Abcarian: Transgender issues aren’t a top voter concern. Why is Trump’s campaign obsessed with them?
Gallup recently published a list of what Americans consider the most pressing issues as they choose the next president. Unsurprisingly, there is no overlap between Republicans and Democrats on the top five. Republicans say they are concerned about the economy, immigration, terrorism and national security, crime and taxes. Democrats are concerned about American democracy, Supreme Court nominations, abortion, healthcare and education. Transgender rights — for or against — are nowhere to be seen among the top concerns of voters in either party. In fact, of more than 20 issues the pollsters asked about, transgender rights ranked dead last in importance to voters overall. So why has former President Trump’s campaign been spending tens of millions of dollars on inflammatory ads attacking Vice President Kamala Harris’ support for transgender rights? Since the beginning of August, Trump and other Republicans have reportedly spent more than $65 million on anti-trans ads, concentrating on the battleground states — although even here in deepest-blue California, I can’t turn on my television without seeing them. “Kamala supports taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners,” a disdainful narrator says. “It’s hard to believe, but