Over the past few months and years, the debate regarding transgender women competing in women’s sports has become a massive conversation throughout the country, and the Joe Biden administration was asked about it during a recent press conference this week.
On Monday, Fox Business correspondent Hillary Vaughn asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre if the Joe Biden administration agreed with Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley when she called transgender women in women’s sports the “women’s issue of our time.”
But the White House didn’t have a clear response, simply calling the the discussion “complicated.”
“So we’ve talked about this many times. This is the Title XI, specifically. Look, and again, we’ve talked about this multiple times. It’s a complicated issue, and there are a wide range of views on this. The Department of Education proposed a rule, as you know, that gives schools the flexibility to establish their own athletics policies, and so while establishing guardrails, right, to prevent discrimination against transgender kids,” Jean-Pierre said. “That is something that is incredibly important, that the president wants to make sure that we also do that as well. So I’m just not going to get ahead of that.”
The White House Press Secretary was asked today if President Biden agrees that the issue of "biological boys plays in girls sports" is a "women's rights issue"
KJP didn't give a direct answer, deflecting with "It's a complicated issue and there a wide range of opinions on this" pic.twitter.com/8K900tgtC8
— boysvswomen.com (@boysvswomen) August 29, 2023
She was then asked a follow-up question referencing Biden’s granddaughters, asking if it’s “fair for girls to have to compete against biological males.” Once again, Jean-Pierre did not answer the question directly.
“I just answered the question. It is a complicated issue. It is truly a complicated issue with a wide range of views, a wide range of views. There is no yes or no answer to this. It is complicated. There’s a rule that the Department of Education has put forward, and we’re going to let that process move forward,” she said. “Again, we want to make sure that while we establish guardrails with this rule that we also prevent discrimination, as well, against transgender kids. But again, a complicated issue with a wide range of views, and we respect that.”
This whole interaction led to quite a few reactions on social media.
It’s not complicated https://t.co/JTKQULbJ44
— Kellie-Jay Keen (@ThePosieParker) August 30, 2023
Where are the “guardrails” to protect female athletes? https://t.co/FoXWf9EiXS
— Genspect (@genspect) August 29, 2023
Why is she blinking like a strobe light? https://t.co/AtUd2NrNTT
— Some Might Say ❄️ 79 (@CulinaryOasis79) August 31, 2023
So then either give “transgender kids” their own division or make it that they have to play on teams that coincide with their biological sex! Allowing boys to play and compete in girls sports is unfair and has already led to severe injuries! Especially at the college level! https://t.co/qk6pieTjHp
— Steph (@CrazedEmber) August 30, 2023
It is not complicated at all. https://t.co/swG2L4YamK
— B. 📚🐾 🟢⚪️🟣 (@ebvwilkerson) August 29, 2023
Drinking game:
Every time @PressSec hits her canned talking points, take a shot:
I’m already drunk on “complicated issue” and “wide range of views.” https://t.co/qpR1XmIm0t
— CJ (@cj_1234_cj) August 30, 2023
We’ll have to see how this debate shakes out in the future.
