A former Trump administration official blasted ongoing conservative-led boycotts of brands supportive of the transgender community, saying the movement is setting the stage for a “totalitarian” suppression of LGBTQ+ rights.
Alyssa Farrah Griffin, a co-host of the talk show The View and an ex-White House director of strategic communications under President Donald Trump, slammed the boycotts during a CNN roundtable Wednesday after the retail chain Target announced it was pulling some Pride-themed products from shelves following numerous threats to store employees.
Griffin, a frequent critic of the former president, said she believed the shift stems from the rapidly evolving conversation around marriage equality after a 2015 Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, leading to a rapidly changing environment for those not accustomed to LGBTQ+ equality.
However, that has resulted in a backlash from those who are unfamiliar with the trans community, she said, leading to fear-mongering and a culture of threats that run counter to the conservative ideal of personal freedom.
Joe Raedle/Raymond Hall/Newsweek Photo Illustration/Getty Images
“There needs to be a reminder of what personal freedom entails,” she said. “This is where I get frustrated with my friends on the right. You can personally have whatever view you want to in your home about the ‘LGBTQ agenda,’ about gender, about sexuality, and you have the right to raise your children that way. You have a right to not buy things at Target. You do not have the right to tell other kids you can’t read this book or they can’t talk about their gay friends or they can’t buy this shirt at Target.
“That’s not a conservative position. That’s frankly a very totalitarian position. We are going way too far.”
The comments came just days after she was targeted Trump after defending the network’s controversial decision to interview him in a prime-time town hall, with Griffin describing Trump as a “ranting, raving lunatic, who sided with Vladimir Putin.”
Trump later posted a message on his Truth Social platform boasting about his “absolutely lovely” CNN town hall before attacking Griffin as a “loser” and “backbencher” in his administration.
Griffin’s comments, however, underscore a larger trend of declining acceptance of same-sex marriage and, particularly, members of the LGBTQ+ community that has long been split along partisan and religious lines.
While nearly three-quarters of the country believes same-sex marriage should be accepted, according to Gallup polling, surveys of the religious community show a similar share of evangelicals opposing same-sex marriage.
And while data from the Pew Research Center last year showed a majority of the country favor laws that would protect transgender individuals from discrimination, a recent Washington Post poll found clear majorities of Americans support Republican-led restrictions affecting transgender children, including limits on gender-affirming care and other policies supporters say help reduce suicide rates among transgender youth.