (PinkNews)
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley made the bizarre claim that teen girls are contemplating suicide because trans girls share the same spaces as them.
The former South Carolina governor, who is vying for the White House in 2024, took part in a CNN town hall on Sunday (4 June).
The town hall saw the candidate answer questions from host Jake Tapper and Iowa voters, touching on several issues, including the Ukraine-Russia war, abortion and gun laws.
Trans rights inevitable emerged during the town hall too, and Haley made unsubstantiated claims cis teenage girls are committing suicide because trans teens are sharing facilities with them.
The politician was asked “how do you define woke?”.
“The idea that we have biological boys claiming girls sports, it is the women’s issue of our time,” Haley told the room.
“My daughter ran track in high school. I don’t even know how I would have that conversation with her. How are we supposed to get our girls used to the fact that biological boys are in their locker rooms?
“And then we wonder why a third of our teenage girls seriously contemplated suicide last year.”
The Republican also stated that in her opinion increasing inclusion of trans and non-binary people in society is “too much” for most Americans.
“I want to start with biological boys playing and girls sports. That’s one thing, the fact that we have gender pronoun classes in the military now, I mean, all of these things that are pushing what a small minority want on the majority of Americans. It’s too much,” she said.
Nikki Haley fails to condemn Donald Trump
Also on Sunday, Nikki Haley passed up the chance to condemn former president and fellow GOP candidate Donald Trump, who in May was found liable of sexually abusing and defaming Elle columnist E Jean Carroll.
“I have always said that anyone that feels like they have been sexually assaulted in any way should come forward and have their voice heard,” she told CBS News
“I also think that anyone that’s been accused should be able to defend themselves. I was not on the jury. I am not the judge.
“I think that both of them had their voices heard. There has been a verdict and there has been an appeal.”
During the civil trial, jury sided with Carroll who said she ran into the business mogul in Bergdorf Goodman in either late 1995 or early 1996.
She claimed he forcefully kissed her and proceeded to rape her in a dressing room, in an incident which lasted less than three minutes.
Whilst Trump was not found liable for rape, he was for sexual assault and defamation after he called Carroll’s claims a “hoax”.
He must pay her $5m (almost £4m) in damages.
Following the case, many people called for Trump to be made ineligible to run in the 2024 presidential race due to the verdict.
Trump, however, was unfazed by the legal result and called the case “a disgrace” and a “witch-hunt”.
